United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62)
This upcoming Monday (March 12th, 2018) , I (Co-Founder Marnie Colborne of Youthnited Nations) will be attending the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, March 11-16th! Awesome!!! Although I will be attending in my role as United Nations Youth Representative for Sigma, I will be writing and posting for Youthnited Nations as well as it will be an enriching learning opportunity that touches many of the Sustainable Development Goals! Youthnited Nations hopes to one day hold special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) as an Non-Governmental Organization entity in ties with the United Nations Department of Public Information.
What is it?
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), is a global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women.
This years priority theme focuses on: challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls; participation in and access of women to the media, and information and communications technologies and their impact on and use as an instrument for the advancement and empowerment of women.
I will be presenting with Sigma on a very important topic: Gender Equality and Social Media. That deserves a post on its own.
As a Youth, what can I do to participate with CSW62?!
Celebrate CSW62 with us by getting involved in your own community. CSW62 ties with many of the Sustainable Development Goals, but most obviously: Goal #5: Gender Equality and Women Empowerment; Goal#8: Decent Work and Economic Growth; Goal #10 Reduces Inequalities; and Goal #17: Partnerships for the Goals.
WOW! That is a lot- but where as a youth, can I make an impact in these areas?
1. Tune in. Follow some excellent reliable resources that will help increase your knowledge base on the many relevant issues surrounding gender equality and the difficulties women face around the world. Some of my favourites include:
International Monetary Fund: Gender Issues: http://www.imf.org/external/themes/gender/
Canadian Woman's Foundation: https://www.canadianwomen.org/
One Woman Project: https://www.onewomanproject.org/
2. Be sure to share stories you come across of on your social media platforms. Take a photo with on of the SDG Icons and share it on your platform using #youthnitednations to help raise awareness.
3. Research local groups that support the challenges women face and work to develop solutions! Get involved with them.
4. Advocate on issues that resonate with you, share your thoughts and ideas with peers and families.
5. Does your school (highschool, university etc) have a group focusing on addressing these issues and minimizing them? No? Start one!
6. Want to learn more about what the United Nations does regarding Gender Equality or wish to tune into some CSW62 sessions? Go to http://webtv.un.org/ and search for CSW62 during the week of March 12th! You can also follow @UN_CSW or the hashtag #CSW62 to follow this year's Comission on the Status of Woman!
