Topic people are talking about: Gender Parity in Education
“You are entering the political world at a moment when there is again a chance to move away from a peace resting on the fear of Mutually Assured Destruction. You must grab that chance and take us to a peace based on Cooperative Security. For this task you need not only the compass of your values but also close familiarity with the map of the reality”. Hans Blix ‘A Farewell to Arms’ address to the 10th International Student Festival in Trondheim, 26 Feb 2009.
The Honorable Louise Arbour has been selected to be the next President and CEO of the International Crisis Group.
David Osborn from Australia was appointed the new Coordinator for the UN Environment Programme/Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities.
On 28 February, Kemal Derviş stepped down as Administrator of UNDP, a position he occupied since August 2005. Ad Melkert from the Netherlands, the current UNDP Associate Administrator is Administrator ad interim.
Jordan Ryan from the USA was appointed Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator of UNDP and Director of the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery.
The Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development selected Kanayo F. Nwanze from Nigeria as its next president.
The Permanent Representatives of Namibia, Kaire Munionganda Mbuende, and Spain, Juan Antonio Yáñez-Barnuevo, have been appointed Co-Chairs to facilitate the process of consultations on System-wide Coherence.
Mira Sorvino, the Academy Award-winning American actress was named as Goodwill Ambassador to combat human trafficking for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, coinciding with the release of a new report showing that nearly half of all nations have yet to bring a single perpetrator of the scourge to justice.
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Commission on the Status of Women
2 - 13 March, New York
Human Rights Council
2 - 27 March, Geneva
Committee for Development Policy
9 - 13 March, New York
Human Rights Committee, Pre-sessional Working Group on Communications
9 - 13 March, New York
Human Rights Council, Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances
9 - 13 March, Geneva
Human Rights Committee
16 March - 3 April, New York
General Assembly, Fifth Committee, resumed session (4 weeks)
March, New York
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
21 March
World Water Day
22 March
World Meteorological Day
23 March
International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
25 March
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Scotland Conference on Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Under the auspices of WFUNA, the UNA-UK Edinburgh is organizing a one day conference, “Civil Society and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty” to Prime the UN’s 2010 Review of the NPT at the Scottish Parliament on 16 April 2009.
Stiglitz speaks on Financial Crisis at the UN
Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economics and Columbia University professor spoke on 26 February at the United Nations in New York about the current global economic downturn, its causes, and possible ways out of the crisis. He characterized the problem as a global crisis that has a "made in the USA label on it" and stated that the United States exported its deregulatory philosophy and its "toxic mortgages" and now is "exporting our recession". The Nobel Laureate analyzed the impact of the crisis on the future of global development and said that "part of the problem that the world is facing today is this problem of inequality". He added that some of the remedies being implemented by the industrialized nations "may exacerbate the problem of inequality”.
Read the full article and view the video at:
www.maximsnews.com/news20090226broadcastuneconomiccrisisvideo10902260101.htm
CSW at the UN
The Commission on the Status of Women will come to a close today, 13 March 2009. One of the emerging themes for the fifthy-third session was “the Gender Perspectives of the Financial Crisis” addressing the impact the financial crisis has on gender equality and women’s empowerment. It was recommended that gender perspective should be included in the discussion in the upcoming UN High-Level Conference on the Global Financial and Economic Crisis. Further outcomes will be reported on the Commission website, and included in the next issue of UN Connections. Read the NGO statements to the Commission at: www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw53/OfficialDocuments.html
WFUNA Human Rights Website
Take a look at WFUNA’s new human rights website at www.humanrightsnexus.org
Available in all six UN languages, this website facilitates access to educational materials on human rights, enhances interaction and information sharing between UNAs, and supports closer engagement of UNAs with the work of the UN Human Rights Council and human rights treaty bodies. The website is sponsored by the Russian Friends of WFUNA and UNA-Russia.
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The WFUNA Executive Committee met in Ottawa, Canada from 5-7 March 2008. A report of the highlights will be available in the members section of the website.
A video was made at the Executive Committee and will be available on YouTube next week.
Mr. Sundeep Bhutoria from the Indian Federation of UNAs represented WFUNA at the CONGO Board meeting in Thailand in February, where WFUNA was unanimously elected as CONGO Board Secretary following the elevation of the previous Secretary, to Cyril Ritchie, First Vice President.
The Indian Federation of UNAs is holding the 8th WFUNA Asia Pacific Conference in New Delhi, 26 – 29 March 2009; the agenda makes provision for discussion of capacity-building needs of UNAs in the region.
The UNA-USA Biennial National Convention will be held from 13-15 June 2009 at the Millennium UN Plaza in New York. UNA-USA is currently designing the Convention agenda to closely follow their 2009 Advocacy Agenda titled “Restoring U.S. Leadership through Global Cooperation.”
At the initiative of UNA-Australia, about 40 Members of Parliament and Senators attended the inaugural meeting of the Australian UN Parliamentary Association on 11 March. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith spoke supportively and capped his statement by announcing a total allocation of $68m to UNDP for the next four years. He had already announced $17m to UNIFEM on International Women's Day, for the same period.
The UNA-Dominican Republic, working jointly with Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo/ Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (FUNGLODE/GFDD), participated in the Clinton Global Initiative University 2009 Meeting in Austin, Texas, where young people and universities gathered to discuss the world’s challenges and take concrete steps towards solving them. The fostering of cooperation between Dominican and Haitian youth has become an institutional priority for UNA-DR and FUNGLODE/GFDD, and was their focus at CGI U 2009. The student delegation had 29 students from 7 different universities in the Dominican Republic and 6 Haitian students.
Michal Navoth, a Committee Member of UNA-Israel talked to members and guests of the UNA about the Universal Periodic Review Mechanisms of the Human Rights Council, and an analysis of Israel’s record as a State under Review, at an event organized by the UNA in December.
With the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in October 2008, the UNA-Sri Lanka organized the 63rd national observance of United Nations Day at Dharmaraja College Auditorium in Kandy - the first occasion that the event was observed outside Colombo. The ceremony was attended by a large number of teachers, students and other distinguished guests. The Chief Guest was the Resident Coordinator of the UN in Sri Lanka, Mr. Neil Buhne.
UNA-Pakistan organized an event to create awareness among students regarding the importance of peace. Students performed an Urdu play named "Aman" and peace songs.
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Completed WFUNA-youth project management workshops
Third workshop, hosted by UNA-Spain in Barcelona, 24-26 October 2008
Upcoming WFUNA-youth project management workshops
Fourth workshop, hosted by UNA-Switzerland in Geneva, 14-16 April 2009
Fifth workshop, hosted by UNA-Spain in Barcelona, 11-14 June 2009
The UNYA-Switzerland will be hosting a workshop in partnership with WFUNA-youth that will take place just before the start of the WFUNA-youth project management workshop at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The workshop will focus on a better understanding of the UN’s current work and on UN reform, including a discussion of issues such as Security Council expansion, the structure of the UN in 50 years, and an improved role for peacekeepers. Space will be given to brainstorming on the role youth can play in shaping the future of the UN, and in enhancing its impact on society www.junes.org.
The UNYA-Germany organized “United Nations -Forum 2009” in Hamburg, from 14-15 February. The three main objectives of the Forum were to provide information about the UN and its relevance in global problem solving, the exchange of ideas among UN professionals, NGOs, scientists and young people, and to inform the interested public about existing UN projects, as well as serving as a capacity-building tool. The results of the weekend are going to be published as a brochure and distributed in Germany. Plans exist for a follow-up meeting, as well as a bigger general forum in 2010. www.junges-uno-netzwerk.de.
On 4 February, the Commission for Social Development, functional commission of the Economic and Social Council, opened its 47th Session. 2009-2010 will be the review and policy cycle, and the priorities are poverty eradication, full employment, and social integration. Claudia Maffettone, WFUNA’s Youth Program Coordinator took part in the sessions of the Commission and spoke on behalf of WFUNA. The speech underlined the importance of involving the “digital generation” in decision making. The Romanian, German, Dutch and Swiss youth delegates to the 63rd UN General Assembly took part to the negotiations. The resolution on youth reaffirmed the importance of implementing the World Program of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond and its Supplement, called upon member states to activate national policies aimed at supporting youth, and encouraged the creation of effective channels of cooperation and information exchange between youth and decision makers. It emphasized the need for member states, the UN and the private sector to support youth led organizations, and for the Secretariat to consult with them. Ultimately it urged once more member states to include youth representatives in their delegations and in discussions at the UN.
For WFUNA’s speech at the CSocD, see:
www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/documents/csocd47_wfuna_statement.pdf
For the youth delegate program see: www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/youthrep.htm and www.unyouth.com
A delegation of 18 students and members of UNYA-Australia and 20 students from UNA-China visited the New York office of WFUNA. The groups met with WFUNA’s staff and, after an overview presentation of WFUNA’s activities, had a round table discussion on a variety of UN related topics and strengths and weaknesses of UNYA activities and projects. The delegations were in the USA to attend the Harvard National Model United Nations in Boston.
A delegation of 25 students and their teachers from UNA-Jamaica visited the New York office of WFUNA as part of a study-tour of the UN organized by the UNA.
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Global Model UN Updates
The UN Department of Public Information, in partnership with WFUNA, is organizing the first annual Global Model UN (GMUN) conference at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, from 5 – 7 August 2009. Held for the first time under UN auspices, the theme for this University-level Model UN conference will be “The Millennium Developments Goals -- Lifting the bottom billion out of poverty”. GMUN is inviting the most outstanding delegates from Model UN conferences around the world, as selected by their peers – it aims to be the first truly global Model UN. www.un.org/gmun
Don’t forget, the extended application deadline for delegations is 22 March 2009!
The workshop for the newly selected Secretariat team for GMUN took place at UN Headquarters in New York from 4-6 March 2009. Out of the nine Secretariat officials, four are affiliated with UNAs (Russia, South Africa, Tanzania and USA). Read the press release at: www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2009/pi1874.doc.htm
2009 WFUNA Model UN Schedule
2-4 April 2009
The New York- Dominican Republic Model UN will be held in New York with the support of UNA-Dominican Republic. The closing ceremony on 4 April will be at the General Assembly Hall.
3-4 April
UNA-USA will hold his 4th annual Middle School Model UN conference in NYC. Topics to be discussed include freshwater resources, trafficking of wild animals, access to education, and food security and distribution.
13-17 April
UNA-Russia will hold the Moscow International Model UN conference at MGIMO-University both in Russian and English.
17-19 April
The 2009 Model UN will take place in Oslo 17-19 April.
22-24 April (the dates could change)
UNA-Finland will hold its National Model UN conferences with lower and upper secondary level students.
29 April – 2 May
UNA-Spain will hold the 4th International Model United Nations of Catalonia in Barcelona.
5-8 May
UNA-Ivory Coast (ANU-CI) will hold the West African UNAs summit for the Millennium Development Goals.
14-16 May
UNA-USA will hold his 10th annual Model UN conference in New York. The conference will have over 2,300 students and 18 committees, covering diverse and pressing international issues such as separatist state movements, the economic effects of HIV/AIDS, micro-loans, biofuels, and the situation in Myanmar.
2-6 August
UNYSA-Austria (United Nations Youth and Student Association of Austria) and the Academic Forum for Foreign Affairs will hold the Vienna International Model United Nations (VIMUN) with students and young graduates from all education levels from 18 to 35 years. For more details go to: www.vimun.at
Please send information about your UNAs upcoming Model UN conferences for inclusion in our Model UN calendar to stendahl@wfuna.org.
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Ruby Dovlo is a Ghanaian nutritionist and a new membership coordinator intern at the Geneva office. She worked in the Ghana Health service/Ministry of Health from 1985 to 2007 initiating, planning and implementing both micro and macro nutrition programs involving infant growth monitoring and promoting appropriate child feeding. She has a Bachelors degree in Home Economics with Psychology and Sociology from the University of Ghana, a Post Graduate Certificate in Education from the university of Cape Coast, and a Masters degree in Business administration from Keele University, UK. She can be reached at: dovlo@wfuna.org.
Kathleen Erwin from the United States is a new human rights coordinator intern at the Geneva office. She is currently residing in France studying French in order to complete her Bachelor's studies of French and History. Afterwards, she hopes to attend The Graduate Institute in Geneva, Switzerland. She eventually would like to work for an international human rights NGO. She can be reached at Erwin@wfuna.org.
Amira Laribi is a new human rights coordinator intern at the Geneva office, while she is preparing a Master in Political Science at the University of Geneva. She has a BA in Political Science from the University of Algiers. In 2005 she worked as an intern at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Algeria in the department of the Magreb Arabe. She is interested in refugees and asylum seeker rights in the region of North Africa. Amira is fluent in Arabic, French, English and has a basic knowledge of German. She can be reached at: laribi@wfuna.org.
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While the next plenary meeting of the Making Commitments Matter Initiative took place in Budapest, Hungary from 28 February to 8 March, on the other side of the Atlantic, Country Team USA has been busy launching its research and meetings. Following the Presidential Inauguration meeting in Washington DC, the organization has officially restructured and welcomed 5 new members: 3 in Washington, D.C. and 2 in the NY area, bringing the total number to 10. The team has now focused its work on operations (fundraising, networking, PR, and IT), and the three research areas (State Actor, Civil Society, and UN agreements research). In February, the team pulled together a list of 200 NGOs, met with University professors and students as well as NGOs, and defined two new project plans for meetings in the U.S. Congress. The team is also preparing the next US meeting that will take place in April again in Washington, D.C.
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The UNA-Sudan is a national non-profit organization established in the mid-sixties. Its mandate is to engage the Sudanese public in the work of the United Nations and promote awareness of critical international issues. The UNA implements a variety of national projects focused on specific issues and targeted audiences. The Association strives to foster understanding of what the UN is, and where it is going, by creating links between UN activities and the daily lives of the Sudanese.
For more information click here >>
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In a speech to his fellow Ghanaians in the early 1900s, the visionary educator, Dr. J.E. Kwegyir Aggrey, declared, “The surest way to keep a people down is to educate the men and neglect the women. If you educate a man you simply educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family.” According to the World Bank, the good news today is that girls have crowded into school in record numbers over recent decades. This is very valuable progress, since the education of girls and women is one of the most crucial elements of lasting and sustainable economic and social development. Although there is hope and obvious improvement at a global level, certain regions are still falling behind.
For more information click here >>
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Rachel N. Mayanja, from Uganda, was appointed as the UN Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women in August 2004. Previously, Ms. Mayanja served with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as the Director of the Human Resources Management Division, where she was instrumental in the implementation of the reform of human resources management. Prior to joining FAO, Ms. Mayanja held different senior positions in the Office of Human Resources Management. Ms. Mayanja has served in peacekeeping missions in Namibia from 1989 to 1990, and Iraq/Kuwait from 1992 to 1994. Ms. Mayanja’s career with the United Nations started in the then Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, where she joined the Division for Equal Rights for Women shortly after the first world conference for women.
For more information click here >>
To view a video of the highlights of this interview click here >>
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On 5 March, UNA-Canada organized the reception “Champions Amongst Us” in Ottawa to mark International Women’s Day. The UNA celebrated the vision, commitment and remarkable achievements of several outstanding Canadian women who are transforming Canadian society through leadership and service. Since this reception was at the time of the WFUNA Executive Committee meeting, all the Committee members present in Canada were able to attend. www.unac.org/en/news_events/galas/2009/2009iwd.asp
UNA-USA East Bay organized a special event from 5-8 March, entitled “Women’s Rights & Health: Future Outlook & UN Role”, as a celebration of the International Women’s Day.
www.unausaeastbay.org.
UNA-UK has a Women’s Advisory Council which provides a forum for the exchange of opinions with women's organisations on the work of the United Nations, its specialised agencies and UNA-UK. www.una-uk.org/women/wacuna.html
UNA-Venezuela has an on-line course on Women’s Rights in Spanish, which covers among other topics: gender, violence against women, women and poverty, and empowering women.
www.diplomadosweb.org/contenidos_derechos_humanos.htm.
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Academy for Educational Development (AED) works in all the major areas of human development, with a focus on improving education, health, and economic opportunities for the least advantaged. With tools ranging from research to training to policymaking, AED equips governments, communities and other partners to overcome the barriers and provide an education that helps young girls—and entire nations—reach their potential. www.aed.org
The Campaign for Female Education (Camfed) is dedicated to fighting poverty and AIDS in rural communities in Africa by educating girls. Camfed began in 1993 by supporting 32 girls in rural Zimbabwe, and by 2005 this number had grown to 250,000 children in some of the poorest regions of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana and Tanzania. Camfed's vital work has received international recognition with an invitation to co-chair the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative in 2006. www.camfed.org
Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education’s (ASPBAE'S) fundamental purpose is to defend and advance the rights of adults throughout the Asia-Pacific Region to learn throughout their lives in order to gain control of their destiny. ASPBAE’s Education for Women’s Empowerment program is one of its main thematic programs since 1997. www.aspbae.org
CARE operates education projects in 36 countries. Drawing strength from their global reach, experience, extensive education portfolio and partnerships, they develop innovative learning solutions and prepare educational systems to fulfill everyone’s right to learn. CARE’s education program goals include improving gender equality in basic education, since education for girls provides the single highest return on investment in the developing world. CARE focuses on creating a sustained, multi-country, multi-dimensional effort in addressing the issue of girls’ access to appropriate learning and education. www.care.org.
Beyond Access: Transforming Policy and Practice for Gender Equality in Education
Edited by: Sheila Aikman and Elaine Unterhalter, Oxfam Publishing, 2005
In a world where poverty, social prejudice, and poor-quality provision prevent an estimated 100 million girls from completing primary education, it is not enough for governments to pledge themselves to expand girls’ access to school. This book presents a vision of a transformational education which would promote social change, enable girls to achieve their full potential, and help to create a just and democratic society. Contributors to this book examine the extent and causes of gender-based inequality in education; analyze government policies and their implications for women’s empowerment; and report on original field-work in a range of local contexts where gender-equality initiatives have flourished.
http://publications.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam/display.asp?isbn=0855985291
Gender Achievements and Prospects in Education: The GAP Report
UNICEF, 2005
The Gender Achievements and Prospects in Education (GAP) report, a multimedia project, is more than a wake-up call. Building on the knowledge and observations of people who work in development and education, it is designed to assess progress towards gender parity in education by 2005 and universal primary education by 2015, highlight innovations, identify obstacles, generate discussion and give guidance. GAP begins at the point of agreed upon and established assessments and ends with an action plan. It focuses on the challenge to get all children – girls as well as boys – into school, or know why they are not.
www.ungei.org/gap/pdfs/unicef_gap_low_res.pdf
Blossoms of Fire
2000, USA and Mexico
Blossoms of Fire is a dazzling, whirling dance of a film that celebrates the extraordinary lives of the Isthmus Zapotecs of southern Oaxaca, Mexico, whose strong work ethic and fierce independent streak rooted in their culture, have resulted not only in powerful women but in the region's progressive politics and their unusual tolerance of alternative gender roles. Blossoms of Fire is visually appealing and contains some very interesting information on the relationships between women and men, women and business, and women and politics in Oaxaca, Mexico. The women are what this documentary is all about. The focus is on the matriarchal society that once existed (and maybe still does) in this area. Women run many of the businesses, are highly independent, and are deeply involved in the politics of the region. www.maureengosling.com/ramo/about/about.html
Where Water Meets Sky
2008, CAMFED
Narrated by Morgan Freeman, Where the Water Meets the Sky is the story of a remarkable group of women in a remote region of northern Zambia, who are given a unique opportunity: to learn how to make a film, as a way to speak out about their lives and to challenge the local traditions which have, until now, kept them silent. Many in the group can’t read or write, most are desperately poor, and few have been exposed to film or television. But with the help of two teachers the women learn to shoot a film that portrays a subject of their own choosing. It involves an issue that is traumatic for them all, and rarely spoken about: the plight of young women orphaned by AIDS. What begins as a workshop about filmmaking, and a quest to tell the story of a girl orphaned by AIDS, becomes a journey in empowerment as the women rise to the challenge of pressing their community to change. www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEKRYoPyhc0
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