SI Programme Update- October 2008

Welcome to our first Soroptimist International Programme Blogspot
This will be a quick way to get quick programme information on current activities that SI is involved in around the world.

Information posted on this blogspot needs to be sent to programme.director@soroptimistinternational.org. It will be reviewed by selected members of the executive Programme Team and posted to the blogspot.

New Resources Available
Human Rights concertina Leaflet launched at DPI/NGO ( United Nations Department of Puplic Information and Non Governmental Organization) Conference Paris September 2008- these little booklets describe a bit about Soroptimist International specifically focusing on Human Rights since this year is the 60th anniversary of the International Declaration of Human Rights. You can get them from your Federation!

2008 Best Practices Booklet- 16 projects from around the world have been featured in a small booklet produced by SI and available through your Federation.

Current Activity by Your SI Programme Team

Long Term Project- Your SI Programme Team will be working within their federations to get ideas and suggestions for future Long Term Projects to be launched by SI in Montreal, 2011! Stay tuned and connected to your Federation’s Programme Director or Liaison so you can be a part of this interesting project development process.


Participation in DPI/NGO in Paris and preparation for CSW 2009!- The composite DPI/NGO report will soon be sent to SI leaders around the world and posted on the website. You can be proud that SI had a delegation of 8 people from world- three of them young and fairly new Soroptimist members who applied to attend and funded their own attendance! You will enjoy their reports and stories immensely!


Preparing for CSW 2009

Invitation to Attend CSW as part of the Delegation- A letter will soon go out, inviting Federations to participate at their own expense in CSW 2009. Attendees and members “monitoring CSW” will want to join those of us and start being prepared. From our UN Representatives in New York:
Lois Beilin writes to all of us preparing for the Commission on the Status of Women to be held in New York at the UN March 1-13 2009.

The theme focuses on “the sharing responsibility for caregiving by men and women- particularly as it relates to HIV/AIDS
I want to notify all those interested in the CSW for 2009 of the papers they can download and read in preparation for the CSW.

First, go to www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/52sess.

Second, click on the Division for the Advancement of Women.. You see a row of icons - click on EXPERT GROUP MEETINGS. These are the expert papers being presented in Geneva Oct. 6 - 8, 2008.

Third, I would recommend especially the paper AIDE-MEMOIRE, but others are also important for Soroptimists attending.

Featured Report –

following is a little “snippet” from a recent report about GEAR -GENDER EQUALITY ARCHITECTURE REFORM (GEAR) GAINS RESPECT- written by Linda Stillman- on of our NY Reps to the UN. - This report applies to Focus Objective 10: Assure women’s advancement in management, politics and decision-making at the United Nations and the other nine programme focus objectives that are directly connected UN and SI endeavors.

World women’s leader Charlotte Bunch, Director of the Center for Women’s Global Leadership, presented an executive summary and shared the recent success of the GEAR campaign at the opening session of the NGO CSW at UN Headquarters, Thursday, September 18, 2008.

This necessary and provocative topic, revolving around Gender Equality and Women’s Rights, challenges how the UN can deliver a more comprehensive “women’s entity” for human rights and social development, worldwide. UN reform officially began in 2006, and the Coherence Panel recognized the need to strengthen UN work for women, that provides the policies and guidelines for governments and NGOs such as SI to consider and adhere through awareness, advocacy and action.

To strengthen work on UN Women’s Rights the Resolution called for:
· Increase resources
· Provide higher level of representation at the UN
· Create field presence at the country level for women/girls issues
· Introduce a new women entity for women’s right and gender mainstreaming
The Resolution also called for “delivering as one” at the country level to harmonize governance, economic resources, budget, funding, gender equality and empowerment in a coherent process, rather than work with multiple factions, often in competition and contention. The focus is to stress human rights, peace and sustainable social development for women/girls.