Bangkok--21 Aug--UNISBKK The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) is working to establish a regional knowledge network of rural women’s cooperatives which will enable women entrepreneurs to share their business knowledge and experiences and market their products through the Internet. A regional meeting is taking place from 23 to 24 August in Bangkok. Around 30 participants representing agriculture and cooperative ministries, organizations of rural women entrepreneurs, cooperatives and cooperative unions, regional knowledge networks and UN agencies are expected to attend the meeting. Participants will develop and adopt a strategy for the creation of a regional knowledge network of rural women’s cooperatives. They will discuss the implementation of a pilot model e-business centre in a women’s agricultural cooperative. The meeting will also serve to identify key training needs of women’s agricultural cooperatives to build their capacity in entrepreneurship and in information and communication technology (ICT) applications. Rural women’s cooperatives play a vital role in fostering women’s entrepreneurship, women’s empowerment and rural development. The proposed web-based knowledge network will enable women’s cooperatives across the region to share good practices, experiences, and information for business development, to strengthen entrepreneurial skills, and enhance marketing of their products through the Internet. The meeting is part of a UNESCAP project entitled “Establishment of sustainable E-business and network for green cooperative enterprises for women in rural communities,” which aims to empower women in rural communities through building capacity in entrepreneurial skills and in the use of ICTs. Supported by the Government of the Republic of Korea, the project is being implemented by the ICT Applications Section of the Information, Communication and Space Technology Division and the Gender and Development Section of the Emerging Social Issues Division of UNESCAP. More information on the meeting is available at: http://www.unescap.org/icstd/applications/projects/Green-Coops/consul-meeting/ NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: You are cordially invited to attend the meeting, which will open on Thursday, 23 August at 9:00 AM in Conference Room F on the first floor of the United Nations Conference Centre. Please contact Ms. Thawadi Pachariyangkun, UN Information Services, for interviews or further information. Tel: 66+022881861 Email: [email protected] or [email protected]