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 

 

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. 

  

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. 

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). 

Phumzile Mlambo-Ncguka address NGO representatives

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. 

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)

Malala Yousafzai and the International Day of the Girl Child

This Friday, October 11 is the second annual observance of the International Day of the Girl Child. This year's theme is Innovation in Girls' Education. Events celebrating girls and exploring the unique challenges that they face are happening at the UN. There are also opportunities being provided for girls themselves to gather and connect with one another on these issues as well as speak and be heard by those who do the work of the UN from various member states. 

Education activist and Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Malala Yousafzai, a 16 year old girl from Pakistan was in New York this week and appeared on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. You can watch the full interview online. If you don't like being inspired, then this video isn't for you. Only a year ago, just before the first celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child, Malala was shot by members of the Taliban because of her advocacy for girls education. This year on July 12th, her 16th birthday, the UN celebrated Malala Day where she gave her first public speech since the attack to the General Council of the UN. Her new book "I am Malala" speaks about her experiences living in Swat Valley in Pakistan and her work to promote education, especially for girls. 

Achieving universal primary education is one of the Millennium Development Goals which the UN set out to achieve by 2015. The 58th UN Commission on the Status of Women coming up in March of 2014 will review the challenges and achievements in the implementation of the MDGs for women and girls. We will be lucky to have two young people as part of our group from IAWN Canada this year. Their views and experiences will add a great deal to the conversation when we gather in New York in March. Hopefully we will soon be able to share some of these views with readers here on the blog as they prepare for their participation in this event.

I can't speak more powerfully about the importance of universal education than Malala can - so it's best to just watch the video. As someone who is lucky enough to work with and for young people in the Church, hearing Malala speak reminds me why it is important. There are many voices like Malala's that need to be heard in our faith communities. I hope to help make this a reality. Just as importantly, they need the opportunity to hear and connect with one another. So share Malala's story, it is one we all need to hear. 

Speaking of IAWN and Gender organizations in the Church

Realizing this is a little overdue, I have decided to post a list of links to IAWN information and other organizations in the Church (or adjacent to the Church that do relevant work). Check out their work and information. Also, just for good measure here are some links to our organization's facebook group too.


IAWN International Anglican Women’s Network 

Our website

Our Facebook page         

On the Anglican Communion Website 

Our brochure

Our newsletters and resources

Women’s Ministries on the internet 

 

Anglican Communion Office at the United Nations   

Anglican Church Women Canada     

Mothers’ Union Worldwide            

Mothers’ Union Canada                           

Canadian Companions of the Diocese of Jerusalem

Women’s Inter-Church Council                

Fellowship of the Least Coin            

World Day of Prayer                        

NationalCouncil of Women of Canada    

IAWN at Joint Assembly 2013 in Ottawa

It is an exciting week for IAWN and the rest of the Canadian Anglican and Lutheran Churches as delegates gather in Ottawa for our very first joint assembly. The joint assembly is combines the two biggest Church meetings for the Anglican and Lutheran Churches - the Anglican General Synod and the Lutheran General Assembly. And just like Power Rangers and Captain Planet, we combine into something truly awesome (that fights evil? Okay the comparison is breaking down a little here). In any case, many organizations connected to these Churches will be setting up displays for delegates from across the country to check out. IAWN will have their display set up and will be reporting on any interesting conversations or developments of which we happen to catch wind while hanging out at Joint Assembly.

If you want to follow what is happening at this giant Church meeting, there are so many ways to do so. You can check out their website jointassembly.ca 
 for updates and live streaming of some of the events. You can also check out what twitter using folks are saying about it - the hashtag is #jointassembly. 

Otherwise you can get our spin on things here on the IAWN blog or on our facebook page. For now, I am going to leave you all and get back to making our display accessible to those who have QR scanners on their phones. It is a fun day.

Caitlin Reilley Beck

The outcomes of CSW according to Ecumenical Women

If you have been wondering how things turned out at the UN CSW 57 this year, then I have a treat for you. Below you will find an assessment by Ecumenical Women of the agreed conclusions according to the priority areas that we highlighted for advocacy during this year's commission. Spoiler Alert: we were successful!

Now it is time for us to take these agreed conclusions and use them in our own work back home. If you have stories of how this work is going and what these agreed conclusions mean for you, please share them with us or with ecumenical women.

Also, stay tuned for more updates about next year's CSW 58 and it's priority theme "Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls." We will also be posting information about how you can attend CSW as a representative of the Anglican Church as well as information on bursaries to help you afford to go.

And now without further ado, here are the outcomes of CSW 57 as Ecumenical Women sees it:

Ecumenical Women worked to advocate around the agreed conclusions of the UN Commission on the Status of Women hosted each year through the UN Economic and Social Council.    

Ecumenical Women advocated around three broad areas during the Commission on the Status of Women and achieved success in getting supportive language around each of the three areas into the Agreed Conclusions (the final outcome of the CSW):

·     Cultural structural and economic violence are underlying factors that must be addressed

o   The Commission affirms that violence against women and girls is rooted in historical and structural inequality in power relations between women and men, and persists in every country in the world as a pervasive violation of the enjoyment of human rights…The Commission also notes the economic and social harm caused by such [gender based] violence. Para 10 and 11

o   The Commission stresses that the realization of gender equality and the empowerment of women, including women’s economic empowerment and full and equal access to resources, and their full integration into the formal economy, in particular in economic decision-making, as well as their full and equal participation in public and political life is essential for addressing the structural and underlying causes of violence against women and girls. Para 19

o   Carry out continued multidisciplinary research and analysis on the structural and underlying causes of, cost and risk factors for violence against women and girls and its types and prevalence, in order to inform the development and revision of laws and their implementation, policies and strategies, and make such information public to support awareness-raising efforts; D(mmm)

·     Education is a vital part of the change process, especially societal change. Education must incorporate men and boys alongside women and girls

o   The Commission recognizes the important role of the community, in particular men and boys, as well as civil society, in particular women’s and youth organizations, in the efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. Para 28

o   Carry out awareness-raising and education campaigns, in co-operation with civil society organizations, especially women's organizations, through different means of communication, targeting the general public, young people, men and boys, to address the structural and underlying causes of violence and abuse against women and girls; to overcome gender stereotypes and promote zero tolerance for such violence; to remove the stigma of being a victim and survivor of violence; and to create an enabling environment where women and girls can easily report incidences of violence and make use of the services available and of protection and assistance programmes; (II)

o   Promote and protect the human rights of all women including their right to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence; and adopt and accelerate the implementation of laws, policies and programmes which protect and enable the enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including their reproductive rights in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, the Beijing Platform for Action and their review outcomes; B(nn)

·    We must pay particular attention to the needs of rural and minority populations and improve their access to resources and services

o   The Commission stresses that the right to education is a human right, and that eliminating illiteracy, ensuring equal access to education, in particular in rural and remote areas, and closing the gender gap at all levels of education empowers women and girls and thereby contributes to the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls. Para 17

o   Improve access to timely, affordable and quality health systems for women and girls, including through gender-sensitive national strategies and public-health policies and programmes that are comprehensive, affordable and better targeted to addressing their needs and that encourage women’s active participation in their design and implementation; and also enhance women’s access to affordable, safe, effective and good quality treatment and medicines, with a special emphasis on the poor, vulnerable and marginalized segments of the population; C(hhh)