CSW: Gender safety, development

By Dixie Hairston, Programs Coordinator. 2016 UN Practicum and Local2Global
 

WILPF US will be sending a delegation to the 60th Commission on the Status of Women March 12-March 19 as part of our national and international work. The priority theme of the CSW this year is ‘Women’s Empowerment and its link to sustainable development’ and will address ‘the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.

Members of the WILPF delegation include participants in the Local2Global Program and the UN Practicum in Advocacy along with representatives from the WILPF US board and staff. See below for a complete list of delegates.

Delegates will add to the official documentation of both high-level and informal meetings, participate in peer-to-peer networking and contribute to the international conversation on women and girls.

The following events will be presented by WILPF US in this year’s CSW NGO Forum. For more information on the CSW, the NGO forum and for a list of the scheduled events, please visit http://www.unwomen.org/en/csw/csw60-2016 and http://www.ngocsw.org/ngo-csw-forum.
 

What has the Empowerment of Women and Girls Got to Do with Sustainable Development? Perspectives from the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom US (WILPF US)

Monday, March 14, 6:15 pm,  Church Center for the United Nations (CCUN)

Panelists:

• Maureen Eke, Professor of English, Central Michigan University, WILPF US Program Chair, 2015 WILPF US Local2Global (CSW)
• Lamia Sadek, PhD (ABD), WILPF US Managing Director, International Development and Relief Worker, Women's Rights and Gender Justice Advocate and Activist
• Mary Hanson Harrison, PhD (ABD), President WILPF US Section, consultant WRITE Now!, Board Member,-Stop the Arms Race PAC

In this parallel event, panelists share their experiences and work in addressing Goal 5 of the new Sustainable Development Goals (2015) which targets the empowerment of women and recognizes the need to also empower young girls to become future leaders. Panelists address the lack of significant progress on transforming women's roles in the world today and the urgent necessity of empowering young girls and other marginalized groups. Recommendations on programs, actions and strategies are presented to sustain that empowerment.
 

Expanding Gender Equality, Unbinding the Gender Binary 

Monday, March 21, 2016, 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Church Center for the United Nations (CCUN), New York  

Panelists:

• Brandy Robinson, Associate Professor and 2014 and 2015 WILPF US UN Delegate (CSW)
• Yee Won Chong, Strategist and Founder of Say This Not That and 2012 TEDxRainer Speaker
• Shawna Wakefield, Associate at Gender at Work and Women's Rights and Gender Justice Advocate and Activist

This parallel event will offer a unique insight into transgender and non-conforming gender dynamics and how these dynamics play into gender equality, rather in society and institutions. Solutions will be explored to offer how going beyond the “gender binary” can ultimately aid in challenging the traditional structure, notions and norms of restrictive gender roles. How the feminist perspective and human rights framework offer hope to the transgender and non-conforming gender dynamics is also presented.   

Delegation Members:

Local2Global: Barbara Nielsen and Judith Mirkinson, San Francisco Branch

UN Practicum in Advocacy

Mimi Duong - University of Houston
Anwar Mahajna - University of Cincinnati
Mridu Markan, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Elsa Mendoza - University of Houston
Stephen Nsengiyumva- Brandeis University
Nancy Pratt - Union Institute University
Deborah Richardson - Union Institute University
Mayra Rodarte- University of Texas El Paso
Shadi Saraf - Brandeis University
Emily Westgate - Brown University
Alexandria Yakes - University of Iowa

WILPF US

Mary Hanson Harrison. President
Lamia Sadek. Managing Director
Melissa Torres, Representative to WILPF International
Dixie Hairston, Programs Coordinator. 2016 UN Practicum and Local2Global