During the NGO Forum on Beijing+20 in Geneva, Soroptimists
were given the opportunity to provide a grassroots perspective on the 12
Critical Areas of Concern of the Beijing Platform for Action. An area of
significant concern for Soroptimists, is the education and training of women.

SI UN Representatives Wilfrida Hendrickx and Sabine Kinzer,
co-convened the interactive roundtable on ‘the Education and Training of Women’
with representatives of Soka Gakkai International. The Soroptimist delegation
turned out in force to support Sabine and Wilfrida, and to give their
contributions.

 

Photo: The Soroptimist International Delegation at the NGO Forum on Beijing+20 in Geneva, led by International President Ann Garvie (front, second from right).

“The Roundtable was a big success”, explains Wilfrida, “we
wanted to make it as interactive as possible so that participants could give
their recommendations. To encourage this, we had sub-groups talking about
specific themes such as literacy, access to education, continuing education and
non-discrimination”.

To initiate the group discussions, Maria Luisa Frosio, who
lectures in education and is Soroptimist International of Euorpe’s Extension
Committee Chair, gave a speech on the ongoing challenges that women and girls face in education.

"Education has a crucial role to play in
eradicating violence against women, in
securing women’s human rights, and in
lifting women out of poverty", said Maria Luisa, "Education is one
of the keys to development, to economic growth, and to poverty reduction.  Education of women is tightly connected to
their well-being – and to the well-being of their children and their entire
communities.  Education and ensuring that
girls stay in school has unequivocal economic and health benefits. We must ask the question: How can we ensure that governments pay adequate
attention to the gender dimension?"

 

 Photo: Maria Luisa Frosio giving her speech at the roundtable of the Education and Training of Women.

Despite much work being done in the area of education and
training of women in the ECE Region, many problems still remain: rural women
and girls receive lower quality education, or might not be able to access it at
all; the need for a life course approach to education to help empower women of
all ages; the negative impact of gender stereotypes in education; and
challenges facing sexual and reproductive health education, were all discussed
at the roundtable.

“Soroptimists take a clear stance on the education and
training of women, and that is what we wanted to bring to the table”, says
International President Ann Garvie, “access to education for women and girls of
all ages is a fundamental human right, and underpins their empowerment as
individuals and as members of their communities. Women and girls still face
many parries that prevent them reaching their potential. It is unacceptable
that 20 years after Beijing, this is still a problem.”

 

Photo: (left to right) SI UN Rep Sabine Kinzer, International President Ann Garvie, SIE Extension Committee Chair Maria Lusia Frosio, and SI UN Rep Wilfrida Hendrickx.

The NGO Forum on Beijing+20 in Geneva was the first one of
its kind, and the first of the regional reviews that took place in November,
and Soroptimist International’s UN Representatives played an important role by
co-convening the roundtable on the education and training of women. Through
this roundtable, the recommendations put forward by Soroptimists and other
participants have been compiled into a report that will be submitted to the UN
ECE.

"We should celebrate the work of SI’s UN Representatives," says International President Ann Garvie, "their valuable work help SI to give a global voice to women and girls."

“NGOs have knowledge that can be, and should be, passed on
to the UN” explains SI UN Rep Sabine, “that is what we are able to as SI
Representatives, and it is why Forums like the NGO Forum on Beijing+20 are
vital. The UN is increasingly consulting with NGOs like Soroptimist
International, and we want to make sure that our voices are heard.”

2015 marks the 20^th anniversary of the Beijing
Platform for Action, and the global review will happen at CSW59 next March. By
attending this regional review, Soroptimists are already involved and ensuring
that the perspectives of women and girls are listened to.

 

Photo: SI delegation members at the NGO Forum on Beijing+20 Plenary Session (right to left) SI Global Executive Director Deborah Thomas, International President Ann Garvie, SI UN Rep Marie-Chirstine Gries de la Barbelais, and delegates Paula Kamena and Linda Witong.