Comments on SSND - U.N. Commission on the Status of Women: Determined to Make a Difference

Thank you for this wonderful way to connect and le...

2008-02-26T12:37:00.000-06:00

Thank you for this wonderful way to connect and learn about the intertwined issues relating to this year's CSW theme. The financing question clearly impinges on another: 'Guns or Butter?' How will SSND's voice be heard in the formal proceedings?

Mary Beth Reissen, SSND

As one of the two girls´ representatives for Germa...

2008-02-26T09:31:00.000-06:00

As one of the two girls´ representatives for Germany I also participated in 51st CSW. Above all I enjoyed the international dialogue, especially within our multi-culturel SSND group, but also with participants from all over the world. Hearing other girls tell about the problems they have to face in their homecountries made me rethink my attitudes and opened my mind for the interests of a larger community. I understood, how important it is to declare your amendnment in a very detailed way, so that it includes the interests of all people in our world.
It was very impressive how many people from all over the world came to the UN to share their ideas and discuss them, all being part of the progress towards gender equality. This has given me the impression that whatever we´ll do or organize for this common aim, we share the same idea & work with other people, which makes a lot of hope!
I am so very happy to be part of the SSND organization, to learn to value certain issues (and not to take some for granted)and I am very thankful for the opportunity the School Sisters have given me to contribute to the process of transforming the world through education.
Stephanie Braun, Munich, Germany

Thinking about my participation in CSW 51 as a mem...

2008-02-25T23:48:00.000-06:00

Thinking about my participation in CSW 51 as a member of the staff, it is hard to believe that it has been an entire year already since we gathered for a historic moment in both UN and SSND history. Not only did we bring together a delegation of high school ladies and their teachers from across the globe, but many other organizations did the same.

So many young voices sharing a common experience despite the differences in culture, language, beliefs, etc. was an amazing event to witness. It did not matter so much what was said or done, just that the future generation was given the opportunity to unify around a common cause--the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child.

I was also proud to be a part of this delegation because I met so many amazing women who despite all of the problems in their countries have hope and the courage to work for change. As a graduate of an SSND high school and now attending an SSND college, Notre Dame High and Mount Mary College respectively, I am excited to see that there are SSND schools across the globe that are also getting their students to think about their place in the world and what they can do to make a difference. The young ladies I met during our experience made me all the more proud of my own SSND education and the impact this education is having on our world.

Last year's delegation was an amazing step for SSND in utilizing the networks we already have established across the globe to begin the increasingly important process of international dialogue and understanding. It will only be when we see people in all parts of the world as our sisters and brothers that we will find true peace. Bringing people together to simply know each other and share stories of life is a beautiful example of how ordinary people can begin to "transform the world" and "bring all to the oneness for which Jesus Christ was sent." I thank God and the SSNDs who welcomed me for this wonderful experience and for the frienships that continue to blossom from it.

The 2007 meeting of the Commission on the Status o...

2008-02-23T20:15:00.000-06:00

The 2007 meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was the culmination of almost a year of planning by SSNDs and 10 years of dreaming by S. Ethel Howley. My guess is that it will probably prove to be one of the highlights of my tenure as the SSND representative to the United Nations in New York. My hope is that the experience at CSW 51 was just the beginning and that the SSND delegates will be able to continue their work for girls at the national, regional and international levels.

The 51st session of the CSW was particularly significant for the School Sisters of Notre Dame because the theme, eliminating discrimination and violence against the girl child, is so closely related to our mission and to the charism of Blessed Theresa who believed that the education of girls was critical to the transformation of societies.

It was fitting, then that the SSND Delegation to the 2007 meeting of the Commission included eight girls and their teachers from our high schools in Ghana, Germany, Peru, and the United States. I can’t tell you how impressed I was with each and every one of these young women. They were serious about their role, well read and well prepared; deeply concerned about the rights of girls; and extremely poised and well-spoken. In short they were excellent examples of everything that is right about SSND education and they made me very proud to be an SSND educator.

This year we will tackle a new theme with a whole new delegation. The 52nd session of the CSW will be looking at “Financing for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.” The seventeen members of the SSND delegation—from Mt Mary College in Milwaukee—the NAMA Coordinating Center in Chicago—the Shalom Office of the Atlantic Midwest Province and SSNDs from the New York area—will do their best to see that government dialogue and debate focuses on the rights of girls, especially their right to quality education and that the Commission’s policy recommendations contribute to the eradication of poverty and the accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals.

Stay tuned and see how CSW 52 comes out—better yet get involved. Let us know what you think. What would you recommend to the governments of the world?
• What kinds of financial policies will help to accomplish the promise of gender equality?
• What investments will lead to the empowerment of women and girls?

As I read the material in preparation for this yea...

2008-02-23T20:09:00.000-06:00

As I read the material in preparation for this year's CSW meeting I was glad to see specifics that made the theme, "Financing for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women," come alive.

I was excited to see that we would be drawn into discussing very specific "financing for gender equality" questions, such as allocating funds to make sure that all data collected is separated (or disaggregated, in "UN Speak")
by sex and age so that policy makers are aware of how money is being spent for things like education, health, and violence prevention. It is not enough to fund education alone, if families are still having to choose between a girl's education and her potential as a wage earner to support a hungry family. It is not enough to set up fair labor practices, when trafficking continues to go on beneath the radar screen.

As we enter into the CSW this year, we will be constantly looking for ways to make girls visible in every aspect of our societies - and it is clearer now that "financing for gender equality" will go a long way to make that happen.

I also participated in 51st CSW with the eight hig...

2008-02-23T19:38:00.000-06:00

I also participated in 51st CSW with the eight high school girls from four different countires. I was very proud to be part of that delegation where we, SSNDs, were instrumental in bringing these students to the United Nations. I was proud of this adventure on the part of all of us because we were not just giving a voice to the violess. We brought those voices to the decision makers at the CSW.
I look forward to the 52nd CSW with ten other participants from the Midwest USA.