Please circulate to your NGO networks.
Beijing + 15 NGO Forum:
Beijing + 15 Brainstorming Meeting
The Global World Through Women’s Eyes: A New World for All
DRAFT PROPOSAL Presented at the NGO CSW/NY Meeting11/20/08
The NGO CSW, NY in collaboration with the NGO CSW, Geneva and the NGO CSW, Vienna will review the history of the Beijing Conference as well as Beijing + 5, and +10. We will draw from those conferences (as well as Mexico City, Copenhagen, Nairobi) to follow their recommendations, complement their efforts and achievements. Our ultimate goal is implementation and gender parity.
An Ad Hoc Committee of the NGO CSW/NY has been formed, Chaired by Afaf Mahfouz, Jackie Shapiro and Vivian Pender. (Afaf was on the Facilitating! Committee of Beijing, and Chaired B + 5, Jackie is previous Chair and also was one of the Organizers of Beijing + 5 and +10. I am the present Chair of the NGO CSW, NY.)
The Ad Hoc Committee has scheduled several brainstorming meetings for the entire NGO community:
The first meeting is scheduled for December 1st, Monday, 1:30-3:00 in the Hardin Room, 11th Floor, Church Center, NYC.
We’ll try to schedule two more: one in mid-January, and one in mid-February. All CONGO Committees will be invited to participate in the brainstorming. We will meet in the Church Center at the UN.
The proposed title is:
NGO Forum – The Global World Through Women’s Eyes: A New World for All
At the outcome of Beijing + 15, there will be a concise document produced with a clear message, one that is user-friendly, can be translated and used repetitively.
Use all forms of communication: print, TV, radio, Movies, telephone, fax, internet (YouTube, FaceBook, Twitter, email and Web), text messages, door-to-door and follow-up.
Grant applications for seed money will be made to Goldman Sachs, Gates Foundation, Soros Foundation, Ford Foundation, Oprah, and other funding sources. Money will be used to support the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and later modifications.
Our ultimate Goal is to raise Three Billion Dollars, one dollar for every woman and girl on earth.
Proposed Honorary Board of Directors: Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Wangari Maathi, Mrs. Ban Soon-taek, Angela Merkel, Michelle Bachelet, Claudia Blum, Ms. Kyung-wha Kang, Geena Davis and others to be added.
Please join us on Monday, December 1st, from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm at the Church Center, Hardin Room, 11th Floor.
December 3, 2008 at 1:50 am
YES, SHE CAN! YES SHE CAN!
December 14, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Minutes of Brainstorming Meeting for Beijing + 15
December 1, 2008
Church Center
Organizations represented at the Meeting:
NGO Committee on HIV/AIDS
NGO Committee on Family
NGO American Psychological Association
Bahai International
NGO Committee on UNICEF
Global Alliance for Women?s Health
NGO Anglican Consultative Council
CONGO (Conference of NGOs)
Lutheran World Federation
American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
ZONTA
International Psychoanalytical Association
US National Committee for UNIFEM
Women?s Learning Partnership
International Federation of Business and Professional Women
NGO Committee on Migration
NGO Committee on Sports
Soroptimist International
NGO Committee on Mental Health
There will be an event to commemorate the anniversary of Beijing + 15. It will be an NGO event, but governments and the UN may participate. It may be before the CSW 54. The mission of Beijing + 15 is to review the history of World Women Conferences, especially on its 15th anniversary, the 4th in Beijing, to draw from them their recommendations and complement their efforts and achievements.
There is a new Blog on http://www.ngocsw.org on Beijing + 15.
Where: The following places were suggested: Beijing, Mumbai (to support the recent victims of terrorism), Bahn (European Union), Vienna (the CSW was there, it is a central location), Macau (the government is interested, can host large numbers of people and may contribute services) and New York.
It was noted that the conference in Beijing was a UN conference and was preceded by an NGO Forum, held outside of Beijing.
We may need a very large venue such as a Conference Center, or a Sports Stadium.
The opening should be well-orchestrated, with music and dance.
There are other conferences planned for 2010. We will try not to conflict with any other large conference.
Atlantic Philanthropy has 6 billion dollars to give away in the next 10 years. They have to give away the interest also. They are in NY and Atlanta, but they do not accept applications. It is by invitation only. We will look at their Website. We will alert them to our project, they may send a staff member, and then we may be invited to submit a grant.
The winter Olympics in 2010 are in Vancouver.
Everyone was asked to think about their contacts, private or public.
There are Archives of materials used for the previous Beijing conferences in the CONGO office that will be retrieved and reviewed for names, lists of donors, etc.
Regarding the UN, we will partner with them but remain autonomous. ASG Rachel Mayanja asked the NGO CSW, NY what we would like to do, so we will incorporate our response to her. They can be our guests, they can work with us, we can identify friendly governments but we will remain autonomous.
Women Ambassadors spoke up at the November Luncheon to ask that we look to them for help. They are very hard-working and dynamic women. We will anticipate the support of their missions.
Regarding the relationship with a 5th WWC, we will not call our conference that.
In Seoul, the international NGO community invited the government and the UN.
We need to call it: International NGO Conference to Celebrate 15 years after Beijing.
It is NOT just a US based NGO conference.
What about Beijing + 5 and Beijing + 10? What went well, what can we complement? We will not reinvent. We will attempt to answer these questions by reviewing the Archives.
The challenges and issues are on the Regional and National level. It was proposed that a Task Force be appointed by the Ad Hoc Committee to represent the 5 regions of the world and would reach grass-roots level.
We will discuss with Jeffrey Huffines and Shamina de Gonzaga what difficulties they had working with Paris, Geneva and Rome on the July, 2008 DPI/NGO conference.
There is a CONGO Fund that has $20,000 for seed money, for example, to bring some of the regional representatives to NY. The money is available, Levi Bautista, President of CONGO has been notified, and the CONGO Board has the obligation to say yes, but will not meet until February for formal approval.
By raising $3.3 Billion we want to raise awareness of the number of women and girls on earth and recognize them. It is a message that we value women and girls. It will help our publicity. We can compare the figure with how much is spent each day on wars. We can ask each country to donate a percentage to support their population of women and girls. The money will be used for advocacy. A separate organization will probably be set up to handle the donations to the fund and distribution of the money. We may choose an organization to dispense it for us, an honorable organization.
Potential donors: Gates, Soros, Avon, Eileen Fischer, Fendi
Australia and Tanzania have been recently recognized as pro-women. These countries should be highlighted.
There will not be an outcome document but there will be an outcome. An outcome document depends on a negotiated agreement.
The Honorary Board of Directors: In addition to those previously mentioned,
the Chairs of the previous Women?s Conferences should be on the Board. It should be an international group, not just Americans. Men can be included: Jan Eliasson, Stephen Lewis, Nicholas Kristoff. Mary Robinson, The Mandelas, The Anans.
Sign-ups for Sub-committees were offered. Legal mechanisms and tools, Net-working, Board of Directors, Fundraising
Other connections, like to the MDGs, CEDAW, the summer DPI conference in Mexico City on Disarmament and International Peace. Women?s groups are stakeholders and should have a piece of the conference to shape a component of the conference. How women affect disarmament and international peace.
Our focus will be implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.
The proposal will be presented at the next CONGO Committee Chairs meeting.
Next Brainstorming meeting: January 19th at 1:00 pm at the Church Center
Addendum: On December 7th, U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney agreed to be on the Honorary Board.
July 27, 2009 at 4:07 pm
2010 FORUM PLANNING MEETING 16 JULY 2009
Purpose
The purpose of the forum is to celebrate Beijing and link directly into the work of the 54th Commission on the Status of Women.
Program
The draft program below is based on input from NYC brainstorming meetings beginning in December 2008, 4 caucuses held during the 53rd Commission on the Status of Women in March 2009, and meetings/communications of the Coordinating Committee (composed of the leadership of the NGO CSWs in Geneva, New York and Vienna). Due to the uncertainty in the current climate of economic crisis, the NGO CSW/NY plans to incorporate its Consultation Day for CSW 54 into the 2-day program. The program is still in development. NOTE CHANGE IN DATES.
Proposed program draft overview:
27 February 2010
9:00am Opening Ceremony: A Call to Action
10:00am First Plenary- Heads of State from each region
12:00pm Lunch
1:00pm Panel: Successes and Challenges, NGO Regional Reports
ECE, NGO Forum for Beijing + 15 (Europe and North America)
ECLAC, NGO Forum for Beijing + 15 (Latin America and the Caribbean)
ESCAP, NGO Forum for Beijing + 15Asia and the Pacific
ECA, NGO Forum, Africa
ESCWA, NGO Forum, Western Asia
3:30pm Open Discussion, Q & A
5:00pm Adjourn
6:30-9:30pm Reception
28 February 2010
9:00am Panel: Prevention and Proactive Measures
UNFPA
CEDAW Experts: Older Women
MDG Goals: UNDP
Men’s Organizations
Youth: NGO Committee on UNICEF
11:00am Keynote Speaker:
Women NGOs
Nobel laureate
Noon Lunch
1:00pm Breakout Sessions on BPfA: Poverty, Health, Education, Violence, Armed Conflict, Economy; Beijing + 5: Older Women, Rural Women
2:30pm Breakout Sessions on BPfA: Decision making, Human Rights, Media, Environment, Institutional mechanisms, The Girl Child; Beiing + 5: Migrant Women, Disabled Women, Female Household heads
4:00pm Closing Ceremony: Future Work
5:30pm Adjourn
Venue
The Forum will take place in New York City, however the venue for the Forum has not yet been set and will depend on the number of participants. Possible venues include New York University and the Javits Convention Center. Anyone with connections to potential venues, please contact the NGO CSW/NY office.
Reports/Reviews
In the past, reports in preparation for the review were gathered and incorporated into a single document. The Coordinating Committee is inquiring to see whether the organization that did that work in the past would do it again. It is hoped that such a report would be available by January 2010. It is expected that some regional reports will be sent to the Coordinating Committee. The goal is to compare NGO reports with government reports.
Regions are taking the lead in disseminating a questionnaire to governments and some NGOs, however the details of this process are unknown.
Outreach
Social Media and other technology such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs may be used to connect with younger generations.
Other Events Planned
Some type of event will be planned for the actual Beijing Anniversary in September 2010.
Regional Activities
The Forum is shaped by contributions from the regions but the regional meetings have their own priority issues and processes. The next issue of the IWTC’s Women’s Global Net will have information about organizing in the regions.
Asia Pacific
The Asia-Pacific Region will hold an NGO Forum on Beijing +15 from October 22-24, 2009 in Quezon City, Philippines. The theme for the Forum will be “Weaving Wisdom, Confronting Crises, Forging the Future.” Workshops planned on Women and Armed Conflict will be linked to a 1325 + 10 event in October 2010.
More information about this NGO Forum can be found online here: http://apngo2009.mc.edu.ph/
A High Level governmental meeting will take place in Bangkok following the NGO Forum.
Africa
Africa regional networks FEMNET and Eastern African Subregional Support Network for the Advancement of Women have been organizing for Beijing +15. Eastern African Subregional Support Network for the Advancement of Women is focusing specifically on 2 areas: 1. Women’s Health and Reproductive Rights 2. Women & Armed Conflict. At this time, there is no regional intergovernmental meeting finalized for Africa.
Planning Sub-Groups Formed:
1. Media
2. Venue/Event Facilities
3. Partnerships & Financial Support
4. Honorary Board
5. Outreach- Grassroots Participation
Comments
-Focus on Equality, Development, Peace
-3 paths for the Forum: 1. Celebrate, 2. Address Beijing, 3. Decide how to move forward
-If reports are developed as part of the Beijing +15 activities, to whom will they be presented?
-There must be a space for women who don’t know about Beijing and the UN to participate in the Forum
-How is this conference different from other Beijing conferences?
-There is concern that the event will be too NY or US focused.
-This is not a conference, it is a review of the Beijing Conference.
-It is important to incorporate the UN Gender Equality Architecture reform process into the Forum.
-There is concern that there not be a corporate presence at the Forum- reach out to more groups of women instead.
-1325 and 1820 should be wrapped into the Forum
-Peace should be included in the Forum
-Include Violence Against Women and need for Women in Decision-Making Positions
-Incorporate the outcome regarding reproductive rights of the September NGO Forum in Berlin on the Cairo Conference on Population and Development
-The Center for Women’s Global Leadership will have a Beijing Review Symposium in NYC on March 6.
-Maternal mortality is an issue that should be included.
-The proposed program is heavy with input from experts- could it go from regional reports into breakdowns?
- Could the program be more collaborative if designed differently?
-Breakout sessions should be connection-oriented
-It is important that the voices of human rights advocates on the ground around the world can be heard in this process. This is important because many NGOs don’t represent community-based groups.
-Is there a way to get support for ensuring grassroots groups’ participation? This could happen through technology- through computer communications.
-Move the breakout groups to Day 1
-Develop a report that combines information on legislation, conventions and international agreements relevant to the topic of the Forum
-How can this Forum be linked to other processes and spaces for women in 2010?
-One of the Keynote speakers should be a grassroots speaker
-The Forum should end on a note of strong demands- perhaps have one woman from each region present the 10 most pressing needs from her region based on the collaboration of women’s organizations from each continent
-There is concern about participation coordination in the Africa region
-Radio is a powerful tool for outreach in some parts of Africa