Parallel events organized or co-sponsored by DAW
The Role of Parliaments in Financing for Gender Equality
27 February 2008The Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Division for the Advancement of Women held a one-day event. The meeting brought together more than 100 parliamentarians, including a number of speakers of parliament, who discussed the role of parliamentarians in securing funding for gender equality. Senator Mónica Xavier of Uruguay, who is also the President of the IPU Coordinating Committee of Women Parliamentarians, chaired the meeting. Dr. Gertrude Ibengwe Mongella, President of the Pan-African Parliament, reminded participants in her introductory remarks that parliaments had specific mandates in terms of oversight of the executive branch. Parliamentarians’ accountability to their voters, including women, meant that they had to ensure proper distribution of resources for gender equality and women’s empowerment. The conclusions of the meeting acknowledged that gender equality required economic resources and political will as well as training and capacity-building of Parliament as an institution and of parliamentarians themselves and of technical and advisory staff. Working for a gender-responsive budget was recognized as a matter of accountability toward the electorate.
Download the summary of the proceedings of the event [ English | French ].
Getting the Facts to Make the Change: the International Violence Against Women Survey
28 February 2008The Division for the Advancement of Women organized this event in partnership with the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations.
The International Violence against Women Survey (IVAWS) is an international comparative survey which has interviewed over 53,000 women in Australia, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Mozambique, the Philippines, Poland and Switzerland about their experiences of gender-based violence. The panel presented comparative results of the IVAWS as well as specific findings made in Mozambique and Costa Rica. The panel also focused on how the survey was conducted in each country, and the contribution of the results of the survey to the development of national policies and advocacy for the prevention of violence against women.
Chair: Ms. Clare Beckton, Coordinator, Status of Women Canada
Speakers:
1.
H.E. Mr. Stefan Wallin, Minister at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health of Finland - Statement
2.
Ms. Holly Johnson, PhD, Associate professor, Institute for the Prevention of Crime, University of Ottawa - Presentation
3.
Mr. Sansao Buque, Coordinator of the IVAWS study in Mozambique, Director of Cooperation and HIV-AIDS Focal Point, Ministry for Women and Social Action, Mozambique - Presentation
4.
Ms. Montserrat Sagot, PhD, Professor of Social Sciences and Women's Studies, University of Costa Rica - Presentation
A Conversation on Women and Sport: Launch of the DAW Publication "Women 2000 and Beyond: Women, Gender Equality and Sport"
28 February 2008The Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) launched its new publication, "Women 2000 and Beyond: Women, Gender Equality and Sport" at an event attended by members of civil society, United Nations staff and invited guests.
Participants who gave remarks at the launch were:
1. Johanna Aadrianse, International Working Group on Women and Sport
2. Carole Oglesby, Department of Kinesiology, California State University
3. Mary Harvey, formerly Director of Development at FIFA
4. Lydia la Riviere Zijdel, a sportswoman and trainer with a disability
5. Keshia Kalomo, a seventeen year old athlete from Namibia
6. Mia Kellman, a thirteen year old judo athlete from the USA
7. Rena Kanokogi, New York State Judo, Inc.
8. Carol Garoes, President of the All Namibia Netball Association (ANNA) and The Confederation of African Netball Associations (CANA)
9. Iva Gloudon, Director of Sport and Physical Education, University of the West Indies in St. Augustine
10. Donna De Verona, two time Olympic champion and Emmy Award winning sports journalist
11. Kari Fasting, Professor at the Department of Social and Cultural Studies, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
12. Sandra Marcela Mahecha Matsudo, General Director of the Physical 13. Fitness Research Center of São Caetano do Sul (CELAFISCS)
14. Muffy Davies, Motivational Speaker and Ambassador for Right to Play and the International Paralympic Committee
15. Lindsay Glassco, Director of Policy, Sport for Development and Peace at Right To Play
16. Maie Ayoub von Kohl, Special Adviser on Gender & Diversity at UNICEF
17. Zhang Dan, Counsellor for social and human rights affairs, Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations
Carolyn Hannan, Director, Division for the Advancement of Women, introduced the publication. She noted that sport was a significant avenue for social interaction, discussed the benefit of sport, highlighted the problem of sexual harassment, and emphasized the role of the media in bringing attention to women’s issues in sport. She also elaborated on the content, preparatory process, and potential contribution of the publication to the promotion of gender equality. She expressed appreciation to the international sports organizations, WomenSport International and the International Working Group on Women and Sport, for their valuable contribution to the publication.
The Honourable Minister of Sport from Malaysia, Dato Seri Azalina Othman Said gave the welcoming address via a video message. In her message, the Minister congratulated the United Nations on the launch of the publication, stating that the publication will be a force for achieving gender equality in the arena of sports. She also noted that the Government of Malaysia encourages women to fulfil their potential, both on and off the field.
Financing for women's equitable access to ICTs
29 February 2008The Division for the Advancement of Women organized this event in partnership with the International Women' s Tribune Centre (IWTC) and the Association for Progressive Communications-Women's Networking Support Programme (APC).
This interactive discussion focused on gender-responsive budgeting and financing for access to ICT and ways of using ICTs to facilitate women's access to funding. The session started with a digital story that illustrated how information and communication rights are essential pre-conditions for women to fully exercise their civil and political rights as citizens. The speakers then explored and elaborated on the issues listed below.
1. Willie Currie, APC - financing in the ICT4D sector
2. Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, IWTC - how ICTs can support the efforts of women's groups to secure funding and manage funds
3. Ireen Dubel, HIVOS - donor's perspective on the importance of ICT in the context of women's rights
4. Radhika Lal, UNDP - reflections from a 缅北禁地entity on existing and emerging financing mechanisms to advance gender equality in the information society
The moderator for the event was Chat Garcia Ramilo (APC).
Establishing the Secretary-General's Coordinated Database on Violence Against Women
4 March 2008
DAW's parallel event on “Establishing the Secretary-General’s Coordinated Database on Violence Against Women” was attended by representatives of civil society, Member States and 缅北禁地entities.
Ms. Christine Brautigam, Chief, Women's Rights Section, Division for the Advancement of Women, drew attention to the mandate for the establishment of the database in the General Assembly resolution 61/143, presented the preliminary outline of the content of the database and encouraged participants to provide comments and suggestions.
Download Ms. Christine Brautigam's presentation.