2015 Commission on the Status of Women

The time has come to begin blogging for the 2015 Commission on the status of Women.
The commission begins on Monday March 9 but a lot of work has been going on for several months in  preparation for the estimated 10,000 women (the largest number since I have been going) to arrive in New York City shortly.

This year will be very different from previous years for several reasons. Firstly, the agreement will be finalized the first day of the Commission. UN Women has been convening regional meetings and leading negotiations since fall. A draft statement was released in the new yaer and several subsequent drafts have passed by me. What I believe may be the final draft was released last week. I will try to figure out how to post it here for you but it should be on the UN Women website and the Commission Website.

This is the 20th anniversary of the agreement called the Beijing Platform for Action.
In 1995, a reported 30,000 women arrived in a village near Beijing which had been created just for the First World conference on Women. This was a record size for any Commission before or since. The Platform was developed to improve the way of life for women all around the world. It advocated for the end to violence against women, equal access to health care, education, employment and much more. You can google the agreement if you want more details.

On Tues March 10 I plan to attend a presentation by 2 or 3 women who were in Beijing. One has become a friend and mentor for me and her story is thrilling. I will try to capture the essence of the presentation for you.

Watch the TV news a week from today. Several thousand women, men, girls and boys will march from various parts of Manhattan to Times Square to mark the World Woman's Day. They have planned it well and hope that it will be the largest such event in New York City. the march starts at 2:30 and arrives in Times square at 4 pm. there will be speeches etc until 5. It should be exciting.

I am actually leaving home tomorrow. I am scheduling 3 days of R & R on Long Island with wonderful friends that I made at the UN and will check into my hotel in Manhattan on Fri to begin work in earnest.

More later.
Now I have to remember how to post this


Blessings Judy