THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The foundation-stone for the Thantedam Gender Park would be laid on, International Womens Day, March 8, at Vellimadukunnu in Kozhikode. As part of the stone-laying ceremony, a national-level gender fest would be organised from March 8 to 17.
At a press conference held here on Thursday, Panchayats and Social Welfare Minister M K Muneer said that the gender park would function as a converging centre where various women-oriented organisations such as the Womens Commission and the Kerala State Women’s Development Corporation would converge its activities for study and research on women issues.
The gender parks would gradually come up in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi also. As part of the gender fest, agro-business festival, sports festival, health festival, gender budget festival, film and documentary festival, literary fest, arts and culture fest, plan preparation fest, social fest, ethnic food festival, skill development orientation, women IT park launch, concept of stress-free mothers and counselling for teenage girls would also be held.
The fest will honour 101 women who have made their mark in their respective fields. Muneer said that the Social Welfare Department plans to hold the fest every year and intends to ensure international participation too.
The Minister also said that as part of the 50th year of formation of panchayats in the state, a Global Rural Meet would be held in December.
The activities to strengthen the grama sabhas would be initiated, the first being the gramayatra planned in 140 Assembly constituencies in the state.
In these places, special grama sabhas would be convened with the participation from all strata of the society. Suggestions to the preparation of development plan of a ward would be compiled in these gramayatras which would be put together to form vision document to be released at the global rural meet.