Blog - Soroptimist International

Dora Vrdlovec reports from the 28th Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

A blog by Dora Vrdlovec, SI Club Wien Belvedere, Vienna "The 28th Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) met 20 -24 May at the United Nations (UN), Vienna, to discuss “the responsibility of effective, fair, humane and accountable criminal justice systems in preventing and countering

The Effects of Climate Change on Migration and Human Trafficking

Linda Witong, SI Special Advisor to Advocacy, blogs about the link between Human Trafficking and Climate Change. “Geoffrey Dabelko, a climate security expert at Ohio University, observes that we need to be thinking “beyond the obvious for what climate change is going to mean. It has to be understood in

Household Air Pollution, A Gender Issue

SI UN Representative, Mary Muia blogs from Nairobi about the effects of household air pollution and the need to empower communities and encourage policy makers to heighten their awareness and ensure their commitment to reducing this common health hazard. "Millions of women cook on stoves or fires that fill the

Working Towards a Global Pact for the Environment

The Third Session towards a Global Pact for the Environment was held on 20-22 May, Nairobi, Kenya. SI UN Representative, Beatrice Olouch was in attendance. "The conference was well attended by Member States delegations. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, and those that are accredited

Women’s Leadership in Disaster Risk Reduction

SI advocates for women's leadership in the planning and implementation of disaster risk reduction plans worldwide. This month, SI United Nations Representatives Kristin Reynisdottir, Stacy Ciulik and Berthe De Vos attended the 'Women's Leadership in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)' Session at the 6th Global Platform of DRR, Geneva. This session

SI President speaks at UNESCO International Water Conference

This week, Soroptimist International President, Mariet Verhoef-Cohen delivered the concluding remarks at the 'Thirsty for Change: Promoting a Gender-Responsive Approach to Achieve Water Security’ panel at the UNESCO International Water Conference in Paris. The panel discussed ways of empowering women through better water management and policy making. President Mariet ended

Civil Society Must Be Heard!

“24 October, 2020 will mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. “This constitutes an opportunity – a chance for civil society to push for improved world governance” (Democracy Without Borders). “It is a chance to make the UN more effective, more transparent, more accountable and more relevant to “we

Where are All the Women?

A blog by Theresa W. Devasahayam, SI UN Representative for Bangkok and Past President, Soroptimist International of Singapore (SIS) "According to the Global Gender Gap Report, the world has closed 68 percent of its gender gap.1 The 21st century has seen women making significant headway especially in the areas of

World Summit for the Information Society, Session 12 – Gender Mainstreaming

A blog by Stacy Ciulik, UN Representative Geneva "The World Summit for the Information Society (WSIS) 2019, Geneva, had a jam-packed agenda of fascinating topics relating to digitalisation and the information society. High-Level Policy Session 12 on gender mainstreaming touched upon many topics I have personally encountered as a female

Global Warming and Geoengineering

A blog by Beatrice Oluoch, SI UN Representative, Nairobi "A pre-UNEA 4 event, hosted by The Carnegie Climate Engineering Governance Initiative (C2G2), was held on 6 March 2019. The topic for discussion was Learning to govern geoengineering: insights from different experiences on environmental governance. When I first looked at the