Thursday chapel was the Salvation Army with the band and a wonderful
liturgical dancer. I think that there are pictures on the facebook page
United Nations Women Adventures. We were all dancing in the aisles and
definitely energized for the day.
The morning briefing was done by Jackie Shapiro, the former chair of
NGOCSW (nongovernment organization of the Commission on the Status of
Women) and Ambassador Gonsalves of El Salvador and Vice Chair of the
Commission.
There are 4 resolutions being debated as well as the Agreed Conclusions:
One on Palestine, one on Malawi, one on natural diasters and one on
HIV/AIDS. At 10 am tomorrow the Commission will adopt the resolutions
and then between 4 and 7 the plan to announce the Agreed Conclusions.
El Salvador has a program and budget to ensure inclusiveness in a public
services ie: they use radios to reach out to rural women and have set
up sites for "one stop shopping" for services including up to 32
services in one site.
The Ambassador explained that UN Women had held regional meetings prior
to the Commission for discussion of the issues in order to make
discussions less contentious in New York. He stated that some countries
had gone back on the agreements that were made at these regional
meetings and were no longer agreeing to previously agreed language
and were slowing down negotiations.
The next speaker was the head of Civil society for UN Women. the
negotiations on Wednesday went from 11 am to 12:45 am with brief meal breaks.
10 paragraphs were discussed and 60 are left. The Executive Director of
UN Women attended as did the Ministers of South Africa and Egypt which
helped to speed things up a bit. She described the vice chair as "heroic"
in her strong desire to move ahead. However "the crucial issue now is
time".
Immediately after the briefing we held a North America/Europe caucus
meeting. We discussed the upcoming meetings on women's issues. One member
brought up the legalities of some member states not following treaties
which they have signed and a discussion ensued on whether the caucus
could do anything about this. Finally it was decided to work on the
Agreed Conclusions by working with our missions and negotiators and
supporting them in any way we can. At the end of the meeting I was
honoured to be asked to consider becoming a co-coordinator of the caucus.
I asked for time to consider this.
At 4:00pm the core group of the SI (Soroptimist International) met in a
hotel room to have an opportunity to visit socially and to discuss the
latest reports from the negotiations. I met some pretty awesome women in
that group and I really enjoyed working with them.
At 6 pm we had an Ecumenical Women debrief at the Episcopal Church
centre. We watched the webinar of Christine Mangale delivering an verbal
"intervention" to the Commission as well as a young woman from the Working Group on Girls speaking. We discussed the lastest release from the
Commission. The day ended with packing because I am going home tomorrow
so that I can go to my daughter's surprise birthday party.
Blessings Judy
Wednesday 26 March 2014
Wednesday 19 March 2014
St Patrick's Day at UNCSW58 According to Judy
St Patrick's Day is a big deal in New York City. A huge, and I mean huge,
parade, everyone in green, green beer etc etc. I managed to stay clear
of the celebrations as getting about was apparently difficult.
It has turned cold again here, warmer than Fenelon but below zero degrees celsius in the morning. I was late to chapel this morning because I could not stop coughing for a bit; got there about 15 minutes late. The Anglican Consultative Council did worship today and the preacher from Africa I think, did a wonderful job talking about maternal child health and MDG (Millennium Development Goal) number 3. My roomie, Caitlin did the prayers of the people and I discovered that she has a wonderful singing voice.
The briefing from the UN this morning was attended again by the Chair of the Commission who spoke at length about procedure. There were no negotiations today, instead the Commission received oral statements from NGOs and negotiated behind closed doors. Another member of the Commission also spoke briefly. This is new to me - usually the briefings are done by UN Women and/or the NGO/CSW NY. This Commission is trying very hard to be more open.
Following the briefing I met with some Soroptimists for a while and then went back to my room for a tea before I headed out to once again make the trek to meet the Canadian negotiators in the UN building - about a 1/2 hour walk for slow, old me. Suzanne was the government rep today and her news was some good and some bad. The good is that a new compilation text is due out today. The bad is that there are some "coalitions:" in the negotiations who are trying to hold a hard line against previously accepted language. The Commission operates on consensus rather than majority and so even one dissenting vote can stop the conclusions.The contentious wording falls in the areas of "family", "gender", "sexual and reproductive rights and education",
"sovereignty" mostly. Some of this language was accepted back in 1949 and some just last year, but there are strong feelings around these subjects.
At about 3pm the new text came out - only 28 pages this time with 2 paragraphs already accepted (only).
Frantically, groups called meetings to review the text because tomorrow is the beginning of the final round of negotiations and it is harder to influence the negotiations from outside the rooms and almost none of us get to go inside. Soroptimists met upstairs in my hotel and other groups too.
At 6:15 there was a North America/Europe caucus meeting that went on for 2 hours.
More tomorrow
Blessings Judy
It has turned cold again here, warmer than Fenelon but below zero degrees celsius in the morning. I was late to chapel this morning because I could not stop coughing for a bit; got there about 15 minutes late. The Anglican Consultative Council did worship today and the preacher from Africa I think, did a wonderful job talking about maternal child health and MDG (Millennium Development Goal) number 3. My roomie, Caitlin did the prayers of the people and I discovered that she has a wonderful singing voice.
The briefing from the UN this morning was attended again by the Chair of the Commission who spoke at length about procedure. There were no negotiations today, instead the Commission received oral statements from NGOs and negotiated behind closed doors. Another member of the Commission also spoke briefly. This is new to me - usually the briefings are done by UN Women and/or the NGO/CSW NY. This Commission is trying very hard to be more open.
Following the briefing I met with some Soroptimists for a while and then went back to my room for a tea before I headed out to once again make the trek to meet the Canadian negotiators in the UN building - about a 1/2 hour walk for slow, old me. Suzanne was the government rep today and her news was some good and some bad. The good is that a new compilation text is due out today. The bad is that there are some "coalitions:" in the negotiations who are trying to hold a hard line against previously accepted language. The Commission operates on consensus rather than majority and so even one dissenting vote can stop the conclusions.The contentious wording falls in the areas of "family", "gender", "sexual and reproductive rights and education",
"sovereignty" mostly. Some of this language was accepted back in 1949 and some just last year, but there are strong feelings around these subjects.
At about 3pm the new text came out - only 28 pages this time with 2 paragraphs already accepted (only).
Frantically, groups called meetings to review the text because tomorrow is the beginning of the final round of negotiations and it is harder to influence the negotiations from outside the rooms and almost none of us get to go inside. Soroptimists met upstairs in my hotel and other groups too.
At 6:15 there was a North America/Europe caucus meeting that went on for 2 hours.
More tomorrow
Blessings Judy
What is it like at CSW?
A lasting impression of attending the Commission on the Status of Women (SW) meetings for the first time is of tears...... lots of tears... pouring freely down my cheeks...
Tears of gratitude to be able to participate in something I had dreamed of for years. Tears of sadness at the stories and statistics of women's plight around the world one heard in every meeting and conversation Tears of wonder at the thousands of people from all parts of the globe that cared, that came, that advocated, that dared to believe it could be different, that knew that while some progress had been made there was still a long way to go and were committed to go the distance.
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| Anglican delegates to UNCSW58 from around the world. |
Other highlights include:
* sitting in a small group discussion with a dear woman from Pakistan (who she knew "Mother Alice"); a woman from the south of Italy and a woman from Madagascar and discovering that, while there were many differences to our lives and work we shared a desire to learn from each other and take something tangible back to the women we represented.
* singing with Phumzile and hearing her share her heart
* worship times with women of so many nationalities and denominations
* attending the Europe and North America caucus meeting at the UN
* learning how intentionally the YWCA develops young women leaders
And perhaps, most powerfully, watching the democratic practice at its best as woman after woman used her voice to advocate for the girls and women she came to represent in the NA/Europe caucus meeting. Everyone was invited to speak into the document that would help craft the CSW58 Agreed Conclusions. As person after person came to the microphone and respectfully yet with conviction shared their suggestions I was struck by how amazing it was that thousands and thousands of words, about hundreds and hundreds of concerns, representing millions and millions of real people's lives were being systematically gathered in what must be one of the most beautiful manifestations of the heart of God for the oppressed being lived out in human form, on a global scale, from people of all backgrounds, that I have ever seen.
-Ellen Duffield
Delegate from the Diocese of Algoma
Monday 17 March 2014
Girls' Statement to the 58th Commission on the Status of Women
As mentioned in previous posts, this year we have three teenaged delegates from the Anglican Church of Canada who join other youth from around the world in the Working Group of Girls.
During CSW 58, girl delegates drafted their statement to the Commission on the Status of Women on how the Millennium Development Goals impact girls’ lives around the globe. The statement will be read on the floor of the UN during Week 2 of CSW 58.
Here is the full-text copy of the Girls Statement:
The Millennium Development Goals attempted to achieve gender equality, however, they failed to include a comprehensive goal towards the empowerment of girls and are all too far from being achieved. Therefore, post-2015 the UN must re-evaluate methods for undertaking gender equality.
We, the girls of the 58th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, demand that in the next development agenda the UN incorporate girls into every aspect of the agenda – politically, socially and economically. A stand-alone goal for girls requires sufficient consideration as well as a dedicated effort that includes realistic and achievable targets and indicators to ensure success. Three key areas that must be put into action are education, poverty and violence. We believe that these issues along with the consistent inclusion of girls will lead to girls’ empowerment and an ultimate worldwide respect for the girl child.
The focus of the second Millennium Development Goal was to improve access to primary education, but this target is not sufficient, nor comprehensive. A quality education is not solely based on what is learned in a primary school; it is in secondary and tertiary education where the focus must be now. This does not just mean learning within the classroom but also creating additional enrichment opportunities that allow for global learning communities. How are girls expected to succeed with only basic literacy and math skills? Globally, 1 in 5 girls don’t make it to secondary school. All across the world girls are falling into the learning gaps due to minimal resources and gender-biased learning environments. Schools should not just teach a basic curriculum but also real life lessons and issues such as respect, tolerance, human rights and health. A supportive and stimulating education taught by passionate teachers should build the confidence of girls as well as offering sports, theater, and other extra curricula – where girls can discover their voices and passions. Girls should be encouraged to pursue any subject of interest in order to eliminate stereotypes and achieve equality.
But it cannot stop here. Far too many girls today live in poverty and are hungry across the world. The causes of poverty and hunger include lack of resources, climate change and an imbalance of gender in the workforce. Achieving gender equality can assist in ending hunger and poverty. Education is only half of the equation – after receiving an education females need to have the same opportunities as males to enter the workplace and put their skills to use. When we have equality in the workplace, every girl and thus, every woman has the opportunity to provide for themselves and for their family, putting the world one step closer to eradicating poverty and hunger.
Globally, girls are united by the same fear – the fear of gender-based violence in one form or another. The so-called “superiority” of males is seen in all parts of society and it hinders girls’ empowerment on a global scale. There has not been enough effort to address gender-based violence in the MDGs. Whether it is domestic violence, sexual violence, FGM, honor killings, human trafficking, verbal and emotional abuse, or partner abuse — girls should not have to be afraid. From a young age, girls are told to alter their appearance, so that they are not exploited. But it is not our fault – victim shaming happens all too often. Many people are not educated on the meaning of violence and need to be educated about what this really means – especially the boys and men of today. We, as girls, believe that our bodies should never be violated and there needs to be more advocacy about gender-based violence because once a girl is abused her life is changed forever. No one can understand this feeling of violation until they have been through it – and that is why it is so important that we as girls speak out against violence. By speaking out, we help protect ourselves, and the global girls of the future. We want to live in a world where girls are united, not by fear – but by a sense of safety, pride and peace.
We believe that in the next Development Agenda being a girl should be not an impediment but an empowerment.
During CSW 58, girl delegates drafted their statement to the Commission on the Status of Women on how the Millennium Development Goals impact girls’ lives around the globe. The statement will be read on the floor of the UN during Week 2 of CSW 58.
Here is the full-text copy of the Girls Statement:
The Millennium Development Goals attempted to achieve gender equality, however, they failed to include a comprehensive goal towards the empowerment of girls and are all too far from being achieved. Therefore, post-2015 the UN must re-evaluate methods for undertaking gender equality.
We, the girls of the 58th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, demand that in the next development agenda the UN incorporate girls into every aspect of the agenda – politically, socially and economically. A stand-alone goal for girls requires sufficient consideration as well as a dedicated effort that includes realistic and achievable targets and indicators to ensure success. Three key areas that must be put into action are education, poverty and violence. We believe that these issues along with the consistent inclusion of girls will lead to girls’ empowerment and an ultimate worldwide respect for the girl child.
The focus of the second Millennium Development Goal was to improve access to primary education, but this target is not sufficient, nor comprehensive. A quality education is not solely based on what is learned in a primary school; it is in secondary and tertiary education where the focus must be now. This does not just mean learning within the classroom but also creating additional enrichment opportunities that allow for global learning communities. How are girls expected to succeed with only basic literacy and math skills? Globally, 1 in 5 girls don’t make it to secondary school. All across the world girls are falling into the learning gaps due to minimal resources and gender-biased learning environments. Schools should not just teach a basic curriculum but also real life lessons and issues such as respect, tolerance, human rights and health. A supportive and stimulating education taught by passionate teachers should build the confidence of girls as well as offering sports, theater, and other extra curricula – where girls can discover their voices and passions. Girls should be encouraged to pursue any subject of interest in order to eliminate stereotypes and achieve equality.
But it cannot stop here. Far too many girls today live in poverty and are hungry across the world. The causes of poverty and hunger include lack of resources, climate change and an imbalance of gender in the workforce. Achieving gender equality can assist in ending hunger and poverty. Education is only half of the equation – after receiving an education females need to have the same opportunities as males to enter the workplace and put their skills to use. When we have equality in the workplace, every girl and thus, every woman has the opportunity to provide for themselves and for their family, putting the world one step closer to eradicating poverty and hunger.
Globally, girls are united by the same fear – the fear of gender-based violence in one form or another. The so-called “superiority” of males is seen in all parts of society and it hinders girls’ empowerment on a global scale. There has not been enough effort to address gender-based violence in the MDGs. Whether it is domestic violence, sexual violence, FGM, honor killings, human trafficking, verbal and emotional abuse, or partner abuse — girls should not have to be afraid. From a young age, girls are told to alter their appearance, so that they are not exploited. But it is not our fault – victim shaming happens all too often. Many people are not educated on the meaning of violence and need to be educated about what this really means – especially the boys and men of today. We, as girls, believe that our bodies should never be violated and there needs to be more advocacy about gender-based violence because once a girl is abused her life is changed forever. No one can understand this feeling of violation until they have been through it – and that is why it is so important that we as girls speak out against violence. By speaking out, we help protect ourselves, and the global girls of the future. We want to live in a world where girls are united, not by fear – but by a sense of safety, pride and peace.
We believe that in the next Development Agenda being a girl should be not an impediment but an empowerment.
More from Updates Judy
Day Seven
Friday....where has the time gone?
This cold has interfered with what I had planned to do here in New York but I am still doing some exciting things.
Today started, as always,with chapel. There was no briefing today because the second floor space has been turned into a market. Woman from many countries have brought hand made items from their homeland to sell. There is everything from area rugs to earrings. This year I managed not to but anything. Pakistan has its usual wonderful dresses, pashminas and clergy stoles. There were hand sewn dolls and books for children table runners, lots of varieties of jewelery etc.
At 9:30 I returned to my room to arrange it for a meeting and we held an advocacy meeting here working on our view of the outcome document and any changes that we would like to see. One person was nodding off during the meeting showing how exhausted people are after the first week. My roommate actually returned during the meeting and went soundly to sleep on her bed for the rest of the meeting. We did not get to the end of the document but we did make progress.
Lunch and a nap. Later I held some discussions about the document and at 4:15 I walked up to a pub to meet the SIA President Cheri Fleming.
At 6:30 the North America /Europe Caucus met and that was kind of exciting.We were reviewing the document and a ":discussion" broke out I think on the inclusion of "prostitution" vs sex trade. I stood up and said that if we are unable to reach consensus at our level then how do we expect the Commission to reach consensus. There was a lot of emotion in the room as several of the attendees are survivors of sexual exploitation and abuse. Canada was slammed regarding the disappearing aboriginal women especially in BC.
During the caucus I also spoke about the mission visit with Canada and with the US mission.
The meeting went well beyond the allotted time but some agreement was reached and we are circulating our recommendations.
At the meeting we also heard that the Muslim countries and some of the African countries have issued and ultimatum of sorts which would remove previously agreed upon language but we urged our negotiators to continue on with our support to work towards a progressive document.
The meeting ended after 8 so Alice and I returned to our room and ate our left overs.
So endeth the first week.
Blessings Judy
Day Eight
Wonderful....none of us needed to set an alarm, I forgot to mention that Caitlin moved into our room yesterday so now we are 3. She is the youngster at 29 while Alice and I are the old fogies.
However I went to bed at 11:15 Fri night so I was awake at 8 anyway. Today is take it easy day and my only "job" is to try to put our suggestions into the document. Well, I discovered that I am not as good at computers as I thought because I could not figure out how to do track changes. After two hours of trying and then a bite to eat I gave up around noon and went to sleep
After a blessed 2 hour sleep I showered etc because our honourary Canadian (from Long Island ) is coming and we are all going out for dinner when Ross, her husband, arrived. Joan had a 15 minute nap and we visited. Ross had been running and arrived about 6pm and we headed to the "Mint" and wonderful Indian food restaurant where we ate Lamb, Chicken, nan bread. rice, some kind of vegetables and yogurt with Tiramisu and cheese cake for dessert. Great food and great company makes for a wonderful evening. By the time we got back it was after 10pm, so we were not long getting ready for bed. A relatively quiet day in New York City.
Blessings Judy
Day Nine
The three of us had breakfast together this morning and then the other two headed out to church and I returned to the room to work on the response to the outcome document with which I have been having great difficulty. I worked until nearly 1:00 and then went to bed for a quick nap. Alice called at 2 and we agreed to meet at the Cathedral of St John the Divine at 3 pm, The cathedral is one of the largest buildings in the city meaning that it has a vast amount of open space in the church itself. Early in March they opened an exhibit of 2 sculptures called the phoenix. The work was designed and implemented by a Xu Bing in China as a work to join 2 new large buildings there. He made the sculptures from materials discarded when the buildings were being built. They are 2 gigantic birds which are suspended above the nave of the Cathedral. I got some good pictures but I am not sure how to attach them.
We taxied back and I prepared for the meeting of the "core group" of Soroptimist International. In the meeting we discussed process going forth into the second week as well as started the groundwork for planning CSW59 next march. It was a productive meeting with lots of good ideas flowing.
Alice went to the deli and got us some food and we sat and ate together. I have gotten to know her a lot better this year. She is a wonderful role model.
I tried to work on the outcome document some more but only made a small amount of progress.
Tomorrow the Anglicans are doing chapel so I'd better be on time. Tomorrow marks the beginning of our second week. It will be somewhat less frantic but with more pressure on lobbying and negotiating.
Wish us luck... not really luck but think of us.
Blessings Judy
Friday....where has the time gone?
This cold has interfered with what I had planned to do here in New York but I am still doing some exciting things.
Today started, as always,with chapel. There was no briefing today because the second floor space has been turned into a market. Woman from many countries have brought hand made items from their homeland to sell. There is everything from area rugs to earrings. This year I managed not to but anything. Pakistan has its usual wonderful dresses, pashminas and clergy stoles. There were hand sewn dolls and books for children table runners, lots of varieties of jewelery etc.
At 9:30 I returned to my room to arrange it for a meeting and we held an advocacy meeting here working on our view of the outcome document and any changes that we would like to see. One person was nodding off during the meeting showing how exhausted people are after the first week. My roommate actually returned during the meeting and went soundly to sleep on her bed for the rest of the meeting. We did not get to the end of the document but we did make progress.
Lunch and a nap. Later I held some discussions about the document and at 4:15 I walked up to a pub to meet the SIA President Cheri Fleming.
At 6:30 the North America /Europe Caucus met and that was kind of exciting.We were reviewing the document and a ":discussion" broke out I think on the inclusion of "prostitution" vs sex trade. I stood up and said that if we are unable to reach consensus at our level then how do we expect the Commission to reach consensus. There was a lot of emotion in the room as several of the attendees are survivors of sexual exploitation and abuse. Canada was slammed regarding the disappearing aboriginal women especially in BC.
During the caucus I also spoke about the mission visit with Canada and with the US mission.
The meeting went well beyond the allotted time but some agreement was reached and we are circulating our recommendations.
At the meeting we also heard that the Muslim countries and some of the African countries have issued and ultimatum of sorts which would remove previously agreed upon language but we urged our negotiators to continue on with our support to work towards a progressive document.
The meeting ended after 8 so Alice and I returned to our room and ate our left overs.
So endeth the first week.
Blessings Judy
Day Eight
Wonderful....none of us needed to set an alarm, I forgot to mention that Caitlin moved into our room yesterday so now we are 3. She is the youngster at 29 while Alice and I are the old fogies.
However I went to bed at 11:15 Fri night so I was awake at 8 anyway. Today is take it easy day and my only "job" is to try to put our suggestions into the document. Well, I discovered that I am not as good at computers as I thought because I could not figure out how to do track changes. After two hours of trying and then a bite to eat I gave up around noon and went to sleep
After a blessed 2 hour sleep I showered etc because our honourary Canadian (from Long Island ) is coming and we are all going out for dinner when Ross, her husband, arrived. Joan had a 15 minute nap and we visited. Ross had been running and arrived about 6pm and we headed to the "Mint" and wonderful Indian food restaurant where we ate Lamb, Chicken, nan bread. rice, some kind of vegetables and yogurt with Tiramisu and cheese cake for dessert. Great food and great company makes for a wonderful evening. By the time we got back it was after 10pm, so we were not long getting ready for bed. A relatively quiet day in New York City.
Blessings Judy
Day Nine
The three of us had breakfast together this morning and then the other two headed out to church and I returned to the room to work on the response to the outcome document with which I have been having great difficulty. I worked until nearly 1:00 and then went to bed for a quick nap. Alice called at 2 and we agreed to meet at the Cathedral of St John the Divine at 3 pm, The cathedral is one of the largest buildings in the city meaning that it has a vast amount of open space in the church itself. Early in March they opened an exhibit of 2 sculptures called the phoenix. The work was designed and implemented by a Xu Bing in China as a work to join 2 new large buildings there. He made the sculptures from materials discarded when the buildings were being built. They are 2 gigantic birds which are suspended above the nave of the Cathedral. I got some good pictures but I am not sure how to attach them.
We taxied back and I prepared for the meeting of the "core group" of Soroptimist International. In the meeting we discussed process going forth into the second week as well as started the groundwork for planning CSW59 next march. It was a productive meeting with lots of good ideas flowing.
Alice went to the deli and got us some food and we sat and ate together. I have gotten to know her a lot better this year. She is a wonderful role model.
I tried to work on the outcome document some more but only made a small amount of progress.
Tomorrow the Anglicans are doing chapel so I'd better be on time. Tomorrow marks the beginning of our second week. It will be somewhat less frantic but with more pressure on lobbying and negotiating.
Wish us luck... not really luck but think of us.
Blessings Judy
A Note from Alice
Alice at UNCSW58 Sat March 15.
I attended the parallel event “Perspectives
on Technology, Safety, and Violence Against Women and Girls”, conducted by the
Director of National Network to End Domestic Violence, US. (NNEDV)
She works closely with the
creators of Facebook and is an expert in internet technology. I learned about Spyware which can be loaded
onto anyone’s computer or handheld device without the owner knowing. For example, if an estranged husband has been
ordered to stay away from his children the following can happen: the mother can have an APP downloaded onto
her cell phone whereby she can track her children’s whereabouts. The husband can download a spying APP onto
her phone without her knowing, read all emails and texts, listen in to all
conversations, search her device’s calendar, etc, and then leave her a message
saying “I know what you are doing today.” .....and you can imagine the rest....
There are no secrets on the internet if someone wants to
know.
NNEDV trains police officers, lawyers, judges, politicians
when invited to do so. This programme
has affiliates in Australia, United Kingdom and elsewhere. It has done work in Canada.
For more information see the website www.nnedv.org
Youth Transforming the Unjust Structures of Society for Women and Girls
For two weeks each year around International Women’s Day on March 8th, thousands of delegates from governments and civil society gather at the United Nations in New York City for the annual Commission on the Status of Women. As part of civil society, faith based organizations such as the Anglican Church send delegates to participate in the Commission. This year, the International Anglican Women’s Network in Canada will be represented by Evie Byrne, a member of St Mary’s Kerrisdale, in the Diocese of New Westminster, at the 58th Commission on the Status of Women. Evie will be one of three teenagers who will join the thirteen person delegation from IAWN Canada.
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| Canadian youth delegates with Katharine Jefferts Schori and their chaparone. |
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| Youth leading prayer in the Opening Eucharist |
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| Praying for the women of the world with Ecumenical Women |
But the work of the delegates is not limited to the two
weeks of the Commission. There is a great deal of preparation before anyone
even arrives in New York. They must prepare reports on what contributions they
hope to make to the Commission and how the priority theme connects to their own
life and experience. In her letter to IAWN Canada, Evie spoke about how gender
inequality in her school has affected her: “I play rugby as a school sport and
with a community team in the summer…men and women play with the same rules and
regulations. Rugby empowers women as it
proves men and women can achieve the same goals and participate in the same
activities…The Vancouver School Board does not yet promote or support rugby as
a sport for girls. It is taught in gym
class for boys,…but it is not taught in gym class for girls. Even at a community sport level, women’s
rugby teams who play internationally have to pay their expenses, with little
support from the Rugby Union of Canada, or sponsors…” Evie cited this as one of
several examples of how the school environment treats people unfairly according
to their gender identity or expression.In addition to these reports, prior to their trip, delegates from Canada, must find ways to cover the cost of their trip to UNCSW which for someone traveling from Vancouver can reach $2500 for just one week in New York. This can be especially challenging since in Canada, there is no national source of funding to support delegates participating in UNCSW and in most Dioceses there is no money earmarked for this purpose and so funding is dependent on what is available in discretionary funds. Since being able to find one’s own funding is actually a condition of being chosen as a delegate, this places participation in UNCSW outside of the financial reach of many people, for example youth and young adults.
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| Evie and other youth set up for her fundraising lunch. |
Evie, along with Caitlin Reilley Beck, Youth and Family Worker at St Philip’s, Dunbar in Vancouver, and this year’s official Primate’s delegate to UNCSW, will share their experiences from New York at an event supported by their Diocesan chapter of the International Anglican Women’s Network, presently coordinated by the Ven. Ellen Clark-King sometime later in the spring.
Friday 14 March 2014
More updates from Judy's week
Day Five
I apologize for not posting last night but this cold is slowing me down some.
Yesterday (Tues) began with Chapel done by the young people and it was awesome. There was singing, clapping, dancing etc. as well as thought provoking scripture. The centre of all our worship services is a door, just a door and frame, sitting in the altar space, sometimes open and sometimes shut.
There was a briefing by the Commission to NGOs at 8:45 and something unheard of until now happened. The Chair of the Commission actually attended the briefing and presented "us" with a hard copy of compilation draft #2. Usually we are scrambling to get a copy of the compilation text and he just handed it to us. I already had an electronic copy about 10 pm Mon evening but what he did changes the tone of the event into a very cooperative atmosphere - it is not "them" in the closed chamber and "us" outside the building trying to figure out what is going on.
After the briefing I journeyed to second Ave. to the Episcopal Church Centre to hear Leymah Gbowee speak. She is one of the two Liberian women who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year and she is an amazing speaker. I thought that I had recorded her speech on my phone but I cannot find it so maybe it did not work. Two quotes from her talk are "Let us do what we profess" and "Good work is bright light and it attracts lots of shadows".
After a quick lunch I headed off to "meet the Canadians" which means meeting the Canadian negotiating team in the UN building itself. They are very good about meeting whoever shows up every day at 1 pm.
However it is a big hike and I guess all the exercise I worked on during the winter is no where near enough. They have moved the entrance to the UN buildings from 45th street to 47th street. So I set out at 12:30 to head over from 44th to 47th, through the entrance and security, through the building to the outside and back to the other building and then all the way across that building, near 42nd. The meeting was good and we heard about the current negotiations as well as a couple of seminars which the Canadians were pushing. I was fortunate enough to negotiate an exit onto 42nd street so that I only had to walk back to 44th street to go to my room and have a nap.
As chair of the advocacy committee, I chaired the "debrief" Tues. At the debrief as many as can, meet and talk about our day and what is happening tomorrow. We meet at 6 pm at the Episcopal Center. I think that it went well.
After the debrief, the Canadian Anglicans had dinner together at "Patsy's" an Italian restaurant. We are not often together all in one place so this was fun. Ellen's husband Tim and daughter joined us as did honorary Canadians Joan and Ross Fraser and Lynnaia Main. Good food and a fun time; delicious calamari.
At dinner I asked everyone to write down the one thing that he or she felt that a Canadian Anglican should say to the Canadian Ambassador. An interestingly diverse set of answers.
We did not get back until about 10 pm so I did my email and played a few games and crashed.
Productive day. Wish I was not so tired.
Blessings Judy
Day Six
As usual Chapel starts at 8 am. We had breakfast in our room this morning from oatmeal I brought .
There is a room on the end of our floor where you can get a complementary breakfast but it is not especially nutritious - cold cereal, pastries, yogurt, and some fruit. Sometimes I go and have yogurt and fruit.They have bread or bagels but their peanut butter is old and dried up.
The hotel is extremely dry and today I scored a humidifier. This is great because the design of the shower does not put steam in the room. By the way - have you ever seen a square toilet? We have square toilets throughout the renovated part of the hotel. Our room looks south I think and our view is the Chrysler building and the Empire State Building.
After Chapel and briefing, the advocacy committee met to start looking at the compilation draft. We met for an hour and then agreed to work on a section each and report back to me.
I returned to my room to have lunch and worked on a draft statement for our meeting at the Canadian Mission tomorrow. I fell asleep around 2 and woke up at 4:30. So much for seminars today. Finished draft one and headed out for a planned "Advocacy" dinner. About 80 people having dinner at the Church Centre, pasta, salad, chicken and grilled vegetables. A nice meal and an opportunity to catch up with some Canadians and some old friends also.
Now I am back in my room and the draft is circulating. For the first time since I got here the TV is on and I will quit working now.
I hear that it may snow here tomorrow. I hope not. It was 55 yesterday and about 45 today.
Blessings Judy
Day Seven
I cannot believe that I have been here 7 days. The time goes by so quickly. We are so busy that you do not realize the time.
Today was blessed. Started with Chapel as usual. Then I went up to the briefing. The tone continues to be very positive and open which is wonderful, and the room was full. Next week there will be less people as many cannot stay for the 2 weeks.
This morning I returned to the Episcopal Centre to hear Lakshmi Puri speak. She is part of UN Women and spoke for nearly an hour. She talked about the Millennium Development Goals and the future beyond 2015 when new goals possibly called Sustainable Development Goals will come into being.
Back to my room to put the finishing touches on our visit to the Canadian Mission this afternoon. I arranged this visit and all of the Canadian Anglicans got a private audience with the Ambassador for 1 hour. He spent some time explaining how things work at the Mission and who works there. We had a prepared statement which he had read before we arrived. I had asked the youth to prepare a 4 or 5 minute presentation as part of our time and they did an awesome job. They talked about access to post secondary education, missing Indigenous women, difficulties for the LGBT community and the problems of stress and other mental health issues in young people.
Our paper talked about poverty and hunger, access to resources and services, access to education, employment and decision making positions and the need to look at violence in a non-gender way ie: violence against a person instead of violence toward women and the need to involve men and boys as well as women and girls in the solution. We had examples from our own experiences to illustrate our points.
We left the Mission quickly because Ecumenical Women were scheduled to have a private audience with the American Mission at 4:30 and we barely had time to get there. This was an excellent meeting and I thanked the mission personnel for their openness and willingness to come to us for this meeting.The meeting lasted nearly 1 1/2 hours.
Immediately after the briefing we held the Ecumenical women debrief which I also chaired. This one was a bit faster because there have been no new drafts of the concluding document and everyone seemed very tired. Alice and I got take out from the Olympia and came back to our room and had a leisurely dinner in our pyjamas and just chatted. Most enjoyable. (I had a craving for meat loaf).
It was cold in New York today and windy, I had to dig out my toque. It will be sunny and warmer tomorrow.
Some of our group left yesterday - I hear they had to stay in Toronto before returning to Muskoka today. More will leave tomorrow. We will miss you all. Caitlin, who has been bunking with her mother til now, will move into our room tomorrow for the next week. Two old fogies and 1 young one.
More tomorrow, Stay warm and safe
Blessings Judy
I apologize for not posting last night but this cold is slowing me down some.
Yesterday (Tues) began with Chapel done by the young people and it was awesome. There was singing, clapping, dancing etc. as well as thought provoking scripture. The centre of all our worship services is a door, just a door and frame, sitting in the altar space, sometimes open and sometimes shut.
There was a briefing by the Commission to NGOs at 8:45 and something unheard of until now happened. The Chair of the Commission actually attended the briefing and presented "us" with a hard copy of compilation draft #2. Usually we are scrambling to get a copy of the compilation text and he just handed it to us. I already had an electronic copy about 10 pm Mon evening but what he did changes the tone of the event into a very cooperative atmosphere - it is not "them" in the closed chamber and "us" outside the building trying to figure out what is going on.
After the briefing I journeyed to second Ave. to the Episcopal Church Centre to hear Leymah Gbowee speak. She is one of the two Liberian women who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year and she is an amazing speaker. I thought that I had recorded her speech on my phone but I cannot find it so maybe it did not work. Two quotes from her talk are "Let us do what we profess" and "Good work is bright light and it attracts lots of shadows".
After a quick lunch I headed off to "meet the Canadians" which means meeting the Canadian negotiating team in the UN building itself. They are very good about meeting whoever shows up every day at 1 pm.
However it is a big hike and I guess all the exercise I worked on during the winter is no where near enough. They have moved the entrance to the UN buildings from 45th street to 47th street. So I set out at 12:30 to head over from 44th to 47th, through the entrance and security, through the building to the outside and back to the other building and then all the way across that building, near 42nd. The meeting was good and we heard about the current negotiations as well as a couple of seminars which the Canadians were pushing. I was fortunate enough to negotiate an exit onto 42nd street so that I only had to walk back to 44th street to go to my room and have a nap.
As chair of the advocacy committee, I chaired the "debrief" Tues. At the debrief as many as can, meet and talk about our day and what is happening tomorrow. We meet at 6 pm at the Episcopal Center. I think that it went well.
After the debrief, the Canadian Anglicans had dinner together at "Patsy's" an Italian restaurant. We are not often together all in one place so this was fun. Ellen's husband Tim and daughter joined us as did honorary Canadians Joan and Ross Fraser and Lynnaia Main. Good food and a fun time; delicious calamari.
At dinner I asked everyone to write down the one thing that he or she felt that a Canadian Anglican should say to the Canadian Ambassador. An interestingly diverse set of answers.
We did not get back until about 10 pm so I did my email and played a few games and crashed.
Productive day. Wish I was not so tired.
Blessings Judy
Day Six
As usual Chapel starts at 8 am. We had breakfast in our room this morning from oatmeal I brought .
There is a room on the end of our floor where you can get a complementary breakfast but it is not especially nutritious - cold cereal, pastries, yogurt, and some fruit. Sometimes I go and have yogurt and fruit.They have bread or bagels but their peanut butter is old and dried up.
The hotel is extremely dry and today I scored a humidifier. This is great because the design of the shower does not put steam in the room. By the way - have you ever seen a square toilet? We have square toilets throughout the renovated part of the hotel. Our room looks south I think and our view is the Chrysler building and the Empire State Building.
After Chapel and briefing, the advocacy committee met to start looking at the compilation draft. We met for an hour and then agreed to work on a section each and report back to me.
I returned to my room to have lunch and worked on a draft statement for our meeting at the Canadian Mission tomorrow. I fell asleep around 2 and woke up at 4:30. So much for seminars today. Finished draft one and headed out for a planned "Advocacy" dinner. About 80 people having dinner at the Church Centre, pasta, salad, chicken and grilled vegetables. A nice meal and an opportunity to catch up with some Canadians and some old friends also.
Now I am back in my room and the draft is circulating. For the first time since I got here the TV is on and I will quit working now.
I hear that it may snow here tomorrow. I hope not. It was 55 yesterday and about 45 today.
Blessings Judy
Day Seven
I cannot believe that I have been here 7 days. The time goes by so quickly. We are so busy that you do not realize the time.
Today was blessed. Started with Chapel as usual. Then I went up to the briefing. The tone continues to be very positive and open which is wonderful, and the room was full. Next week there will be less people as many cannot stay for the 2 weeks.
This morning I returned to the Episcopal Centre to hear Lakshmi Puri speak. She is part of UN Women and spoke for nearly an hour. She talked about the Millennium Development Goals and the future beyond 2015 when new goals possibly called Sustainable Development Goals will come into being.
Back to my room to put the finishing touches on our visit to the Canadian Mission this afternoon. I arranged this visit and all of the Canadian Anglicans got a private audience with the Ambassador for 1 hour. He spent some time explaining how things work at the Mission and who works there. We had a prepared statement which he had read before we arrived. I had asked the youth to prepare a 4 or 5 minute presentation as part of our time and they did an awesome job. They talked about access to post secondary education, missing Indigenous women, difficulties for the LGBT community and the problems of stress and other mental health issues in young people.
Our paper talked about poverty and hunger, access to resources and services, access to education, employment and decision making positions and the need to look at violence in a non-gender way ie: violence against a person instead of violence toward women and the need to involve men and boys as well as women and girls in the solution. We had examples from our own experiences to illustrate our points.
We left the Mission quickly because Ecumenical Women were scheduled to have a private audience with the American Mission at 4:30 and we barely had time to get there. This was an excellent meeting and I thanked the mission personnel for their openness and willingness to come to us for this meeting.The meeting lasted nearly 1 1/2 hours.
Immediately after the briefing we held the Ecumenical women debrief which I also chaired. This one was a bit faster because there have been no new drafts of the concluding document and everyone seemed very tired. Alice and I got take out from the Olympia and came back to our room and had a leisurely dinner in our pyjamas and just chatted. Most enjoyable. (I had a craving for meat loaf).
It was cold in New York today and windy, I had to dig out my toque. It will be sunny and warmer tomorrow.
Some of our group left yesterday - I hear they had to stay in Toronto before returning to Muskoka today. More will leave tomorrow. We will miss you all. Caitlin, who has been bunking with her mother til now, will move into our room tomorrow for the next week. Two old fogies and 1 young one.
More tomorrow, Stay warm and safe
Blessings Judy
Judy's Notes on Phumzile's Opening Remarks for CSW58
In her opening speech, UN Women
Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka highlighted the following:
· In this CSW we also we kick-off
a year-long mobilization for the 20th anniversary and review of the landmark
Beijing Platform for Action. From May
2014 and over a 12-month period into 2015, we will review each of the 12 focus areas that
are part of the Beijing Platform, together with Member States, UN agencies and
civil society groups. This will lead to
national and regional reports culminating in a single global report on the
progress made. The report will be ready by the General Assembly of 2015 for
Heads of State. (NOTE: SI to look into contributing to national reports via UN
Women National Committees)
· The challenge of gender
equality and women’s empowerment is not just a women’s issue. This is an issue
for humanity, which cannot leave out men and boys who are half of
humanity. That is why building up to
Beijing+20, UN Women has launched the He for She campaign so that men and boys
can raise their voices, take a stand and be on the right side of history. We
urge men and boys to come out and embrace the campaign as well as take action
in their own spaces. (NOTE: SI to learn about possible partnerships in the He
for She campaign)
· She emphasised UN Women’s three
key areas for the Post-2015 Agenda:
o
The first is freedom from violence for women and
girls
o
The second is equality in
capabilities – Access to
opportunities and resources. This means
recognizing, reducing and redistributing the burden of unpaid care work;
ensuring equal access to assets and resources such as education, land and
finance; equal pay and working conditions; and guaranteeing sexual and
reproductive health and rights.
o
The third area is equality in agency, voice,
participation and leadership across the full range
of decision-making arenas in public and private institutions.
Wednesday 12 March 2014
Judy's Early Days in NYC
Day One in New York
Well we are safely here in Manhattan at the Millenium UN Plaza Hotel across from the UN and the Church Centre. This afternoon we went to the UN and got our passes (thanks to the Soroptimists). We unpacked some and then we had dinner with the Primate's delegates from around the world. There are 20 of them, one Canadian, one American, several from Africa, South America, The Phillippines, Samoa, Australia and Scotland. For some it is their first time to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
Although the actual Commission does not start until Monday, tomorrow the Ecumenical Women are hosting an orientation day. We, the steering committee, must be there at 8 am and registration begins at 8:45.
There are about 150 people registered. The highlight of the day will be a presentation by the Executive Director of UN Women. There is a panel and workshops etc with Chapel in the morning and at the at 4 pm. We end with a reception with wine and snacks around 6. It should be a fun packed day.
The best news is the all my luggage arrived safely, unlike last year AND my daughter is curling in the Ontario Intermediate competition and her team is 4 wins and 1 loss. Great curling ladies.
Well I need to do some more preparation for tomorrow so I need to sign off now.
Blessings Judy
Day Two
Well today is over and I think that we did well in our presentations. In the morning the New Executive Director for UN Women spoke for about 1/2 an hour to a packed chapel. She is very inspirational and very faith based. She arrived in traditional African garb with several in her entourage and ended her presentation by urging us to sing again with enthusiasm.
As chair of the Advocacy Committee for Ecumenical Women my committee and I were responsible for much of the content of our orientation day. Morning and afternoon worship were very rousing and we ended the day marching in the Chapel to " We are marching in the light of God".
After the ED of UN Women spoke we all returned upstairs to hear a panel put together by Christine Mangale of the Lutheran delegation. There were 4 speakers on various aspects related to beyond 2015 and the accomplishments and roadblocks that have been encountered. The chief of the civil society section of UN Women, Lopa Banerjee, was on the panel and gave a great talk on the challenges of post 2015.
Then I spoke for about 1/2 hour on several procedural items and our "talking points" and how to use them. The Talking Points are on a postcard sized piece of card stock and are an abbreviated form of our original statement to the Commission. We will use the talking points when meeting with other groups in negotiating around the concluding document.
In the afternoon we split into 3 workshops.
1. Mission Visits which was a 1 hour presentation on how to arrange and prepare for a meeting with a mission. Here they do not have embassies, but rather missions by a country to the UN.
2. How does your Story fit into the Millenium Development Goals.
3. Looking at the Zero Draft of the agreed conclusions in light of our submission to the Commission in the fall and looking for gaps or overlaps in the document. Again I chaired this section and Alice and Lynnaia helped facilitate small group discussions. People did not seem to want to stop talking so I presume that the discussion was successful.
OK the clocks change tonight and I have a sore throat so it is time to quit
Until tomorrow.
Day Three
For a person who hates early mornings, this junket is a pain. Up at 7 am again and in a cab by shortly after 8 to head to East 7th street for the UN NGO Consultation Day. It is an introduction to our 2 weeks here with speakers, panels, and music. about 900 people were registered. The morning began with Umuada Igbo Massachusettes who are traditional African dancers who got our blood flowing and energized us.
We were welcomed by Soon-Young Yoon, Chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/New York. Then the new Executive Director of UN Women and Under-Secretary-General Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka gave a wonderful address.
The panel was on Cities for Sustainable Development and Women's Human Rights - How can cities ensure women's human rights in sustainable development? The speakers were excellent (but I have a bad habit of dozing in large rooms full of people when I am not the teacher....so I missed a little bit.) As I had another activity for the afternoon I left the hall at noon. I missed a panel on the "Legacy of the 1990's UN conferences" and "What do we want from Beijing Plus 20"
I returned to my hotel to attend a training for Soroptimist International on Advocacy. It was fun and educational and it was impossible to fall asleep in as they kept us very engaged. I must lend SI our Advocacy Handbook because they could use one too. We all cleared out of the suite at 6:30 and returned at 7:30 for a reception. Lasagna, sweet and sour Chicken, salads and breads followed by fruit and cookies and accompanied by wine or water (I took the water).
The other significant event today was that I got the hotel to stand by their original quote for my room. When I arrived they were charging much more than the quote. I realized that the room had been upgraded and wireless was now free and there is a complimentary breakfast but I could not see over $400 for some of the nights when my quote ranged from $150 to $271. Thank you "Michael" the manager today.
Finally I want to congratulate my youngest daughter Jennifer who has been curling in the Provincial Intermediates since Wed. She and her team skipped by Sue came second overall with a record of 5 wins and 2 losses. Job well done ladies and CONGRATULATIONS.
I'll be back tomorrow
Blessings Judy
Day Four
Well we are now officially under way, us officially we started long ago.
Chapel at 8 am was wonderful and a great way to start the day. There is no briefing today and since I am feeling a bit under the weather I returned to my room to do some emailing etc and stay quiet. At 12:30 I went to the North America/Europe (NA/EU) caucus. This is a meeting of all the NGOs (non governmental organizations) in the North America/European region. There are other caucuses from other regions. I have never attended a caucus with so many people present, it was awesome. Betty Levy chaired and the mentioned the document which was circulated about 10 days ago as a statement. I helped with the Canadian portion of the paper. Pierette from Geneva has already done a 2 page commentary on the draft agreed conclusions which she presented and the the floor was open to comments. There were comments about poverty, food, immigrants and migrant workers, faith based organizations, sexual/reproductive rights, employment, and more. I commented on the immigrants in the Lindsay jail and about the fact that transportation is not mentioned in the document.
Several informal meetings ensued and I returned to the hotel to have lunch about 2:30.
More emails trying to arrange meetings for tomorrow and a half hour nap and it was time to get ready to go to the reception at the Canadian Mission (the equivalent to an embassy but the UN is not a country). A good reception, wine beer and soda and several trays of excellent food. The Minister for the Status of women from Canada spoke, Kellie Leitch I think) and introduced several other members of the delegation. There are 3 provincial ministers, another MP, and 6 young women sponsored by YWCA. Or YMCA . There is increasing emphasis on young people which is great. We have 3 under 18 and 2 more in their 20s in our group. The world YWCA is quite prominent and I met the Canadian head at the reception. The World Wide Girl Guides are also well represented.
One of the staff recognized me immediately and we chatted and I talked with several other NGO reps.
Back at our room and more work to do and emails to answer. I want to get to bed early to avoid getting overtired and making this throat worse.
Till tomorrow then
Blessings Judy
Well we are safely here in Manhattan at the Millenium UN Plaza Hotel across from the UN and the Church Centre. This afternoon we went to the UN and got our passes (thanks to the Soroptimists). We unpacked some and then we had dinner with the Primate's delegates from around the world. There are 20 of them, one Canadian, one American, several from Africa, South America, The Phillippines, Samoa, Australia and Scotland. For some it is their first time to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
Although the actual Commission does not start until Monday, tomorrow the Ecumenical Women are hosting an orientation day. We, the steering committee, must be there at 8 am and registration begins at 8:45.
There are about 150 people registered. The highlight of the day will be a presentation by the Executive Director of UN Women. There is a panel and workshops etc with Chapel in the morning and at the at 4 pm. We end with a reception with wine and snacks around 6. It should be a fun packed day.
The best news is the all my luggage arrived safely, unlike last year AND my daughter is curling in the Ontario Intermediate competition and her team is 4 wins and 1 loss. Great curling ladies.
Well I need to do some more preparation for tomorrow so I need to sign off now.
Blessings Judy
Day Two
Well today is over and I think that we did well in our presentations. In the morning the New Executive Director for UN Women spoke for about 1/2 an hour to a packed chapel. She is very inspirational and very faith based. She arrived in traditional African garb with several in her entourage and ended her presentation by urging us to sing again with enthusiasm.
As chair of the Advocacy Committee for Ecumenical Women my committee and I were responsible for much of the content of our orientation day. Morning and afternoon worship were very rousing and we ended the day marching in the Chapel to " We are marching in the light of God".
After the ED of UN Women spoke we all returned upstairs to hear a panel put together by Christine Mangale of the Lutheran delegation. There were 4 speakers on various aspects related to beyond 2015 and the accomplishments and roadblocks that have been encountered. The chief of the civil society section of UN Women, Lopa Banerjee, was on the panel and gave a great talk on the challenges of post 2015.
Then I spoke for about 1/2 hour on several procedural items and our "talking points" and how to use them. The Talking Points are on a postcard sized piece of card stock and are an abbreviated form of our original statement to the Commission. We will use the talking points when meeting with other groups in negotiating around the concluding document.
In the afternoon we split into 3 workshops.
1. Mission Visits which was a 1 hour presentation on how to arrange and prepare for a meeting with a mission. Here they do not have embassies, but rather missions by a country to the UN.
2. How does your Story fit into the Millenium Development Goals.
3. Looking at the Zero Draft of the agreed conclusions in light of our submission to the Commission in the fall and looking for gaps or overlaps in the document. Again I chaired this section and Alice and Lynnaia helped facilitate small group discussions. People did not seem to want to stop talking so I presume that the discussion was successful.
OK the clocks change tonight and I have a sore throat so it is time to quit
Until tomorrow.
Day Three
For a person who hates early mornings, this junket is a pain. Up at 7 am again and in a cab by shortly after 8 to head to East 7th street for the UN NGO Consultation Day. It is an introduction to our 2 weeks here with speakers, panels, and music. about 900 people were registered. The morning began with Umuada Igbo Massachusettes who are traditional African dancers who got our blood flowing and energized us.
We were welcomed by Soon-Young Yoon, Chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/New York. Then the new Executive Director of UN Women and Under-Secretary-General Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka gave a wonderful address.
The panel was on Cities for Sustainable Development and Women's Human Rights - How can cities ensure women's human rights in sustainable development? The speakers were excellent (but I have a bad habit of dozing in large rooms full of people when I am not the teacher....so I missed a little bit.) As I had another activity for the afternoon I left the hall at noon. I missed a panel on the "Legacy of the 1990's UN conferences" and "What do we want from Beijing Plus 20"
I returned to my hotel to attend a training for Soroptimist International on Advocacy. It was fun and educational and it was impossible to fall asleep in as they kept us very engaged. I must lend SI our Advocacy Handbook because they could use one too. We all cleared out of the suite at 6:30 and returned at 7:30 for a reception. Lasagna, sweet and sour Chicken, salads and breads followed by fruit and cookies and accompanied by wine or water (I took the water).
The other significant event today was that I got the hotel to stand by their original quote for my room. When I arrived they were charging much more than the quote. I realized that the room had been upgraded and wireless was now free and there is a complimentary breakfast but I could not see over $400 for some of the nights when my quote ranged from $150 to $271. Thank you "Michael" the manager today.
Finally I want to congratulate my youngest daughter Jennifer who has been curling in the Provincial Intermediates since Wed. She and her team skipped by Sue came second overall with a record of 5 wins and 2 losses. Job well done ladies and CONGRATULATIONS.
I'll be back tomorrow
Blessings Judy
Day Four
Well we are now officially under way, us officially we started long ago.
Chapel at 8 am was wonderful and a great way to start the day. There is no briefing today and since I am feeling a bit under the weather I returned to my room to do some emailing etc and stay quiet. At 12:30 I went to the North America/Europe (NA/EU) caucus. This is a meeting of all the NGOs (non governmental organizations) in the North America/European region. There are other caucuses from other regions. I have never attended a caucus with so many people present, it was awesome. Betty Levy chaired and the mentioned the document which was circulated about 10 days ago as a statement. I helped with the Canadian portion of the paper. Pierette from Geneva has already done a 2 page commentary on the draft agreed conclusions which she presented and the the floor was open to comments. There were comments about poverty, food, immigrants and migrant workers, faith based organizations, sexual/reproductive rights, employment, and more. I commented on the immigrants in the Lindsay jail and about the fact that transportation is not mentioned in the document.
Several informal meetings ensued and I returned to the hotel to have lunch about 2:30.
More emails trying to arrange meetings for tomorrow and a half hour nap and it was time to get ready to go to the reception at the Canadian Mission (the equivalent to an embassy but the UN is not a country). A good reception, wine beer and soda and several trays of excellent food. The Minister for the Status of women from Canada spoke, Kellie Leitch I think) and introduced several other members of the delegation. There are 3 provincial ministers, another MP, and 6 young women sponsored by YWCA. Or YMCA . There is increasing emphasis on young people which is great. We have 3 under 18 and 2 more in their 20s in our group. The world YWCA is quite prominent and I met the Canadian head at the reception. The World Wide Girl Guides are also well represented.
One of the staff recognized me immediately and we chatted and I talked with several other NGO reps.
Back at our room and more work to do and emails to answer. I want to get to bed early to avoid getting overtired and making this throat worse.
Till tomorrow then
Blessings Judy
Judy Dickson's UN Blog
When one is given the responsibility of moderating a group's blog for a particular event such as UNCSW, the greatest challenge is finding the time to get content. Whether you choose to write it yourself, or if you chase down other members of the group to share their experiences and thoughts.
Last year, one of the most dependable contributors to our IAWN in Canada blog was Judy Dickson. This year, I like to believe inspired by the great success of this blog, Judy has decided to host her own blog. But don't worry, this doesn't mean I am going to stop posting Judy's adventures on our group blog. (I really don't want to give up such a reliable source of interesting content...so I am just going to repost things here).
If you would like to follow her adventures directly, then you should check out her blog. Of course, you can catch all the highlights from Judy's time at UNCSW58 right here on the IAWN in Canada blog.
Last year, one of the most dependable contributors to our IAWN in Canada blog was Judy Dickson. This year, I like to believe inspired by the great success of this blog, Judy has decided to host her own blog. But don't worry, this doesn't mean I am going to stop posting Judy's adventures on our group blog. (I really don't want to give up such a reliable source of interesting content...so I am just going to repost things here).
If you would like to follow her adventures directly, then you should check out her blog. Of course, you can catch all the highlights from Judy's time at UNCSW58 right here on the IAWN in Canada blog.
Monday 10 March 2014
Let's play catch up!
It is day one of UNCSW58 and I am just now getting around to writing this year's inaugural post for IAWN Canada. I will be blaming this on the jetlag that I am suffering.
Though this is my third time attending UNCSW, it was my first chance to participate in both the Ecumenical Women Orientation Day and NGO-CSW Consultation Day.
Orientation Day was wonderful, and I believe it would have been really helpful in my first year when I found the whole process of participating in the events of UNCSW fairly confusing. I hope it helps some of this year's first timers to get their feet under them before they begin the week.
Since I am on Ecumenical Women's communications team this year, I have been given the job of taking pictures at events - with someone's fancy DSLR camera. It is pretty much the most fun ever. If you'd like to see some of my pictures so far, then you should really go on facebook and like Ecumenical Women. You can then look through all our pictures there (although I will include a few pictures with posts as well).
Yesterday was the Consultation Day for non-governmental organizations, I must confess that by yesterday, with the time change and the loss of another hour of sleep, my jet lag got the better of me and I decided to skip the afternoon in order to sleep before the first day of CSW today. Nonetheless, I was glad to be able to hear Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the new Executive Director of UN Women address the group in the morning. She had spoken at the Ecumenical Women Orientation Day on Saturday as well and I have already become quite a fan of hers. We have posted a video of that first address to Ecumenical Women on our website and on our facebook page as well.
In conclusion, you should really go check out all the wonderful things that have already begun to be posted through ecumenical women, but continue to watch this space for more from the Canadian Anglican delegates to UNCSW.
-Caitlin Reilley Beck
(moderator of IAWN Canada blog)
Though this is my third time attending UNCSW, it was my first chance to participate in both the Ecumenical Women Orientation Day and NGO-CSW Consultation Day.
Orientation Day was wonderful, and I believe it would have been really helpful in my first year when I found the whole process of participating in the events of UNCSW fairly confusing. I hope it helps some of this year's first timers to get their feet under them before they begin the week.
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| Listening Intently at Ecumenical Women Orientation Day |
Since I am on Ecumenical Women's communications team this year, I have been given the job of taking pictures at events - with someone's fancy DSLR camera. It is pretty much the most fun ever. If you'd like to see some of my pictures so far, then you should really go on facebook and like Ecumenical Women. You can then look through all our pictures there (although I will include a few pictures with posts as well).
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| Phumzile Mlambo-Ncguka address NGO representatives |
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| Praying for the women of the world on International Women's Day |
In conclusion, you should really go check out all the wonderful things that have already begun to be posted through ecumenical women, but continue to watch this space for more from the Canadian Anglican delegates to UNCSW.
-Caitlin Reilley Beck
(moderator of IAWN Canada blog)
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