Subject: [fem-women2000 63] Re: IWTC Women's GlobalNet #130
From: lalamaziwa <lalamaziwa@jca.apc.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 09:45:46 +0700
Seq: 63
---------------- Original message follows ---------------- From: iwtc <iwtc@igc.org> To: iwtc-womensglobalnet@igc.topica.com Date: Tue, 26 Oct 1999 10:12:01 -0700 Subject: IWTC Women's GlobalNet #130 -- IWTC Women's GlobalNet Women's Initiatives and Activities Worldwide by Anne S Walker IWTC Women's GlobalNet #130 October 26, 1999 WOMEN'S RIGHTS NETWORKS WORLDWIDE PREPARE FOR BEIJING +5 CONGO PLANS INCLUSIVE REVIEW PROCESS: In New York during the March 1999 CSW, NGOs began a series of brainstorming sessions in order to find ways to make the best use of their participation in the Special Session and its preparations. Since that time, the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO) has convened NGO planning dialogues in partnership with the CONGO Committees on the Status of Women and other UN-based NGOs, and assembled an interim planning group to undertake outreach to NGOs around the world. A consortium of women's information groups has also been active, forming a worldwide network known as WomenAction 2000 to work with CONGO in increasing access to information on Beijing+5 plans and initiatives. (See 2. below). After wide consultation, a framework for ensuring NGO input from around the world into planning for Beijing+5 has evolved. The structure of the international NGO facilitation effort is envisioned as follows. It will be comprised of: 1) a 15-20 member NGO Coordinating Committee that will function as the primary decision making body and include representatives of the three CONGO Committees on the Status of Women in Geneva, New York and Vienna, regional groups, large networks, and issue-based caucuses; 2) a smaller NGO Organizing Subcommittee that will be responsible for day-to-day operations; and 3) the larger "NGOs for Women 2000" that will be open to colleagues from around the world who wish to put ideas and work into the review process. The NGO Coordinating Committee will meet electronically on a regular basis, and may convene at some point during the Commission on the Status of Women session in February-March 2000. Open meetings will be held periodically in New York for locally-based members of national and international NGOs. Hopefully, similar gatherings will be convened in other regions of the world. The UN Regional Meetings to be held between September 1999 and February 2000 will provide venues for NGOs and NGO networks to identify two regional NGO representatives for the NGO Coordinating Committee. Representatives already nominated, or put forward before the regional meetings take place will act as temporary representatives until a regional consensus is formed at the meetings. However their role will be important in providing an immediate link between women working regionally and the interim NGO Coordinating Committee. CONGO COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN: Preparations for the NGO Working Session that precedes the Special Session in June, 2000 are well underway. Discussions are being held with the UN to ascertain whether the President of the USA and/or other Heads of State will be attending the first day of the Special Session, in which case the dates of the Working Session may have to be changed to allow for necessary security measures to be undertaken at the UN on Sunday June 4, 2000. For further information , please contact: CONGO, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA. Tel: (1-212) 986-8557. Fax: (1-212) 986-0821. E-mail: <congongo@aol.com>. Web-site: <http://www.conferenceofngos.org>. NGOs URGED TO PUSH FOR INCLUSION ON COUNTRY'S DELEGATION TO PREPCOM AND SPECIAL SESSION The participation of NGOs on their country's delegations at both the PrepCom in February-March 2000 and the Special Session in June 2000 was one of the most important recommendations to come out of meetings held between the UN Division for the Advancement of Women (UN/DAW) and NGOs in October 1999. Countries who included NGO representatives in their delegations to the first PrepCom in March 1999 were: Australia, Finland, Israel, Niger, Philippines, Senegal, Sweden, UK, and Zambia. (According to a UN/DAW chart "Composition of Delegations Participating at the 43rd Session of CSW" October 1999. For information on UN plans and preparations for both the PrepCom and Special Session, please contact the UN Division for the Advancement of Women, United Nations, New York, NY 10017. Tel: (1-212)963-8034. Fax: (1-212) 963-3463. E-mail: <koh.miyaoi@un.org>. Web sites: <http://www.un.org/daw> and/or <http://www.un.org/womenwatch> ALTERNATIVE COUNTRY AND/OR REGIONAL REPORTS BEING PREPARED BY NGOs WORLDWIDE Groups who are preparing alternative reports for their country and/or region on the implementation progress of the PFA, are invited to send them to CONGO at the address given below. Every effort will be made to compile all reports received and to disseminate them widely both before and during the PrepCom and Special Session. To date, we have heard of alternative reports being prepared by groups in: the Arab Region (e-mail: admin_unifem@nets.com.jo>); Asia (isis@isiswomen.org> Web-site: <http://www.isiswomen.org>); Bosnia and Herzegovina (<lara@bn.rstel.net>); Cambodia (<gad@bigpond.com.kh>); Canada (<fafiadir@web.net>); Central/Eastern Europe (<ebarclay@neww.org>); Costa Rica (<fuegocr@sol.racsa.co.cr>); Denmark (<randi@kvinderaad.dk>); India (<b5tfindi@bol.net.in>); Japan (see AWORC web site at <<http://www.jca.apc.org/aworc/bpfa/>); Pacific (<pac-ywca@sopac.org.fj>); UK (<motaylor@cabinet-office.x.gsi.uk>). We would very much like to know of any other alternative reports -either country or regional- that are being prepared, and will inform CONGO and include this information in upcoming issues of the IWTC Women's GlobalNet, and . HOST COMMITTEE FORMED TO PLAN CELEBRATORY EVENTS AND PROVIDE LOGISTICAL SUPPORT FOR NGOs FOR JUNE 2000 SPECIAL SESSION: A separate US Host Committee has been set up to facilitate "celebratory and hosting activities" in the New York area during the time of the Beijing Plus Five Special Session (June 5-9, 2000). They are currently looking for a Coordinator and a job description for this position has been posted on the Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA) web site at: <http://www.stateaction.org>. For further information on the US Host Committee, contact CPA at: (1-202) 956-5127 and ask for Carmencita or call Ellen Chesler at Open Society Institute (1-212) 548-0600. WOMEN'S MEDIA AND INFORMATION NETWORKS HOLD WORKSHOP IN SEOUL TO PREPARE FOR BEIJING PLUS FIVE WEB SITES: >From September 27 to October 2, 34 women from global and regional information and media networks in Africa, Asia/Pacific, Latin America/ Caribbean, East/West Europe and North America, met at the Asia and Pacific Women's Information Centre (APWINC) in Seoul, Korea, to work on setting up an NGO Global Information Network for Beijing Plus Five. Known as WomenAction 2000, this project came out of meetings between media and information women at the first PrepCom for B+5 held in March 1999 in New York. In the months since then, regional "animators" have been found, initial funds have been raised (with the help of WomenWatch, the UN women's web site set up by a coalition of UN agencies), and work has begun on a global web site (<http://womenaction.org/preview>) and B+5 sections on regional web sites in Africa, Asia/Pacific, the US and Canada. Web sites are planned in Europe and Latin America/Caribbean. The workshop was organized along three main tracks, one for the training of the global and regional web site managers, one for global and regional on-line dialogue facilitators, and one for an analysis of Section J, the Women and Media section of the Beijing Platform for Action (PFA). Plans were outlined for a special web site that would focus on women and media concerns and issues worldwide. SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM IWTC: This bulletin has been delayed because of the transferal of all of IWTC's e-mail lists from one list method/service to another. IWTC Women's GlobalNet, along with its Spanish version entitled GlobalNet de Mujeres del CTIM, is now a part of the Topica network, and can be accessed via their web site at <http://www.igc.topica.com>. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. As part of the Topica services, it is now possible to subscribe to, and unsubscribe from IWTC Women's GlobalNet automatically. All future issues of the bulletin (English and Spanish) will also be archived at the Topica web site. IWTC Women's Globalnet is produced by: International Women's Tribune Centre 777 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017, USA Tel: (1-212) 687-8633 Fax: (1-212) 661-2704 _____________________________________________________________ Got a Favorite Topic to Discuss? Start a List at Topica. http://www.topica.com/t/4