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INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE
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 Chair - Sue Calhoun
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As a member of the International
Federation of Business & Professional Women's Clubs, BPW Canada and its
members are part of an extensive network of women in more than 100 countries
working to improve the economic, political, employment and social conditions of
women world-wide. Our international work is a very important and very exciting
part of what BPW Canada is all about. In February of each year, clubs hold a
beautiful Candle-lighting Ceremony, symbolizing the spirit we share with our
sister clubs around the world. On March 8th, we celebrate International Women's
Day. Our BPW International Congress brings us together every three years, to
celebrate our successes and to set the agenda for our continuing work. By
joining BPW Canada, you, too, can be part of this large network of women who are
working to improve the lives of girls and women around the world.
Gender and Climate Change
Why Climate Change is a Women's Issue
By Kellie Tranter
Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Legislation for BPW International.
The recent spate of 'natural'
(or nowadays probably more correctly, 'climate related') disasters all over
the world caused me to wonder whether their effects are evenly spread
between the sexes. Logically, human beings of both sexes should react
in much the same way to environmental threats, and in the absence of social
factors, any differences in the effect of disasters between the sexes should
be fairly small. I was interested to turn up some research that has already
been done. I was appalled at what it showed. Read the
Full Report (Word).
2008 Status of Women Commission
BPW Canada had a delegation at the 2008 Status of Women Commission at the United
Nations in New York. Here is a Report from the
52nd Session of the United Nations Commision on the Status of Women (Word)
held in New York at the U.N. Headquarters, February 22-28, 2008. And here are some photos from the event.
Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding
Support, Carolyn McAskie received
the Woman of Distinction Award, presented by the
NGO Committee on the Status of Women. From left,
Colleen Smith-Robinson, BPW Cambridge; Sue
Calhoun, 1st Vice-president; Carolyn McAskie; Louisa Barton-Duguay, BPW
Moncton; Vi Anderson, BPW Virtual; Fran
Donaldson, BPW Canada President (front); & Rhonda
Perks, BPW Cambridge.
Part of our BPW Canada delegation with the head of
the Canadian government delegation Clare Beckton. From left, Vi Andersen, BPW
Virtual Club; Colleen Smith-Robinson, BPW Cambridge; Clare Beckton; Rhonda
Perks, BPW Cambridge; Fran Donaldson, BPW Canada President; & Sue Calhoun, BPW
Canada 1st VP.
President Fran & 1st VP Sue with BPW Egypt President Dr. Amany Asfour
1st VP Sue Calhoun, President Fran & Vi Andersen, BPW Virtual with Monica McNeil, Regional
Director of North America & Non-Spanish Speaking Countries of the
Caribbean, & Liz Benham, 2nd VP of BPWI.
NGO Orientation Session on Sunday: From the left
- Colleen Smith-Robinson & Rhonda Perks (BPW Cambridge) with BPWI president
Chonchanok Viravan, BPW Canada president Fran Donaldson * 1st VP Sue Calhoun
.
The
objective of BPW Power to Make a Difference Competition is to document and give recognition to
the value of leadership, influence and work of BPW Affiliates worldwide. This
competition expands the scope of BPW work eligible for the competition from the
original "Beyond 2000: Helping Women Help Themselves" competitions, which
were held every triennium since 1999, and successfully recognized the BPW work
to help over 45,000 women to sustain themselves economically. For more detail,
visit
www.bpw-international.org/awards/BPW-power-to-make-a-difference.htm.
L’objectif du concours BPW Le pouvoir de faire
la différence est de documenter et de reconnaître la valeur du
leadership, de l’influence et du travail des Affiliées BPW dans le monde. Ce
concours élargit la portée du travail BPW éligible pour le concours, par
rapport au concours original “Au delà 2000: En aidant les femmes à s’aider
elles-mêmes” organisé tous les trois ans depuis 1999, et qui a reconnu avec
succès le travail BPW en aidant plus de 45,000 femmes à s’aider économiquement
elles-mêmes. Pour plus de renseignements, visitez
www.bpw-international.org/awards/BPW-power-to-make-a-difference-fr.htm
The Women's Worlds Congress 2008 is calling for papers.
BPW International is encouraging members to send proposals and take part
of this event.
Visit www.mmww08.org
for more details. The Women’s Worlds Congress is an international
interdisciplinary congress on women (IICW) held every three years. The Congress
focuses on gender research and interdisciplinary scholarship. The first
Women’s Worlds Congress was held in 1981 in Israel. The other Congresses since
then have been held in the Netherlands (1984), Ireland (1987), USA (1990), Costa
Rica (1993), Australia (1996), Norway (1999), Uganda (2002) and Korea (2005).
Next Congress will be held in Madrid, Spain in 2008. It will focus on two
central themes: violence and migrations.
The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the United
Nations General Assembly in 1979, and 185 countries, including Canada, have
ratified the Treaty for the Rights of Women. The treaty, unfortunately, has no
enforcement authority to the United Nations or any other body. That’s why it is
important for BPW Canada, as a non-governmental organization representing
women, to keep reminding our government of its obligations under CEDAW and
pressuring them to fulfill those obligations. Here is a message from
International Committee member Doris Hall about some things you might want to know
about
CEDAW (Word).
- 2007 February, 5th
BPW North America & Non-Spanish Speaking Caribbean Regional Conference:
A dozen BPW Canada members attended the Conference in
Jamaica in February of 2007. The theme of the conference was New Dimensions of
Leadership.
Read the report! (PDF).
- 2006 July: BPW Canada Endorses, Encourages Special UN Agency for Women
At its July 2006 Biennial
Convention in Toronto, delegates passed an emergency resolution, commending
Stephen Lewis, Special Envoy to the United Nations on HIV/AIDs, for his efforts
to give a greater voice to women of the world. Lewis has been advocating for the
creation of a new UN Agency that would specifically defend women's rights,
health and security. In doing so, BPW Canada is part of a growing number of
groups lobbying for a new, autonomous, high level and well-resourced
women-specific UN agency, including the Canadian Committee on Women and UN
Reform. We urge BPW members and other women across the country to join the
campaign. Go on this group's website, download information, join the listserv,
and let your politicians know that the time has come for real change for women
of the world.
- 2006 July: Gender Equality
The position paper
Gender Equality Now or Never: A New UN Agency for Women
(attached here as a pdf document) has been sent to the UN's "Coherence
Panel." This 15-member high-level panel (composed of 12 men and three women)
will make recommendations on UN reform to the General Assembly of the UN in
September of 2006. BPW Canada endorses the idea of a new UN agency for women. As
the paper's author Paula M. Donovan states: "A UN women's agency would, for the
first time, begin to right the balance. Operational, with on-the-ground presence
in every country, a guaranteed budget, and a full complement of expert staff and
targeted programmes, a women's agency would immediately begin to redress decades
of UN neglect. Far from speaking for women, a dedicated agency with
convening power would ensure that women's own voices can be heard, at all levels
of society, and in the decisions that affect their lives."
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2006 March 6: "Make Equality a Priority
- Speech by Stephen Lewis at United Nations stressing that "Women of the world need a strong UN women's agency."
- 2006 February 24 - March 10:
A dozen members of BPW Canada joined over a
hundred other BPW International members and thousands of women from around the
world at the 50th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the
United Nations in New York. Here are their reports / Voici leurs
reportages:
BPW Canada at the UN 2006 / BPW
Canada à l'ONU 2006
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