Some of the early travelers arrived in brisk and bright New York City - the sun was brilliant and welcoming. President Margaret Lob0- Executive Officer Rosie Coutts, President Elect Hanne Jensbo and I "hit the ground running" attending meetings with partner organizations such as FIVE -O and World Association of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides, amongst them. This annual meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women gives each of our groups a chance to network, share strategies, discuss issues of mutual concern and enjoy friendships new and old. It is always exciting to see a new crop of YOUNG women- girls, students and young professionals who are eagerly stepping into ways paved by long time activists for women's issues.
Following is a brief "taste" of some of the spontaneous and planned activities we have enjoyed together:
- CSW Registration- standing in lines is an opportunity to immediately begin to make new friends amongst people who very often had a much more complicated journey than I did. I met women from Ghana, Ireland, Canada, America, Zambia, Kenya, Austria, and United Kingdom in moments and was enchanted by accents, stories, excitement, costumes, and the female energy of my sister delegates as we waited.
- Lunch in the UN Cafeteria is always a treat for me. I never grow tired of looking at the East River, seeing the boats go by, tasting wonderful and diverse treats, and look forward to the always stimulating conversation that we share. That day- 7 of us seamlessly talked of Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Female Genital Mutilation, Human Trafficking, and Rape in one short hour. The amazing thing for me was that everyone at the table understood the issues that we discussed and each had examples in mind of work that Soroptimist International Clubs are doing toward these causes. It makes me think about the times you have with families and friends and how much they would know about any of these topics.
- CSW NGO Consulation Day- 700 NGO registrants converged on a local University Hospital to attend this annual CSW preparation event designed to orient us to the issues and activities that would be taking place over the next 10 days. Very high level UN officials, and NGO leaders took time to help us learn how to navigate the schedule, understand the different types of sessions, and identify the critical issues of the PRIORITY THEME for this year-Equal Sharing of Responsibilities between men and women including care giving in the context of HIV/AIDS. From the very start of this meeting it was clear that there is an impatience from NGOs for Governments and Civil Society to face this issue more boldly. Statistics were shared that put an urgent context for the issues at hand:
- 90% of the caregivers in the world are women - 1/4 of them women over 60
- Many women with HIV/AIDS in developing countries share the burden of also being caregivers for others with HIV/AIDS
- Women spend twice as much time on unpaid work than do men
One of the particularly interesting parts of the day was participating in workshops in the afternoon where each group "practiced" reviewing the Agreed Conclusions that governments at CSW will look at next week and identified areas that needed strengthening or changing.
- Soroptimist Social Event- The highlight of pre CSW activities was arguably sharing a wonderful evening with 35 Soroptimists at a local Italian restaurant. Each delegate was invited to mingle and meet each other and share a bit about some of their work and interests.
The 6 Soroptimist Representatives to the United Nations from New York have tirelessly worked for months to help develop this event. The fruits of their labor is already being enjoyed and appreciated!
Dawn Marie Lemonds
SI Programme Director
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