This year the annual UN Department for Public Information NGO Conference (UN DPI NGO Conference) was held in
Gyeongju, Republic of Korea, from 30 May to 1 June. International President
Yvonne represented Soroptimist International at the conference, joined by
Korean Soroptimists. With civil society representatives and NGOs from across
the world gathering at the DPI NGO Conference to discuss ‘Education for
Global Citizenship’, the conference provided a unique opportunity to share
innovative approaches that empower and enable women and girls through
education.

The theme of the Conference 2016 was ‘Education for
Global Citizenship: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Together.
According to UNESCO, global citizenship “aims to empower learners to assume
active roles to face and resolve global challenges and to become proactive
contributors to a more peaceful, tolerant, inclusive and security world.”  This is an important issue for Soroptimist
International, with club project work contributing to the achievement ofSustainable Development Goals 4 and 5 on education and gender equality.

 

Photo: International President Yvonne (third from right) gathers with Korean Soroptimists and Soon-Young Yoon (centre) former Vice-Chair of CSW NGO New York and UN Rep for the International Alliance of Women. You can read President Yvonne’s blog on the DPI NGO Conference here.

During the opening ceremony, speakers included UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, Hwang Kyo-ahn. 

In his speech, Ban Ki-moon praised the tireless work of NGOs
who drive action and advocacy that will achieve global equality. Engaging with
the Conference theme, ‘Education for Global Citizenship’, Ban Ki moon shared his
personal story of how education transformed his life during the Korean War, and
he took the opportunity to emphasise the needs of the 68 million children currently
out of school due to disaster, crises and poverty.

Participants at the conference examined three pillars of
formal education; informal education and training; and advocacy and public
Information, as means to eliminate inequalities that create or perpetuate
marginalization and disenfranchisement. 

As a result of the DPI NGO Conference, an Action Agenda was
created. Click on the image above to read the Action Agenda or read it here.  

Throughout the DPI NGO Conference, the fact that certain
identity groups, such as women and girls, are consistently left behind in
development efforts and unable to access quality education was discussed. Key,
intersecting issues that limit access to education and sustainable development
progress include lack of transport, lack of safe sanitation, girls being kept
home to complete household tasks, and the costs of accessing post-primary
education.

These points were also raised by SI’s advocacy efforts,
which states that for quality education to be accessible to all, schools must
be safe and equipped with facilities that enable girls to stay in school.
Educational approaches are also important; for ‘education for global
citizenship’ to be successful in empowering learners, it must be gender
sensitive, inclusive and show how gender equality can benefit all people.