Yet Another Conference?
There was a lot of press hype and UN-generated publicity about the Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW) in Beijing and the NGO parallel meeting held in Huairou, one hour from Beijing. The women’s Conference was not the last large UN event in a seemingly endless string of UN conferences, but it just as well could have been. Why such a fuss for a UN event that would probably turn out to be another pointless extravaganza?
Amid a growing awareness by women that unless they share perspectives and search for agreement on their roles in the problems that they face, their fate, and the future of humanity, will teeter at the edge of disaster, the conference provided an opportunity for women from diverse backgrounds to discuss all of the challenges they face and to build all-encompassing plans for moving forward.
However, both the official Conference and NGO Forum were plagued with big problems. Most significant in the NGO Forum was that the structure of the discussions, in 90-minute workshops, did not allow progression from discussion of problems and perspectives to future strategies. Meanwhile, activists who attended the Beijing Conference complained that they faced almost impenetrable hurdles in their efforts to lobby for changes in the Conference document.
Despite the challenges, most women still felt that the NGO Forum “charged their batteries,” so that improving the status of women will not only become a priority for all organisations that are fighting for social and economic justice but also will lead to measurable results. Women and men throughout the world have come to some decisions and common understandings about where we have been and where we will go. This feeling is necessary for the most important part of the Conference: the follow-up.
Contents
FEATURE STORY
ARTICLES
APPEALS _ 20
REGIONAL ROUNDUP 22
COUNTRY SURVEY 25
News Briefs 28
Resource List 30
Resources Update 32