Today, Sunday the NGOCSW Forum at CSW 58 opened at 9.00 a.m at the Great Hall at Cooper Union, New York.  The hall was filled to capacity.  6 Good Shepherd representatives were present. Maureen McGowan and 4 Good Shepherd Volunteers – Stanislava Hristova, Clara Greaney, Claire Dugan and Tatiana Dominguez were present for the day.  Winifred attended the morning session had lunch with the group and then headed up town to the Teen Orientation where over 250 participants had gathered.

Phumzile-Mlambo-Nagcuka, Under Secretary General and Executive Director of UN Women addressed the forum participants. Among the snippets from Phumzile address are the following  “Because a child cannot marry, a child cannot be a bride.”  “Address the root causes of inequality”  “Fully implement the MDG’s.”

The first panel on “Cities for Sustainable Development and Women’s Human rights was both interesting and diverse.  The Chair of the CEDAW Committee Nicole Ameline was one of the panel members urging us to use CEDAW for change.  Ambassador Carlos Garcia Gonzalez, Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the UN noted that CEDAW is a legal framework already in place. Further the Ambassador asked that “the human being at the center. The human being in the whole cycle of life.”  Eleanor Blomstrom from WEDO (Women’s Environmental Development Organization) noted  “Environmental degradation is a threat to human rights.”

The Woman of Distinction Awardee is Sharon Bhagwan Rolls from Fiji.

Phumzile-Mlambo-Nagcuka, having finished at the NGOCSW Forum headed uptown to address the girls gathered at the Teen Orientation.