As member delegates arrive, advocacy, and witness at the United Nations for Women’s Rights, those not able to be present are able to follow the most recent development through the news and blogs. Ecumenical Press attended Ecumenical Women’s orientation program on February 27. Below is the story. EcumenicalWomen.org and the blog of the “Gender Equitable Episcopalians at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women” can also provide you with first-hand accounts of delegate’s experiences.
Group Readies for Faith-Based Advocacy at U.N. Women’s Conference
By Michael Camacho, Ecumenical Press Reporter. Sun, Feb. 28 2010 10:35 PM
Colorful scarves, handbags and headdresses filled the room of nearly 100 women, with a few men in between, at the Church Center for the United Nations (CCUN) as Hellen Wangusa, Anglican Observer to the United Nations, spoke about her personal reasons for being involved in advocacy.
“It’s my witness,” Wangusa, a Uganda native, opened her talk with. “It’s my way of witnessing to what I believe, it’s my way of witnessing to the mandate that I have been given.”
Following a reading from the book of Jeremiah 22:13-16, Wangusa went on to say that, “Not everybody can access power, not everybody can access people to make decisions, so those of us who have such access – it would be unfortunate if we don’t maximize on such opportunities.”
Wangusa was one of several speakers invited to an all-day orientation on Saturday hosted by New York-based coalition Ecumenical Women (EW), which included talks from Fulata Mbano Moyo, World Council of Churches (WCC) Program Executive on Women in Church and Society; and Mary Roodkowsky, principal ethics adviser for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The orientation was held in preparation for the Ecumenical Women’s advocacy work at the 54th session of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which runs from Mar. 1-12 in New York City.
According to Elizabeth Lee, United Nations Liaison Office for the WCC, the CSW is a “dynamic opportunity” where “the ecumenical spirit comes alive, bringing together women from different generations, cultures, and faith traditions who are able to work together creatively to advance women’s rights and to worship together.”
“We do it not just for the opportunity to be a faith voice throughout the CSW, but to learn and claim things we can take home, to continue to be a voice for full participation of women as we go back to our home places as well,” noted the Rev. Anne Tiemeyer, prrogram director for Women’s Ministries for the National Council of Churches (NCC) U.S.A.