Hilary Ratcliffe, SI Programme Director, writes a second update from CSW57 in New York.

The SI delegation met this morning (Tuesday) and shared experiences from the first day of CSW. We managed meetings with key government ministers from theUK, Indonesia, Australia, Estonia and Italy. The delegates have attended the opening ceremony and several plenary sessions in the North Lawn building of the United Nations.

One workshop that I attended was on the question of alternative energy. It is calculated that in rural India, a woman spends up to 4 hours collecting wood and then 4 hours preparing food on a very inefficient cooking stove. With 8 hours in the day taken up with food preparation so is it any wonder that education remains low on the list of priorities? Just by providing an efficient and clean stove that woman’s life can be liberated and she can realise an education. Dr Jacques Sebisaho working in part of the Congo said can you imagine delivering a baby by the reflected light from your mobile phone? He travels with what he referred to as a solar suitcase! This enables a medical clinic to function properly and lives are saved by simple solar technology. A useful website for these ideas is www.clean cooking.org

Another theme very prevalent at this year’s CSW is from Global to Local. An idea that surely resonates with Soroptimists as this is exactly what we are about.

Today is our first side event so the delegation is off and running to lobby influence and try to make sure that this CSW does produce a commitments from Governments to work to prevent violence against women. Michelle Bachelet in the opening ceremony attended by SI President Alice urged that this should be an agreed addition to the MDGS in the post- 2015 agenda. In 2015 the current MDGS will culminate and work is  underway to development the post-2015 agenda.

You can submit your views about priorities for development via the  www.worldwewant2015.org/, launched tomorrow (6 March).  So we all have a part to play in the future agenda for our world and particularly the sort of world that we, as involved women, want.

 For more updates and photos from CSW57, visit www.soroptimistinternational.org/CSW57