… empowering women to secure a better world

The time has come for participation at a global event within IFUW;  the 30th IFUW Triennial Conference in Mexico City, Mexico 5-9th August 2010. It is another opportunity to meet members from all over the world, share ideas/news/achievements and brainstorm on global/national issues.

The themes for this year’s conference are:

• Advancing Women through Lifelong Learning
• Challenges to Women’s Empowerment in the 21st Century
• New Challenges for Sustainable Development Towards A Just Society

As part of the general activities during the conference, we (young members) also have some programmes structured for our own gathering and these include; an orientation evening/meeting with board members, informal lunches and dinner at a special location. This gives us the opportunity to meet, share ideas and propose the way forward. We also offer assistance with the conference events (i.e. election, guide to event locations, writing press articles, etc). More details on the leadership training and other YM activities will follow but I’d also advise;

- Visiting the IFUW/conference website regularly for information.
- Planning your trip early (for those attending) so you can benefit from cheaper transportation and discounted conference registration fee as indicated on the website (see link above). Contact the IFUW office if you require a letter for visa purposes. And if applicable, check with your NFA or other sources for financial assistance.
- Lastly, stay tuned for further details on YM activities via the network listserv and feel free to contact me for further enquiries.

I look forward to seeing you all at the conference.
Regards,

Vivian Ike

Filed under: Young Members Network, Conferences & Education, Global Women's Issues, IFUW Affiliates

The International Federation of Univerisity Women (IFUW) is calingl for Young Members (40 and under) to serve as leaders within the group. There are three exciting opportunities to participate:  (i) International Coordinator Young Members (ICYM), (ii) Young Members’ Newsletter Editor and (iii) Young Members’ Email Network Moderator.

These positions are for the duration of the next triennium (2010-2013) and successful applicants will have the opportunity to act as points of contact for Young Members’ activities within IFUW. Applicants should have at least participated in one IFUW triennial conference. More details of the role descriptions and eligibility details can be found via the IFUW website.
Interested young members should send their CVs to YM Representative by the 31st of March 2010 and also address a small number of key criteria relevant to the position in which they are interested. Kindly ensure that your application details are submitted to the above email only as it will create unnecessary mail cluster for all if sent to the YM emailing network. Please inform the Women Graduates-USA Coordinator for International Relations if you do apply.

Filed under: IFUW News, Young Members Network

The Working Group on Girls of the NGO Committee on UNICEF has a website that provides valuable information for those advocating and educating about girls. The current newsletter is now available at the WGG website.

Member organizations include the International Federation of University Women — to which those of us in Women Graduates USA belong — World YWCA and the American Association of University Women.

Filed under: Girls and Education, UNESCO, Girls Issues

The NGO Committee on the Status of Women/New York is excited to announce  that select events of the Global Forum for Women–Beijing Plus  15 will be webcast live on February 27 and 28 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm  (Eastern Standard Time-US). The program features a keynote address by Dr.  Sima Samar from Afghanistan as well as panelists Patricia Licuanan,  Charlotte Bunch, Nyaradzai
Gombubsvana, and Cai Yi Ping.  The cultural events include Kinding Sindaw, a colorful dance troupe  celebrating the Filipino oral history of women and a reading by Pulitzer Prize  winning writer, Lynn Nottage.

For complete program and webcast links see  the NGO Committee on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women website.

Webcast links will also be found on February 27 and 28 at The Salvation Army of Greater New York website.

Filed under: Conferences & Education, Gender Status, CSW, Global Women's Issues

The National Council on Research of Women has shared this website for sending aid directly to the women in Haiti. They state that the U.N. has devised various programs to provide food and aid directly to women, who often get outmuscled by men during disaster situations. Relief efforts have become complicated as many Haitian female leaders who worked with U.N. agencies were lost during the earthquake. To find out more go to this website.

Filed under: UN News, Gender Status, National Council for Research on Women

According to UNIFEM’s Progress of the World’s Women 2008/2009 report “Who Answers to Women? Gender & Accountability”, women now hold an average of 18.4 percent of seats in national assemblies, though the rate of increase is still very slow…But more needs to be done as women’s effectiveness in translaitng policies into action depends upon gender-responsive governance reforms. And the women’s movement can play a critical role in supporting such social change. Go to IPS News for the full article.

Filed under: UN Millenium Development Goals (MDG), Gender Status, Global Women's Issues, UNIFEM

Charlotte Bunch, founding director of Rutger University’s Center for Women’s Global Leadership, discusses the first year record of the Obama Administration in relation to women’s rights worldwide. She addresses both the positives and negatives. For the full article, go to IPS News.

Filed under: Equality & Human Rights, Gender Status, Global Women's Issues

UNESCO proposes the term “education-poor” for people with fewer than four years of schooling, much as people are deemed poor if their income falls below $2 a day. Only 3.5% of Peruvians aged 17-22 are education-poor but 34.5% of young Pakistani adults have had under four years of formal education. Disparities within countries are huge, too. More than 75% of young Indian adults have attended school for at least four years compared with 40% of Indian women from the poorest fifth of the population, who have not. Such women are more likely to be education-poor than the average young adult from Senegal.

Visit the UNESCO website for more information about education issues worldwide.

Filed under: Girls and Education, UNESCO, Global Women's Issues

United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI) would like to invite you to an on-line discussion on “Women and the Media”, one of the 12 critical areas of concern identified in the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995.  It is scheduled to take place from 1 to 28 February 2010.

It is part of a series of United Nations on-line discussions dedicated to the fifteen-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly (2000); and is hosted by WomenWatch. These discussions will be a contribution to the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, which will take place from 1 to 12 March 2010.

Section J of the Beijing Platform for Action presents two strategic objectives for Women and the Media:

1. Increase the participation and access of women to expression and decision-making in and through the media and new technologies of communication;

2. Promote a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women in the media.

The online discussion will be moderated by the UN Department of Information. You can access it here. You can choose to participate in one or all of the issues, depending on your availability and interest.

Filed under: UN News, UN Millenium Development Goals (MDG), Gender Status

Reported by Womens eNews 23 January 2010

•    For the first time in its 88 years of existence, Uganda’s Makerere University, East Africa’s oldest university, has graduated more female students than males this year, WeNews correspondent Raymond Baguma reports. This week, a total of 13,677 students are graduating from the university, of which 6,936 are female (representing 50.4 percent of the graduates). Also, the best overall student this year is Emmerentian Mbabazi, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in construction management. Over the years, the Ugandan government, through its affirmative action program, has promoted women’s access to higher education.
•    A court in Abu Dhabi has jailed 13 Syrians for trafficking Moroccan women to the United Arab Emirates to work as prostitutes, the BBC reported Jan. 19. Seven men were given life sentences, while five other men and one woman were jailed for 10 years each. According to court documents, the trafficked womensome as young as 19were lured with the promise of well-paid work.

Go here to learn more about Womens eNews

Filed under: Equality & Human Rights, Gender Status, Trafficking, Global Women's Issues