Holidays greetings from Soroptimist International

Soroptimist International Board Selects Model for new Long Term Project

Soroptimists for Education and Leadership

Introducing Soroptimists for Education and Leadership (working title), the new long term project formally approved by the SI Board! Officially launching at the SI Convention in Montréal in July 2011, the model selected by the Board focuses on celebrating club work, together with an advocacy and awareness raising campaign.

This long term project model is based on the theme of education and leadership, as voted by the membership of SI. Clubs all over the world are already engaged in highly successful projects which benefit vulnerable women and girls in their own communities. This project will work to explore in great detail what Soroptimists are doing on the ground, gather information, and celebrate SI’s global impact.

In the past year alone, clubs have reported nearly 2,300 on the ground projects working to improve access to education and leadership skills for women and girls in need. 284,112 women and girls have directly benefited from these projects, and over $3,000,000 USD have been raised.

Soroptimists for Education and Leadership is all about clubs and the work that they do – and gaining a worldwide perspective to see SI’s collaborative global impact. With this overview, SI can then identify projects of excellence, trends, and gaps to make recommendations which will maximise our outcomes and results – ultimately improving the lives and status of many women and girls around the world.

At the same time, SI will design and launch a corresponding Advocacy and Awareness Raising Campaign, featuring opportunities for Soroptimists to initiate and/or participate in activities to become advocates and ambassadors for education and leadership for women and girls.

This model creates an important link to our international policy work at the UN. SI’s ‘on-the-ground’ experience will provide a strong evidence base for our advocacy work at the UN. SI will also have the opportunity to learn about emerging issues and innovative solutions in increasing women and girls’ access to education and leadership and can share this information with Clubs/Regions/Unions/Federations to positively impact our work, thus completing the loop between global and local SI work.

This new long term project is, at its core, all about clubs – showcasing the work that they do to improve access to education and leadership skills for women and girls and providing inspiration and guidance to increase SI’s positive impact around the world. The SI Board also recognises that the Long Term Project will change and evolve over time, providing new and exciting opportunities for Soroptimists to make a difference!

BRINGING PERPERTRATORS TO JUSTICE AND JUSTICE TO VICTIMS

One year after her appointment, Special Representative to the Secretary General on Sexual Violence, Ms. Margot Walstrom, gave her report to the Security Council and SG Ban Ki-Moon on the appalling levels of brutality and systematic rape of girls and women in war torn countries.

The adoption of Resolution 1960 came during the open debate of the Security Council at the United Nations in New York on Women, Peace and Security following Ms. Walstrom’s report.

SCR 1960 will help ensure that mass rape and sexual violence will be a liability for armed groups and their superior officers and commanders. The resolution further instructs the Secretary General and Security Council to “list the parties who have committed acts of sexual violence and and if necessary impose sanctions, to expose their superiors to increased international scrutiny, seal off the corridors of power and close all exits.”

Ms. Walstrom said, “Today’s resolution will help ensure that mass rape is never again met with mass impunity, and this must apply equally whether the victim is an 8 year old girl or an 80 year old grandmother.”

Submitted by Lois Beilin, SI UN Rep/NY

Convention Registration Now Open!

Convention registration for Montreal 2011 is now open! Visit www.si-montreal2011.org for all the latest information and to access registeration.

Early bird rates are available for those registering before April 15th 2011.

Visit the website for more updates and to read the new newsletter which details all the latest developments.

December Issue of TIS!

The December issue of TIS is now available! Click here to be redirected to the new issue.

This issue focuses on the Long Term Project theme of Education and Leadership, exploring the work of Soroptimists all over the world on this important area.

As well as featuring projects from all four Federations on education and leadership, you can also read about forthcoming UN events, CSW 55 (fast approaching - click the link for more information!), updates from our UN Reps in Rome, Geneva and Vienna and a Project SIerra update from Alison Sutherland.

SI is also pleased to announce the new Strategic Plan, full details of which can also be found in TIS.

Finally, there is also a reminder from Convention Chair Yvonne about Montreal 2011 and an update on the programme, speakers and social events organised so far. It is going to be a very exciting few days so click here to register!

Enjoy TIS!

IMPORTANT UPDATE ON PRE-CSW ADVOCACY!

The UN Division for the Advancement of Women (now part of UN Women) has published an incredible resource giving the contact details for National Mechanisms for Gender Equality. You can use this directory to determine to whom and where you should send the Soroptimist pre-CSW advocacy tools, such as the postcard, the letter, or even the statement!

Please visit http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/documents/National-Mechanisms-Web.pdf to download the directory!

SI UN Rep Attends Human Rights Day Celebration

Dora Vrdlovec, SI UN Rep at Vienna, attended a Celebration of Human Rights Day on December 10th - an important date for Soroptimists.

UNIS Vienna, in cooperation with the UNHCR in Austria, invited several school classes in the Vienna International Centre to celebrate the Human Right Day with the program “Speak Up … Stop Discrimination -Human Rights Defenders who work to end discrimination”.

Through the annually produced documentary film “Global view”, the UNHCR showed the tremendous and irreplaceable work of the UNHCR staff members in the refugee Camps in Africa and in many other countries where, due to wars and persecutions, million of people are forced to leave their homes and counties with nothing. If you wish to receive a copy of the video, you will need to contact the UNHCR Office in your country.

Currently there are 43.3 million uprooted people on the run. This figure includes 983,000 asylum-seekers and 27.1 million internally displaced persons. By the end of 2009 UNHCR had identified some 6.6 million stateless persons in 60 counties. Developing counties were host to four-fifths of the world’ refugees.

Pakistan still has the largest number of refugees worldwide (1.7 million), followed by the Islamic Republic of Iran (1.1 million). Afghan and Iraqi refugees accounted for almost half of all refugees under UNHCR responsibility.

Women and girls represented, on average, 49% of persons of concern to UNHCR. This round table was very interesting and many young students took actively part to the discussion.

The words of Ban Ki-moon closed the commemoration:

“It is these human rights defenders to whom we dedicate this year’s observance of Human Rights Day. Defenders are a diverse group. They might be part of a civil society organization, a journalist or even a lone citizen, spurred to action by abuses close to home. But they all share a commitment to expose wrongdoing, protect the most vulnerable and end impunity. They stand up, speak out - and today they tweet - in the name of freedom and human dignity. Human rights defenders play a vital role in the fight against discrimination. They investigate violations and help victims gain justice and support”.

Many thanks to Dora for attending this celebration and commemoration of Human Rights Day!

December 10, 2010:

a day to celebrate, reflect, and ACT.

December 10^th is Human Rights Day, when we honor the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed on December 10, 1948. This year’s theme is human rights defenders who act to end discrimination.

“Human rights defenders speak out against abuse and violations including discrimination, exclusion, oppression and violence. They advocate justice and seek to protect the victims of human rights violations. They demand accountability for perpetrators and transparency in government action. In so doing, they are often putting at risk their own safety, and that of their families.

Some human rights defenders are famous, but most are not. They are active in every part of the world, working alone and in groups, in local communities, in national politics and internationally.” (The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights)

It is this last point which strikes an important chord…Soroptimists, through awareness, advocacy, and action, are defending the human rights of vulnerable women and girls all over the world. Soroptimists speak out against abuse of women and girls. Soroptimists stand up against discrimination, exclusion, and oppression. They “fight” violence with knowledge, empowerment, and solidarity. As a global voice for women and girls, Soroptimists speak up for those who are silenced, demanding a more just and equitable world. In this way, Soroptimists are truly human rights defenders.

It is true, Soroptimists may not be famous, but they have left their mark on the hearts and lives of all they have served over the past century. In the past year alone, Soroptimists have defended the rights of over 1 million women and girls, from working at community level to ensure that women have safe recourse from abusers to speaking out on the international stage on issues adversely affecting women and girls.

The Soroptimist position papers are collectively titled ‘Where We Stand’ – and on a day where we celebrate, reflect, and call others to actions, Soroptimists are standing UP for the rights of women and girls around the world. Soroptimists are standing OUT ensuring that the voices of those who are silenced are heard. And Soroptimists are standing PROUD of the achievements we have made and the impact we have had.

But we cannot stand STILL. Every day, in every country, every culture, and every community, the rights of women and girls are threatened and violated. Women and girls are discriminated, excluded, and oppressed. Acts of violence are committed without any repercussions. So, while we celebrate the work Soroptimists have done as defenders of human rights, we must also ACT, and continue to take a stand and speak out, to continue to advocate for justice and be a global voice for women and girls.