19-20 OCTOBER 2024, GENEVA
The civil society meeting held on 19-20 October 2022, was part of the Beijing +30 Civil Society Consultation, organised by the NGO Committee on the Status of Women Geneva.
One of the key findings of the two- day session was the reaffirmation by Member States of the importance of fully implementing the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA). This landmark document, produced at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, identifies 12 critical areas of concern that obstruct all women’s and girl’s full enjoyment of their rights.
Participants engaged vividly in discussions within Working Groups. Each addressed one of the BPfA’s 12 critical areas of concern and emerging issues. The groups drafted statements reflecting their findings and actionable recommendations for stakeholders, including governments and international organisations.
Berthe de Vos-Neven, Vice President of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women Geneva, led the group of other Soroptimists integrating the working groups and workshops: Dagmar Lipper (SI Germany) and Jennie Ferm (SI Sweden) who worked on “Women and the Economy”; Tania Gomez (SI Belgium) who addressed the “emerging issue of AI” and Lora Nasika (SI Greece) who collaborated with Berthe on “Education and Training of Women”.
Other Soroptimists, alongside participants from organisations across the UNECE region, shared insights and networked to foster collaboration. A standout outcome was the creation of an advocacy toolkit, which includes statements and recommendations on each of the 12 critical areas of concern.
This toolkit can be shared in workshops or seminars and serves as a source of inspiration for further action. It can be used by any of us to advocate for policy changes at local, national, and international levels, to influence governmental actions and commitments towards gender equality and women’s rights, or even develop education materials.
The relevance of this work is underscored by CSW69, which focuses on reviewing progress of Beijing + 30, making the insights and recommendations from this consultation directly aligned with its agenda and objectives.
During these two days, it became clearer than ever that women coming together to discuss the challenges they face is VERY powerful.