Soroptimists from
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, SI International President Ann Garvie and SI Europe Federation President Ulla Madsen
were among nearly 20,000 participants at a conference marking the 20th
anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The Nordic Forum – New Action on
Women’s Rights in
Malmö , Sweden from 12-15 June, featured seminars, exhibitions and
speakers, including UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka.

“We made our voice heard and we took action!”, says Minna
Lahti, Vice President of Southern Region, SI Finland.  “We were very visible in our blue t-shirts, we
had many people interested in Soroptimist, together with the other
organizations we took a stand for human rights and it was all done by co-operation
of our 5 nordic countries. This co-operation is something that we found to be
so valuable that we’re going to continue with some other project.”

 

Speaking
at a seminar entitled “Make your voice heard” on Saturday 14 June, International
President Ann highlighted the need to tackle the roots of gender inequality as
part of the Post-2015 development agenda

“The Millennium Development Goals were
ground breaking targets but the goals do not address the root cause of why
women and girls are worse off than men”, she explained. SI is calling for
gender to be treated as a cross-cutting theme in the Post-2015 development
agenda, with indicators on each goal disaggregated by sex, and with appropriate
funding and strong accountability mechanisms.

President
Ann also reiterated the need to work with men and boys to tackle gender
inequality, changing attitudes and challenging stereotypes for the benefit of
every individual.

“Women’s
success should not be gauged by how much their lives look the same as men. Equally
men must be able to freely determine the course of their lives without being
constrained by male sterotypes. Work on both sides must occur in order to
achieve true gender equality”.

Soroptimist International of Europe Federation President
Ulla Madsen also spoke at the event, emphaising the need for women to get
involved in protecting the environment: “Going green is no longer an option but
a lifeline!”.

At the Closing Ceremony of the Nordic Forum on 15^th
June, the Ministers of Equality of the five Nordic countries were presented
with a final document reminding them of the commitments made when the Platform
for Action from Beijing was signed and setting out 63 key points for action.

Read more on the Nordic Forum website