Soroptimist
International will be partnering with key organisations and speakers at this year’s CSW58 to host
several side events. Our first side
event entitled ‘Pink is the New Blue:
Opening Doors for Women and Girls’ will explore the barriers faced by girls
and women in entering into traditionally male-dominated fields, primarily in
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers. Partnering
with SI on this event will be the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl
Scouts (WAGGGs), and the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA).

Our
second side event is entitled ‘Blue is
the New Pink: Gender Equality through Men and Boys’ this event, which will be SI’s first ever all-male panel, will feature
the male perspective on breaking down gender stereotypes and working to achieve
gender equality for both women and men. 
Primarily, the panel will address the barriers men face entering into
traditionally female-dominated fields, as well as the difficulties men
experience in breaking male stereotypes. On this panel we are delighted to announce the following speakers:

Carlos A Gomez– Carlos is an
award-winning poet, actor, speaker, and writer from New York City. He is the
author of the coming-of-age memoir Man Up: Reimagining Modern Manhood, released
in 2012. He was nominated for the Pushcart Prize and named Artist of the Year at the
2009 Promoting Outstanding Writers Awards. A former social worker and
inner-city public school teacher, he grew up the child of a United Nations’
diplomat and an indigenous rights’ activist – moving twelve times before
graduating high school while living in four countries. He has lectured and
performed at more than 200 colleges and universities, facilitated countless
workshops, and delivered numerous keynotes and commencement addresses. 

 

Jimmie Briggs– Jimmie is a respected human rights advocate. He has
produced seminal reporting on the lives of war-affected youth and children
soldiers, as well as survivors of sexual violence. His book on child soldiers
and war-affected children ‘Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go To War’ won
him accolades in 2005. Further, Briggs has served as an adjunct professor of
investigative journalism at the New School for Social Research, and was a
George A. Miller Visiting Professor in the Department of African and
African-American Studies at the University of Illinois. His upcoming book Blood
Work, narratively examines personal transformation and manhood through his own
life and that of several recognizable figures from around the world. Jimmie is
the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Man Up Campaign which addresses
the issue of violence against women. Briggs was selected as the winner of the
2010 GQ Magazine “Better Men Better World” Search, as well as one of Women’s
eNews’ 21 Leaders for the 21st Century in 2011.

Darnell L Moore– Darnell L. Moore is a writer and activist whose work
is informed by anti-racist, feminist, queer of color, and anti-colonial thought
and advocacy. Darnell’s essays, social commentary, poetry, and interviews have
appeared in various national and international media venues, including the Feminist
Wire Ebony magazine, and The Huffington Post. He was appointed as Inaugural
Chair of the city of Newark, NJ LGBT Concerns Advisory Commission. He has
published peer-reviewed essays that attempt to queer Black Christian thought
within Black Theology. He was a member of the Beyond Apologetics colloquium
which brought together scholars/pastors centered on the themes of sexual
identity, pastoral theology, and pastoral practice. Moore has served
appointments as a visiting fellow at Yale Divinity School and a visiting
scholar at the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality at New York
University and has served as a Lecturer at Rutgers University and The City
College of New York.

Soroptimist
International will also be partnering with Solar Cookers
International on a side event which will discuss the benefits of
solar energy in natural disasters and in conflict areas, including a possible demonstration of solar equipment. Soroptimist International will speak at the side event ‘Half the Sky is Not Enough, Propelling Women
and Girls Upward from MDGs to SDGs’ along with the Armenian Relief Society and the International Council of Jewish Women which will discuss three
global initiatives that were created during the MDGs which promise to catapult
women and girls upward through the post-2015 development period. International President Ann Garvie
will also be participating on a panel held by another leading women’s rights organisation Zonta International.

Read more about SI’s participation at CSW 58 and further details on SI’s side events.

 

Top photograph of Carlos A Gomez by Rebecca Moore