UN Practicum participant post #1
Published on March, 31 2013UN Practicum participant post - Chioma Okafor
Attending the CSW NGO Consultation was truly eye opening. It was encouraging to see so many organizations working together to eliminate Violence against Women. From the opening session demonstrated by the Girls be Heard! Group to the ending session on the impact of social media in violence prevention, the diversity of the NGO’s working actively was very evident.
There were so many strengths in today’s events including the wonderful speakers who were quite eloquent although some sessions seemed to run a little long. The idea of cooperation over competition was very powerful and emphasized the importance of collaborations between groups in order to develop sustainable interventions and policies. The most outstanding session, in my opinion spoke to involving men and boys in the process of eliminating violence but removing it as a norm in societies where violence is prevalent. The importance of engaging both men and women in order to cultivate a culture of inclusion and incorporating women’s rights as an essential part of human rights. The role of NGO’s in not just dealing with the consequences but also addressing methods of preventing such occasions from happening by making greater structural changes to the society.
I do have certain critiques of the event including the lack of mention of Violence here in the United States and a general lack of presence of African Americans and the Hispanic population in both NGO presence and talking points. In addition, despite the fact that I did enjoy the diverse amount of NGO’s, it seemed a bit overwhelming to have so many different groups with somewhat similar goals, competition for donor resources and some possibly overlapping programs that could possibly be ineffective.
However, the entire event was quite memorable and displayed the different ways civil society can work to eliminate violence against women and bridge the gap between commitment and action.
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