Day 2 of Global Forum- A little view of what happened

Day 2 of the Global Forum – for Women – Beijing + 15 February 28

Dawn Marie Lemonds, International Programme Director SI
More articles will feature the work that went on at the Forum- this article will mainly bring you a bit about the schedule and the types of activities we engaged in at this forum. These Blog stories will hopefully bring you little snapshots of the “elephant” we are all seeing from different lens and bringing our own experiences.

The morning opened with another remarkable performance- the intersection of culture and art as integral to our society- Today’s voices were children…..children as young as 4 and as old as 18- each quoting famous quotes from Rumi, to Mohammed, the Bible, Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, Buddhism teachings, Martin Luther King, Susan B Anthony, Shakespeare and so many many, more. Each performed- a provocative thought about women, change agents, peace, love and humanity from so many sides. Contemporary American music was then featured starting with songs from past decades until today- steadily showing the advancement or changing “face” of women from being insipid “airheads” in the song “I enjoy being a girl”- from South Pacific- to a rousing rendition of Aretha Franklin’s R-E-S-P-E-C-T sung by a 15 year old girl! The theatre group was called The Children’s Theatre Workshop and the rousing 45 minute performance ending with the most beautiful song- ONE WORLD which captivated all of our hearts!

Following this inspiration we listened to a riveting presentation by all 6 Regions of the World- representing the critical issues for women in each of the six regions- Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Arab Region, North America, Africa, and Latin America/Caribbean. Each of the presentations showed that we are “alike and different”- inspite of all being women- our journeys do not all have the same issues of urgency. For example- the issues of urgency in the Middle East are so fundamental- Women want to be recognized as HUMAN. In Africa- Women are viewed as Human- and advances have been made in primary education and empowerment of women- but the extreme issues of poverty, violence against women, extreme lack of health resources are issues of monumental import. Now it was time for us to do the work. Everyone met with their Regional Teams and identified the critical issues of their region, and strategies to meet these challenges. These issues will be brought by NGOs to the Caucuses and meetings with their missions and countries delegations. Governments start working on March 1, 2010 at the Commission.

The Afternoon Panel was titled “Fulfilling the Promise of Gender Equality, Peace, and Development: Women, Peace and Security, Strengthening Institutional Mechanisms, World Economic Crisis, Building Women’s Leadership and Millenium Development Goals”- the title was daunting and the information was extremely interesting and thought provoking.

A highlight of the afternoon included an amazing reading by Lynn Nottage from her Pulitzer Prize winning play “Ruined”. The story about a woman from the Congo whose baby was stomped by soldiers followed by 5 months of continuous rape. She went back to her village when she escaped from these villains and was a pariah for “allowing herself to be raped.” This will haunt me forever.

Finally– a Call to Action were presented by the CSW NGO Committee to H.E. Mr. Garen Nazarian, Chair of the Bureau of CSW 54, Thoraya Obaid- Executive Director of UNFPA, and Rachel Mayanja, UN Assistant Secretary General, Special Advisor on Gender Issues and the advancement of Women. The audience ended the afternoon with a rousing new version of We Shall Overcome. For up to date reporting go to www.ngocsw.org