Beijing +25
The Fourth World Conference on women in Beijing in 1995 took place at a moment of great global optimism, when a new world order of cooperation was emerging after the end of the cold war, the dismantling of apartheid and the emergence of new democracies. In this moment of optimism, the Beijing Platform for Action set in place a set of global commitments to gender equality, based on fundamental human rights with a clear statement about state responsibility in delivering on the commitments that were made.
25 years after the Beijing conference. We are in a world where no country has yet achieved gender equality. Moreover, while we have seen much progress in the intervening years, we are also seeing deep polarization of the gender equality Agenda in some contexts and challenges in many places to the ideas of equality, plurality and global solidarity. At the same time, 2020 will also be following heightened feminist advocacy and women’s activism that has profoundly challenged long held behaviors of male privilege. This feminist mobilization has been intersectional, intergenerational, and worldwide. We should support it and participate in it.
Celebrating Beijing+25 with an IAW Vlog project
Under these circumstances I thought how the IAW could commemorate Beijing+25. We could write a parallel report. N60 CSW / New York established a working group of which Soon Young was a member to draft guidance note based on a questionnaire for parallel report, to be elaborated by N60S.
N60S could draft a parallel report and submit to UN women, to post it on their website, if the national review in their country did not revolve civil society.
However, this process takes a long time, it needs knowledge, expertise and it is complicated.
I thought that the easiest way to do so would be to invite our members and friends to contribute to a Vlog project which would call on them to answer a number of questions on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in their countries in order to raise women’s voices at the global level, in particular concerning setbacks and challenges, as well as achievements in their countries during these 25 years and contributions by themselves or their organisations to these achievements.
The contributors to this video which lasts 45 minutes are 33, including me, from all over the world. All continents are represented. We have French speaking people, as well as their contributions were translated into English. We have also one man.
