Cheers From New York - WomenNC Fellows at CSW!
Anita Sivakumar
Greetings from WomenNC’s 2012 Fellowship Team in New York at CSW!
We are writing to report that WomenNC’s 2012 CSW Fellows have been incredibly enriched and invigorated by participating in the 2012 United Nations 56th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), since arriving Saturday, February 25th. Below, please find a brief synopsis of our experiences, to-date.
The NGO Consultation Day on Sunday kicked-off the two week CSW conference with a plethora of international panels and inspiring speakers including Michelle Bachelet, UN Under-Secretary General and UN Women Executive Director and 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner from Liberia, Leymah Gbowee. Each day following, the students and WNC Board chaperones attended many Official and Non-Official Governmental sessions at the U.N. and dozens of NGO-sponsored seminars. The Fellows have taken a very active role posing pertinent questions during sessions, engaged in many panel dialogues, and networked with hundreds of people from all over the world. Over 4,000 NGO groups had registered for attendance.
All the sessions pertained to the multi-faceted 2012 CSW theme of “. . .empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges”. The topics range from challenges for economic equalities, effects of climate change, violence against women, education and health disparities, cultural impact, migration, technology opportunities, the importance of empowering youth, equal justice, and more. It was apparent that addressing the disadvantages of rural women and girls is not only urgent for providing equal rights and access for opportunities, but future sustainable development of the growing world population hinges upon resolving these severe incongruities.
Yesterday evening, March 1st, the five WomenNC CSW Fellows will present their topics, as they pertain to North Carolina rural women, that include Political Participation, Technology Education for Girls, Agriculture & Women Farmers, Human Trafficking in NC, and Community Health Systems. They will also share North Carolina agencies or organizations they collaborated with as potential for “best practice models” for other world communities. The students have been refining their presentations for the international forum and integrated the relevance of the U.N. International Treaty CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women), which is yet to be ratified by the United States.
Additional highlights included our two invitations to U.S. Mission interactive sessions, lunch roundtable at Ms. Foundation, and an NGO evening reception with 300+ delegates and NGO attendees at the Turkish Center. Attached are a few pictures of our “colorful” activities. You can also read blogs written by each of the girls in their own words at blog at http://womennc.blogspot.com.
We want to thank you for your support of the CSW Fellowship program. It is amazing how quickly these days have gone and how much this journey has broadened all our perspectives.
Stay tuned for more details on upcoming “2012 CSW Fellowship Reflections” forums throughout Raleigh and Durham! One more quick note March is Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day is March 8, 2012!
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Best regards,
WomenNC 2012 CSW Fellows -
Anuja Acharya, Abby Bouchon, Becca Bishopric, Hannah Nemer, Mariamawit Tadesse
Beth Dehghan Anita Sivakumar Sue Ellen Rosen Violet Rhinehart
Executive Director President, 2010 CSW Fellow Communications Chair CSW Fellow Advisor
