JAKARTA - Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf) Sandiaga Uno praised the role of women as the backbone of Indonesia's tourism revival.
This was conveyed by Sandiaga when speaking at the Women20 Summit (W20 Summit) which was held at the Niagara Hotel and The Kaldera. The location is right on the shores of Lake Toba, Parapat, Simalungun Regency, North Sumatra.
The W20 Summit is one of the series of Engagement Group G20 Indonesia Presidency 2022.
"I am also happy because the summit took place on the extraordinary Lake Toba, one of the super priority tourist destinations in Indonesia," said Sandiaga in his official statement, Wednesday, July 20.
Sandiaga said, Lake Toba, which is larger than Singapore, is surrounded by stunning mountains with cool breezy air. In addition to beautiful natural scenery, the community around this area also offers extraordinary creative economic potential.
To take advantage of this potential, the government together with various partners conducted the “Lake Toba – Buy Creative Products” Campaign last year.
Around 200 MSMEs from around Lake Toba participated in this program and as a result, their income increased by 100% and their workforce tripled.
Sandiaga said, women are often the backbone of tourism and the creative economy, pillars of community welfare and guardians of our cultural heritage.
"Without women, we can't have a tourism or economic recovery as a whole for that matter. Supporting women to unleash their full potential is in the interest of all of us," Uno explained.
That is why, the recovery of tourism and the creative economy is reflected in the expansion of business opportunities, job creation, and the empowerment of SMEs, with women at the forefront.
Chair of W20 Indonesia Hadriani Uli Silalahi said, W20 was born from an urgent call for changes in women's representation and the lack of full participation of women in the economic and social fields.
"Towards achieving these goals and accelerating gender equality has been slow and uneven. That was even before COVID-19 forced many women to lose their jobs," said Uli at the opening of the W20.
Based on the data, at a global level, it is estimated that the job loss for women is 5% by 2020, compared to 3.5% for men.
Uli said the G20 Summit offered an important opportunity to address this issue, as well as to ensure an inclusive economic recovery by placing women's roles in perspective.
"The W20 Summit is about making positive changes to the situation of women. It's time, we have to change the mindset of the 20 biggest economic leaders to pay attention to women's empowerment and gender equality," said Uli.
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