Today’s SoroptiVoice Blog comes from Yoko Komori Olson, past UN Representative in New York for Soroptimist International. Yoko is currently volunteering at the CSW58 and gives us an account of her time as a volunteer during the big event!

"After I retired as UN Rep for SI in December 2013  I
applied to the UN Women CSW58 to do some volunteer work during the event. I set up as a desk volunteer at the UN
Building entrance during busy CSW time of which our Soroptimist member and past UN representative Luciana Marulli does
every year; Luciana introduced me to attend the UN Women registration
preparation meeting.  It was a great opportunity to meet the UN Women
staff. 

6000 organizations registered and 3000 organizations attended the CSW this year. I
worked 8 hours on March 9th just before the SI reception started at 6:30pm. Monday 10th was the CSW58 Opening Remark Day at Temporary General Assembly Hall.

CSW Registration was not an easy process but we smoothly
navigated the process in making temporary ID tags.  We prepared a pre-print tags
table, so there were two lines, one for first timers and one for repeat attendees. Next year
at the CSW 59 3000 more NGOs plan to attend. I
expect Hillary Clinton will come to the UN and she will give us speech about the
20 years of the CSW progress.

During this second week I have been able to attend some meetings. One was a UN Women meeting on March
17th called " The
Voices of African Women and Girls in the Post-2015 Development Agenda" sponsored by ACORD and the YWCA. It was a great meeting with good
panelists, plus a good audience.

ACORD explained that they run 3 times a year
a workshop for 45 countries. Their agenda Includes, Violence Against Women, accurate resources
for women,  Women’s Citizenship and Leadership,  Recognition
for unpaid domestic care works, Women’s health care and the ‘Good
Husband Campaign’. UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka also gave the below speech":

"This Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is taking place at an
historic moment. As we lead up to the 20th Anniversary of the Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action, as we accelerate the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals, and as we discuss the future post-2015 – we must
seize this opportunity to bring women and girls to the centre of the global
agenda. It is no small task, and we all have a lot of work to do. Inter-generational
dialogue is absolutely essential to making existing and future commitments
reality. Everyone, from all generations, must play their part.Twenty years ago,
the Beijing Platform for Action called for the full and equal participation of
women in political, civil, economic and cultural life. While progress has
occurred, it has been slow, uneven, and – let’s be honest – just not good
enough.

MDG 3 signaled that gender equality is a priority. But the Goals
omitted important issues including important issues such as violence against
women, forced and early marriage, women and girls’ unpaid care work, and many
more.

We, the people of the world, have one more year to shape a new
development framework. Our task is to ensure that it integrates the highest standards
on gender equality, building on the MDGs, and the agreements we have already
secured.

Because the lesson we have learned is that without gender equality
at its core, any framework will be inadequate.

The MDG Report of 2013 highlights that persistent gender
inequality continues to undermine all efforts in achieving the MDGs. In the
next two years we must change that.

We need to take big and bold leaps, not baby steps, forward for
gender equality. We need discussion, engagement and action, and we must reach
out across age groups, genders and borders.

A vibrant movement must embrace and bring together women and
girls, men and boys, at all stages of life.

As the head of UN Women, I can assure you that we are committed to
listening to women and girls, amplifying their voices, and making sure that
their interests and needs are a priority.

My friends, as we campaign for equality, we have a strong argument
on our side. We have all the evidence on our side. And I know that we have
history on our side!

I look forward to working together with you for gender equality
and progress for all. Forward ever, backward never!"

"It was amazing meeting". 

 

Photo by Yoko Komori Olson (Yoko right, UN Executive Director, centre)