It may feel like big UN meetings like the  Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which finished last week, while exciting,
don’t directly relate to local club work. They do! 

For a start, the work that Soroptimists do for women and girls in their communities and beyond shapes SI’s advocacy positions. SI’s "key asks" for CSW were developed based on information and evidence gathered from
Soroptimist clubs, projects, and representatives around the world. In this way, Soroptimist grassroots work helps to influence international agreements, like the CSW agreed conclusions.

Moreover, decisions made at the UN can affect Soroptimist activity around the world. Here are a few
important ways that what happens at the UN, and in particular at CSW, could impact
local Soroptimist work:

Funding for Soroptimist Programme Work

One of SI’s key lobbying asks for CSW was to ensure adequate funding available for programmes to improve the lives of women and
girls.  The agreed conclusions
specifically urge governments to “increase significantly resources for
grassroots, national, regional, and global women’s organisations to promote and
advance women’s rights.”  Clubs, Regions/Unions/Countries, and Federations could financially benefit from increased investment in programme work.

Also, part of SI’s work at CSW and beyond is to ensure that women’s rights are
prioritised in global agenda setting. 
The higher the priority and profile, the more international funding is
funnelled into that area.  The more SI
can do to ensure that women’s rights are prioritised globally, the more funding
will be available locally to support programmes improving women and girls’ lives. 

Opportunities, ideas, and inspiration for club
work

As we work to ensure that SI’s key
asks are included in global policy setting, we draw attention to the importance
of the issues that matter to Soroptimists.  This is particularly
relevant for violence against women and girls and working with men and
boys.  The more attention that these
issues gather at global level, the more opportunities there will be for work
locally. 

The topics covered in the
Millennium Development Goals became the most important work globally, nationally,
and locally.  Even if you were unaware of
the MDGs, you would have likely been aware of the importance of the 7 main
issues they tackled: poverty and hunger; education; gender equality; child
health; maternal health; HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; environmental sustainability (including water and sanitation). 

The issues that are defined as the next set
of development goals will get media attention and higher profile.  The work of Soroptimists
around the world could greatly benefit. 

Partnerships and collaborations

As SI works to define the next global agenda
for development, we want to ensure that the priorities offer opportunities for
club engagement.  For example, if VAWG is
indeed specified as a target, we anticipate a surge in local work on this
issue, providing many possible exciting opportunities for club work. 

Opportunities for advocacy

For Soroptimists interested in advocacy and
lobbying work, there is still much to do! 
In the next section, we look at next steps and will begin to outline
ways clubs can be involved in working to improve the lives of women and girls
through this advocacy campaign.

What happens now?

 

CSW58 is over but SI’s work is far from done.  Unless they are implemented, the CSW agreed
conclusions are just another piece of paper. 

1. Work to ensure that governments
   follow through with their commitments. 
   SI will be issuing a post-session advocacy kit to guide clubs should
   they wish to join this global effort.
2. Ensure that our key asks
   for the post-2015 agenda continue to be at the forefront.  There are many more meetings, opportunities,
   and discussions where SI must work diligently as the global community shapes
   the post-2015 development goals. 
3. The agreed conclusions
   specifically reference the Beijing +20 review process.  SI aims to take an active part in this
   process.  More information on what SI is
   doing and how Soroptimists can be involved will be released very soon.