September 2000 - Promises
September 2005 - More promises!
September 2008 - Collapse and Crisis!
September 2010: Addressing Crises at a Crossroads:
A Day of Dialogue on Women & the MDGs
Organized by the Feminist Task Force GCAP
Date: Monday, September 20, 2010
Time: 9:00am – 4:15pm, with a break for lunch
Venue: Salvation Army Auditorium
Location: 52nd Street and 3rd Avenue, New York City
On the opening day of the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Review Summit, women’s groups, civil society and UN partners will gather to critically asses how the MDGs have or have not served women, and to examine the impact on women of interconnected crises -- financial and economic, climate change, food, maternal mortality – and how these crises have exacerbated living conditions for women and thrown millions back into poverty.
Ten years ago, when the 2000 Millennium Declaration outlined the eight MDGs, many women’s organizations viewed them as “minimalist development goals”; as simply watered-down commitments of the internationally agreed development goals of the UN conferences of the 1990’s. Since then, reports indicate mixed progress , with the new crises worsening the feminization of poverty and threatening progress in other areas.
Now, with only five years left until the 2015 deadline to achieve the MDGs, the UN MDG 2010 Review Summit provides an opportunity to critique the progress of governments in fulfilling the MDGs, and also offers women’s organizations the time to emphasize once again the centrality of gender equality and the empowerment of women in achieving the MDGs and sustainable human development. The birth of “UN Women,” the new United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, provides renewed hope and direction in fulfilling the promises of gender equality and women’s empowerment.
The Day of Dialogue on Women will include the following sessions:
“Two years after the financial crisis: How are women faring locally and globally?”
Two years ago, in the shadow of the UN and with Wall Street crumbling forty streets to the south, the Women’s Tribunal on Poverty and the MDGs provided testimony to the increasing poverty levels and deteriorating conditions for women in the global North, particularly with women of color in the United States. Two years later, this session will explore how women are faring since the beginning of the financial crisis at the local, regional and global levels.
Presenters: Kinda Mohamadieh (ANND), Myriam Ben Khouya (Espace Associatif), Ana Agostino (ICAE, FTF), Diana Salas (NYU Women of Color Network), Josephine Kamel (AWEPON), Luisa Cruz Hefti (FTF-GCAP), Rosa Lizarde (ENLACE/FTF-GCAP) and global overview by AWID representative. A directive will be presented to Summit round table participants: Sylvia Borren, Ana Agostino.
“Addressing the Climate Change Crisis across the World.”
After the disappointment of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference last December 2009, and with the COP16 coming up in Cancún, México, in December 2010, women’s climate justice networks are gearing up for increased vigilance and activism. Organizers of the Women’s Tribunals on Climate Justice and other activists will provide up-to-date information from around the world, with a particular emphasis on a first hand account of the recent floods in Pakistan.
Presenters: Rehana Khilji (HOPE-Pakistan), Marta Benavides (Siglo XVIII), Marcella Ballara, Javier Molina, UN-FAO, Caroline Usikpedo Om0niye (Niger Delta Women’s Movement for Peace and Development)
A light lunch will be served in the garden of the Salvation Army building.
Music by Catch Betty
“Rallying Support for Improvement of Maternal and Child Health in Africa and Asia.”
Women and children in Asia and Africa share similar challenges with regard to improved maternal and child health services. In July, African Heads of States met in Kampala under the theme “Maternal, infant and child health and development in Africa,”and adopted actions to be taken by various member- states aimed at attaining MDGs 4,5 and 6. South Asia is host to three of the six countries that are worst off in relation to the maternal health goals, and challenges to maternal mortality in the region are multiple. This session aims to build inter-regional as well as global support around these issues and to explore innovative ways of tackling these challenges.
Presenters: Indu Kapoor, (Chetna), African Union representative (invited), Amy Boldosser (Family Care Int’l.), Adelaide Sosseh (GCAP co-chair, Gambia). Organizers: Lysa John (GCAP Director), Sonia Kwami (GCAP Africa), Sandhya Venkateswaran (Wada Na Todo Abhiyan)
“The UN Women entity – Formation at a moment of crossroads”
The establishment of the new United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women on July 2nd , with the impending announcement of its new head, brings renewed hope and direction to the international women’s movement, as well as bringing new funding and clout to the UN Women entity. The panel will present the most up-to-date information, and will discuss the implications of its formation at a moment of crossroads.
Presenters include members of the GEAR Campaign, including Charlotte Bunch (Center for Women’s Global Leadership) and Alex Garrita (International Women’s Health Coalition).
Organized by Feminist Task Force of the Global Call to Action against Poverty (FTF-GCAP).
For more information, contact Rosa Lizarde at <rosaencasa_at_aol.com>.