Acknowledging the World Youth Foundation e-Letter of May 2014 for some of this very valuable information. Thank You!
WORLD CONFERENCE ON YOUTH 2014
One of the most important global meetings of youth concluded on 10th May 2014 adopting recommendations in a document titled “The Colombo Declaration” with far-reaching implications for policies affecting the world‘s youth population. WorldYouthFoundationwas represented by Ms. Nur Amalina binti Mohd Johari, a staff of WorldYouthFoundation and Ms. Kehkashan Basu, a volunteer to the World Conference. The Closing Plenary of the World Conference on Youth (WCY) 2014 was held at the NationalYouth Services Council (NYSC) auditorium in Maharagama, near Colombo.
WorldYouthFoundation (WYF) has joined force with the UN and became a committed partner for MY WORLD. It is an options survey which MY WORLD asks individuals which six of sixteen possible issues you think would make the most difference to your lives. We seek your support to disseminate this campaign widely to get millions of people to VOTE. Together we can make it happen! The more we can engage, the more votes we drive, the more people around the world will participate in shaping the future of development. DON’T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY. To vote, click here
Here is the link to interesting information provided by the he Population Reference Bureau which informs people around the world about population, health, and the environment, and empowers them to use that information to advance the
well-being of current and future generations. Click here Review the interactive map of the world. See the population clock. Listen to the Webinar. Check out the graphics showing us that
As you can see, it is a contemporary expression of the Beijing dove, rising in flight, reflecting the aspirations and progress the Beijing platform represents. The flock of 3 birds is a reference to the three processes that are under way and reinforce each other to put renewed emphasis on gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment: MDGs, Beijing+20, and Post-2015.
UN Women today launched a major campaign in the lead-up to the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the historic Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. A year of activities around the world will aim to mobilize governments and citizens alike to picture a world where gender equality is a reality and to join a global conversation on empowering women to empower humanity.
Events will focus on achievements and gaps in gender equality and women’s empowerment since 189 governments adopted the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. This visionary blueprint paves the way for women’s full and equal participation in all spheres of life and decision-making.
“The Beijing Platform for Action is an unfulfilled promise to women and girls,” says UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. “Our goal is straightforward: renewed commitment, strengthened action and increased resources to realize gender equality, women’s empowerment and the human rights of women and girls.”
The Beijing Women’s Conference drew an unprecedented 17,000 participants while 30,000 representatives attended the NGO Forum. Next year, in 2015, the United Nations will assess progress on implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action over the past 20 years, based on national reports currently being prepared by UN Member States.
The campaign kicks off with an all-day Tweetathon spanning the globe. Participating groups will include the UN, Lean In, the World YWCA, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, Half the Sky, the European Women’s Lobby, the Women’s Media Centre, Devex and other regional and national experts.
UN Women unveils a global information hub featuring diverse voices, testimonies of personal experiences and achievement, celebrity champions and a calendar to track Beijing+20 events. The HeforShe web platform spotlights prominent men standing up to end violence against women and advance equality. UN Women supports engagement through its network of country offices and release an interactive Facebook app, “Close the Gap”. You can find attached the editorial content of the campaign.
“This anniversary takes place at an historic moment,” stresses UN Women’s Mlambo-Ngucka, “as the nations of the world are coming together to accelerate progress to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and define a new global development framework. We must seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to position gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment at the centre of the global agenda and make it a reality.”
Major campaign events are being planned around the world. This June, tens of thousands of people will gather in Sweden to advocate for the protection of the human rights of women and girls. In September, at the Climate Summit in New York, a special event will be held with women heads of State and activists. In India in November, men and boys will make a show of force for gender equality.
The formal commemoration of the 20th anniversary will take place during the 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women and International Women’s Day 2015 will be dedicated to Beijing+20. A high-level commitment meeting is expected in September 2015.
UN Women Civil Society Section will inform CSOs about all these events and activities through a monthly Newsletter.
During the past two decades much progress has been made in women’s legal rights, educational achievements, and participation in public life. But much still remains to be done to address gender wage gaps and unequal opportunities, low representation of women in leadership in public office and the private sector, child marriage, rampant violence and other violations against women and girls.
“Today I call on everyone to be part of the solution,” says Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka. “Picture It! Together we can realize the promise of Beijing: equality between women and men.”
Best regards,
UN Women Civil Society Section
Civil Society Section – UN Women
220 East 42nd Street, 18th floor New York, NY 10017
This is the new Beijing+20 campaign website. It is in three languages EnglishFrenchSpanish There are ten introductory stories, the second one is by a Working Group on Girls – WGG – Girl Advocate Christina. Congratulations Christina!
Taken from SAY NO UNITE To End Violence Against Women Facebook
Spoiler alert: We’re launching a year-long campaign on gender equality on 22 May! We’ll have fantastic content and monthly social media activities for you, all under the theme of “Empowering women, empowering humanity. Picture it!”. In 1995, the Beijing Platform for Action created a blueprint, a promise for gender equality. 20 years later, progress has been made, but challenges remain. How do you picture gender equality? What action will you take to close the gap? Get excited with us! #Beijing20
Yes, 2,103,976 to be exact have cast their votes for the world we want 2015. Have you voted? It is not too late to do so. Go to this page. You are presented with 16 options and you can choose 6. Lastly you can make your own selection as to what you think is most important. I suggest you think about our advocacy points – Girls Rights or Social Protection Floors. The survey is available in 16 languages. The United Nations whats to know what matters most to you. Vote now!
If you want to see a break down of the 2 million voices CLICK HERE The numbers are analyzed by sex, age, and education. You can further see what numbers voted in any particular country. There are three drop down boxes in which you can insert country, sex, education, age and human development index. I will take Ireland as a example, all genders, all education levels between 16 and 30 years. We see that 677 votes were cast. Ist priority a good education, 2nd better health care and 3rd an honest and responsive government. Changing to only the country to Ethiopia – we find that 11,575 votes were cast. Priorities – a good education, better job opportunities, and better health care. An honest and responsive government was 4th in Ethiopia. Why don’t you explore your own country and see who voted and what the priorities are.
Just below there is a ‘SEGMENTS MAP’. This is colorful but you can see quickly that education is the first priority throughout the world. Check out what is second and note where the variation is? See where climate change features.
Now read Pope Francis’ statement on ‘Stabilizing the Climate and Giving Energy Access to All with an Inclusive Economy’ Click here How does this statement contrast with the 16 areas listed in the my world survey.
“…today we have changed our natural environment to such an extent that scientists are redefining the current period as the Age of the Anthropocene, that is to say an age when human action, through the use of fossil fuels, is having a decisive impact on the planet. If current trends continue, this century will witness unprecedented climate changes and ecosystem destruction that will severely impact us all.
Human action which is not respectful of nature becomes a boomerang for human beings that creates inequality and extends what Pope Francis has termed “the globalization of indifference” and the “economy of exclusion” (Evangelii Gaudium), which themselves endanger solidarity with present and future generations.”
These are the big questions that are being address within the United Nations as the Open Working Group (UN Member States) prepare its reports for the General Assembly in September.
“Humanity needs urgently to redirect our relationship with nature by adopting the Sustainable Development Goals so as to promote a sustainable pattern of economic development and social inclusion. A human ecology that is healthy in terms of ethical virtues contributes to the achievement of sustainable nature and a balanced environment. Today we need a relationship of mutual benefit: true values should permeate the economy and respect for Creation should promote human dignity and wellbeing.”
Preparations are already underway for CSW (Commission on the Status of Women) 59 tentatively scheduled for 9-20 March 2015. Read more The Commission will undertake a review and appraisal of the progress made in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. This will mark 20 years after its adoption at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. Member states have been invited to do a review. Guidelines have been provided by UN Women in all 6 languages of the United Nations. EnglishFrenchSpanishArabicChineese
It is a 13 page document with background and introduction and guidance on the content of national reviews proposing 4 sections.
Overview analysis of achievements and challenges since 1995
Progress in implementation of the critical areas of concern of the Platform for Action since 2009
Data and Statistics
Emerging priorities
Pages 11,12 & 13 outline the critical areas of concern and strategic objectives.
A. Women and poverty
B. Education and training of women
C. Women and health
D. Violence against women
E. Women and armed conflict
F. Women and the economy
G. Women in power and decision-making
H. Institutional mechanisms for advancement of women
I. Human rights of women
J. Women and media
K. Women and the environment
L. The girl-child
In Africa, Member States have been requested to submit reports to UN Women and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) by June 30th 2014. This provides time for analysis and compilation of the regional report ahead of the review process scheduled to take place in November 2014. FEMNET (Africa) make the following suggestions for engaging in the process. See here for more details includingNinth Regional Conference on Women (Beijing+20), which will take place 11–14 November 2014 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
How to engage in the process?
Given the deadline for submission of country/national reports is 30 June 2014, please contact the Ministry of Gender or Gender focal in your country to make submissions and get involved in the process of developing the reports. Additionally, this is an opportunity to mobilize other women’s rights organizations to submit shadow reports following the submission of the national reports.
ESCAP (Asia Pacific) the date is passed April 15. SeeSee more Asian and Pacific Conference on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Beijing +20 Review (17-20 November 2014)
ECE (Europe) date is passed May 1st See The Beijing+20 Regional Review Meeting will be held on 6 – 7 November 2014 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
ESCWA: (Western Asia) A consultative regional workshop is tentatively scheduled for April 2014. A high-level regional conference is tentatively scheduled to take place in June 2014, at a venue to be determined. –
Pope Francis met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and leading executive officers of the Agencies, Funds and Programmes of the United Nations on May 9th in Rome. Here are some excerpts
Pope Francis thanked “all of you who are primarily responsible for the international system, for the great efforts being made to ensure world peace, respect for human dignity, the protection of persons, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, and harmonious economic and social development.”
“The results of the Millennium Development Goals, especially in terms of education and the decrease in extreme poverty, confirm the value of the work of coordination carried out by this Chief Executives Board. At the same time, it must be kept in mind that the world’s peoples deserve and expect even greater results.”
“Future Sustainable Development Goals must therefore be formulated and carried out with generosity and courage, so that they can have a real impact on the structural causes of poverty and hunger, attain more substantial results in protecting the environment, ensure dignified and productive labor for all, and provide appropriate protection for the family, which is an essential element in sustainable human and social development. Specifically, this involves challenging all forms of injustice and resisting the “economy of exclusion”, the “throwaway culture” and the “culture of death” which nowadays sadly risk becoming passively accepted.” Text of full address is here
Hereunder is the list of candidates (38 in all) for the position of Special Rapporteur in Trafficking in Persons especially Women and Children. 19 candidates are female and 19 are male – thus gender balance! There is broad regional representation
Africa (13 5f and 8m),
Asia Pacific 11 7f and 4m ,
Eastern Europe 5 3f and 2m,
Latin America and the Caribbean 3 m
Western Europe and others 6 4f and 2m. It should be noted that 3 of the 6 are from North America 2f and 1m with one each from Italy (f), Spain (m) and the UK (f)
The Good Shepherd International Justice Peace Office is supporting Ruchira Gupta from India. Do you know the candidate from your country? Who do you recommend?
The final Colombo Declaration can be found at: 
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