It's the CSW, the largest biggest annual gathering of feminists, and it's electric. Whether you're in New York or siphoning off the energy to fuel your feminism somewhere else, driving the change around the world, ISIS International's calendar of events is designed to bring to you the vital sites of activism, where your voice can help build the tidal wave of change we urgently need.
Starting on a positive note, there's a seminar on best practices for building a violence-free life for women and girls, looking at case studies from Uganda, organised by (among others) the Center for Women in Governance. It'll be held at 10.30am on 4th March, and is part of a series of events organised by partners of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders. A full list of events is listed in the calendar below, and include a look at women and peacebuilding in Latin America; what human security means for survivors of violence in India; and emerging forms of VAW in the MENA region.
Likewise the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition has an impressive array of partner events, listed below. Some highlights include looking at violence against migrant women on 7 March; the International Women's Dance Party that evening; and a forum on protecting women human rights defenders, on 12 March.
The Women's Initiative for Gender Justice will be speaking at two events (on the calendar below) - with a third one already full. These will be Breaking Barriers for Women: Recommendations on Justice, Security & Peace on 5th March; and Human Security: The Missing Link between Women's Rights, Justice & Peace on 6th March. The Asia Pacific Women's Watch is also organising two events on the same days, one looking at gender and climate change and the second at women and conflict in the Asia Pacific (see below).
Events by the Huairou Commission also start on the 4th, with a look at grassroots approaches to securing justice. Their programme includes a performing arts workshop on 5th March; an event on reclaiming public spaces on 7th March; and a girl's eye view on urban spaces on 8th March.
Do you sometimes feel that we're wading through mud, that we have the legal frameworks to stop VAW, but states are not implementing them, and that they aren't being held accountable for the violence women face? That's the kernel of the discussion on 4th March at 2.30pm, when IWRAW Asia-Pacific and the Malaysian Women's Aid Organisation have put together a panel 'Hold our states accountable in efforts to eliminate VAW', bringing together four speakers looking at human rights laws, the UN and the CEDAW framework.
One of the highlights on the 5th March will be at the Armenian Convention Center, looking at research, activism and responses to the violence faced by women on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, organised by various organisations including Human Rights Watch and the Association for Women in Development (AWID).
On 6th March, Peace is Loud and the WILPF, among others, are convening a multimedia forum on media as an instrument of violence, featuring former ISIS-International staff Mavic Cabrera Balleza in an event that combines a feature film, radio slots and an expert panel.
Join Madre, the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies and others for an inter-movement dialogue sharing knowledge about discrimination between the LGBT and women's movements, on 7th March at 10.30am, at the Armenian Convention Center.
And there's the March! On International Women's Day, 8th March, join the march, wherever you are, for a Life Free From Violence Against Women and Girls. If you're in New York, meet up at 10am at the corner of First Avenue and 42nd Street. There are three demands this year:
- Take Concrete Steps to End Impunity!
- Fund Gender Equality and Human Rights Instead of Militarism!
- Protect Women Human Rights Defenders!
And if you're not in New York, join the Twitter avalanche, using hashtags #CSW57 and EndVAW, post on Facebook and share your stories on Awid.org. Click for more info and slogans.
After the march, join Women Living Under Muslim Law for a panel on why stoning is violence against women, and what can be done to end it forever.
And lastly, this is not all that is happening! If you're fired up and want more to do, check out the full schedule of events here.
| 4 March | |
| 8.30 am |
Whose paradise? Pacific women leading efforts to eliminate violence against women Armenian Convention Center, 630 2nd Avenue |
| 10.00 am |
Engendering bottom-up reform: Grassroots women's approaches for securing access to justice North Lawn Building (Conference room D) |
| 10.30am |
Violence-free Life for Women and Girls: Best Practices from Uganda Armenian Convention Center, 630 2nd Avenue, (Y Room) Investing in peace? Violence against women, militarism, and budgeting for "security" Salvation Army Auditorium, 221 East 52ndStreet |
| 11.30 am |
Implementation of the UNSCR 1325: Experiences from Latin America North Lawn Building (Conference room B) |
| 12.30pm |
Human Security - what does it mean for women survivors of violence in India? Armenian Convention Center, 630 2nd Avenue, (Y Room) Grounding human rights for effective change: A tool in the struggle for land in the context of HIV/AIDS and VAW Salvation Army Auditorium |
| 2.30pm |
A Critique on Existing Frameworks to Hold our States Accountable in its Efforts to Eliminate Violence against Women 10th Floor, UN Church Centre, 777, 1st Avenue at 44th Street, New York Conversation Circle on Peace and Security/Violence against Women and Girls 2nd Floor, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York |
| 3.30pm |
UN Security Council Resolution #1325 - What lies ahead One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (Auditorium) |
| 4.30 pm |
Arts and Film for women's activism: For rights, against violence UN Church Centre Chapel, 777, 1st Avenue at 44th Street |
| 6.15 pm |
Exploring the links between urban public services and violence against women and girls Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, (Boss Room, 8th Floor) |
| 5 March | |
| 8.30 am |
Respect for women and girls: Equality for all Hardin Room, Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza (11th Floor) |
| 10.30am |
Violence, Economics and War: From Theory to Action Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, (2nd Floor) The post-2015 development agenda: What's at stake for the world's women? Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza (1st Floor) Gender and climate change in Asia and the Pacific Armenian Convention Center, 630 2nd Avenue (Y-Room) |
| 11.30 am |
Gender-Based violence prevention as a human right and a legally binding state obligation North Lawn Building (Conference room D) |
| 12.30 pm |
Italy Violence Against Women &Femicide Hardin Room, Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza (11th Floor) |
| 1.15 pm |
exual violence in conflict: Delivering justice Ford Foundation, 320 E 43rd St. |
|
2.30 pm |
The Role of Security Sector and Justice System in DRC: What are the Challenges in Promoting Gender Equality and Eliminating Sexual Violence Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, (Drew Room, Ground Floor) 16 Days campaign open forum Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, (Boss Room, 8th Floor) Breaking barriers for women: Recommendations on security, justice and peace Hardin Room, Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza (11th Floor) |
| 3.00 pm |
The Human Rights Universal Periodic Review and violence against women and girls Conference Room B |
| 3.30 pm |
Violence Against Women &The Human Right to Peace Mission of Bangladesh to the UN, 820 2nd Avenue, 4th Floor |
| 4.30 pm |
Women under Siege, New and Emerging Forms of Violence against Women in the MENA Region Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, (2nd Floor) Women Peace Building and Countering Violent Extremism Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, (2nd Floor) Killings and violence against women based on sexual orientation and gender identity Armenian Convention Center, 630 2nd Avenue |
| 6 March | |
| 10.30 am |
US women connect Salvation Army Center Auditorium, 221 East 52nd St Violence against women: What do race and class have to do with it? Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, (2nd Floor) Joining the dots: Exploring the economic empowerment of women in conflict affected areas of the Asia Pacific V-Hall, Armenian Convention Center, 630 2nd Avenue |
| 12.30 pm |
Guatemala violence against women and girls Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, (10th Floor) |
| 2.30 pm |
Media as an Instrument in Fighting Violence Against Women in Conflict-Affected Settings Armenian Convention Center, 630 2nd Avenue, (Y Room) Women, peace and security: Elusive opportunity for Afro-Caribbean women in conflict zones Armenian Convention Center, 630 2nd Avenue, (Y Room) Performing arts workshop: Preventing and responding to violence against women Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, 4th Floor |
| 3.30 pm |
Human security: The missing link between women's rights, justice and peace The New School's Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12th St |
| 4.30 pm |
Sextortion and a gendered approach to corruption: Grassroots women &women judges take the lead Boss Room, Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, (8th Floor) |
| 6.15 pm |
Gender harmony: A promising tool against gender violence Armenian Convention Center, 630 2nd Avenue, (Y Room) |
| 7 March | |
| 10.00 am |
Women's rights and LGBT activists share anti-violence strategies Armenian Convention Center, 630 2nd Avenue (Guild Hall) |
| 10.30 am |
Violence against women and women with disabilities Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, (10th Floor) Challenging discrimination and violence against LGBT community in Haiti Armenian Convention Center, 630 2nd Avenue, (Guild Hall) Violence against migrant women and the human rights framework Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, (2nd Floor) |
| 12.30 pm |
Tradition, culture and religion: Affirming existing human rights agreements to strengthen the efforts to eradicate violence against women Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, (1st Floor) |
| 2.30 pm |
Marginalized violence: Addressing violence against marginalized groups in the Asia Pacific Armenian Convention Center, 630 2nd Avenue Afghanistan violence against women and girls Church Center Chapel, 777 United Nations Plaza |
| 4.30 pm |
Global perspectives on violence against women Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, (10th Floor) |
| 4.45 pm |
Women moving mountains, high impact investment to eliminate and prevent violence against women - the case of the Dutch MDG3 Fund Conference Room B |
| 6.00 pm |
Vision and Voice: What the Women Say - Findings from the First Regional MENA/South Asia Women's Rights, Peace, and Security Forum Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, (12th Floor) |
| 6.30 pm |
Latin America and the Caribbean violence against women and girls United Nations North Lawn Building Room CR-7 (need security passes) |
| 8.00 pm |
International Women's Dance Party The Culture Club, 20 West 39thStreet, between 5thand 6thAvenue |
| 8 March | |
| 10.00 am |
The March for a Life Free from Violence Against Women and Girls Assemble at First Avenue and 42nd Street |
| 10.30 am |
Gender stereotypes, gender violence Church Center Chapel, 777 United Nations Plaza Global outcry: It shouldn't hurt to be a girl Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, (2nd Floor) |
| 12.15 pm |
Women with disabilities and violence: Challenges and visions in the Asia Pacific Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, New York |
| 12.30 pm |
Training workshop: Tools and methods to build safer communities &cities for women and girls (Delhi &beyond: Concrete actions for safer cities) Hardin Room, Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza (11th Floor) |
| 1.00 pm |
Harmful traditional practices - violence against women German House, 871 United Nations Plaza, 1st Avenue at 49th St |
| 1.15 pm |
A girl's eye view on (un)safe urban spaces North Lawn Building, Conference Room B |
| 2.30 pm |
Why Stoning Is Violence Against Women 10th Floor,777 United Nations Plaza |
| 9 March | |
| 4.45 pm |
Successful strategies and funding mechanisms to eradicate violence against women: Women moving mountains Conference Room B |
| 11 March | |
| 10.30 am |
Gender-Based Violence and Access to Justice After the Liberian Civil War Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, (Boss Room, 8th Floor) |
| 1.15 pm |
Elimination and prevention of VAWG in post-conflict situations North Lawn Building, Conference Room 2 |
| 2.30 pm |
How to break the cycle of denying young women's access to youth-friendly SRHR services? Conference Room B Developing justice: Transforming development frameworks to address structural causes of inequality Grumman Room, United Nations Church Center (8thfloor), 777 UN Plaza |
| 12 March | |
| 10:00 am |
Review theme panel 4: The equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men including caregiving in the context of HIV/AIDS North Lawn Building, Conference Room 2 |
| 11.30 am |
Austerity, fiscal policies and economic, social and cultural rights: Vienna+20 - Where are women now? United Nations North Lawn Building, Conference Room D, 1rst Avenue at East 46thStreet |
| 3.00 pm |
Women human rights defenders: A resource at risk? Obligations and practical measures to support women human rights defenders and protect them from intimidation, reprisals and violence Conference Room B Review theme panel 5: Evaluation of progress in the implementation of the agreed conclusions of CSW53 on equal sharing of responsibilities North Lawn Building, Conference Room 2 |
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