Blog of Pascale Muylaert, SI Representative to the United Nations in Geneva. 

The environment is everyone’s concern, but women are uniquely positioned to lead the way in protecting our planet.

As part of the UNECE Beijing +30 review sessions, a group of committed, passionate women from around the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe region (UNECE) worked on assessing progress (or lack thereof) versus the aims laid out in the Beijing Plan for Action in 1995. The group wrote a summary statement and recommended 3 areas of action (Empowerment, Education and Food systems), supported by a Background paper with references, sources and data. All this can be found at https://ngocsw-geneva.ch/beijing-30/.

At the Civil Society Forum, over 200 women, and a few men, reviewed the last 30 years of work toward the Beijing Plan for Action, and developed it further for Advocacy. The Environment workshop developed a unified core message structure about the relationship between women and the environment.

Using the Working Groups’ Statement, Recommendations and Background papers, we crafted a message structure for 2 of the 3 actionable recommendations, with the aim to empower us all to act. We also brainstormed practical actions we could take in our communities.

Message Houses and possible Advocacy actions will be posted alongside the key documents. Whether talking to policymakers, the local community, or the workplace, we hope these messages will help drive real, sustainable change.

Let’s work together to support women and protect our planet!