The organizing committee for the National Women’s Day celebrations on November 3 say preparations for the event are 50% complete. 
Organizing Committee President Henrique da Silva said the celebrations this year would be different to last year, and there would be five important programs including writing activities for women about the history of independence.
“We can say this year the ceremony will be big because there will be a lot of programs and there will be participation from ASEAN nations,” said da Silva in Dili.
In addition, he said they also had a gender award for individuals at the district level who contributed to promoting gender equality in society, including those who implement policies on gender equality within government ministries.
According to him, although National Women’s Day is on November 3 the celebrations would be held on November 8, as November 3 is a public holiday for All Souls Day.
The celebrations will involve ASEAN nations and other nations like Norway, Australia and Portugal.
He said during the celebrations they would have music from the Indonesian band Kotak and five national bands to entertain the community.
On the other hand, Director of the Women In Politics Organization (CAUCUS) Julieta Fereira said they also had various programs to celebrate National Women’s Day and honour heroines who died.
“We will hold an interschool quiz competition about gender equality for students in secondary schools at the national level,” she said.
