WGG Annual Report 2010-2011

The Working Group on Girls (WGG) 2010-2011

During the past year, the Working Group on Girls hascontinued to focus its efforts on institutionalizing girls’rights throughout the United Nations system.

The WGG is organized into task forces that carry on our work.

Girls’ ParticipationOctober 2010:Selected three girladvocates toparticipate in WGGtask forces.November 2010:“Bringing girls toCSW” ~ 90 minutesessions for NGOsinterested inbringing girls toCSW.

Assisted WGG members and others within the UN to integrate girlvoices through CSW.Young people were visible in all WGG parallel events and othersincluding:"Youth Perspective on Development: Gender Equality and NewTechnologies sponsored by UN WomenGirls Voices~ Promises Made A Review of CSW 51

Girls Statement writing workshop- task forcecoordinated 14 girls from around the world and oneboy to come together to write the girls statement onMonday, February 21, 2011. The statement was thenread to delegates during Week 2 discussions by a WGGGirl Advocate Caroline.

Members of the task force sponsored the following parallel events:Global Voices of Girls Girl’s Voices: A Global View of STEM – Science Technology (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) Engineering & Math- February 22, 2011, 10am -11:30amdiscussion on STEM Boss Room, Church Center -8th fl It is clear that the number of girls studying in scienceeducation from and technology is few and the numbers are currently not improving. One of the most effective ways to alter thesevarious girls trends is to hear from girls themselves. Come hear girls from around the world speak to theirperspectives. How perceptions of STEM, the cultural messages they hear, their opportunities to experience and understand these subject areas.they are educated in Speakers: Girls from Africa, Asia & USSTEM, how culture Changu Mannathoko, UNICEF Dot McLane, American Association of Universitysupports or does not Women, Kate Pickle, Girl Scouts of the USA support their formaland informaleducation in theseareas.

Girls Speak - GirlsSpeak was anopportunity for girlsto discuss the issuesthat matter most tothem. After a shortgirl-only panel,presenters heldconversations, on thetopic of theirchoosing, withworkshopparticipants. Theworkshop helped tobuild partnershipsbetween adults andgirls.

Girls Take the State –International Day ofthe Girl (this was aPLAN event)Girl –Boy Dialogue-Discussion betweengirls and boysfocused on genderbased violence.

Research & WritingPrepared a written statement, endorsed by 35members of the WGG and submitted to theCommission on the Status of Women (55thSession). The WGG statement includes a reviewof research documenting the ongoingdiscrimination and violence against the girlchild. The WGG statement was subsequentlytranslated into each of the six UN languagesand placed on the DAW website to be read byparticipants at CSW 2011 and other interestedparties. E/CN.6/2011/NGO/60 [ A C E F R S ]

Prepared an oralstatement which was readby WGG Girl AdvocateCaroline during the HighLevel Roundtable PanelDiscussion on Evaluationof Progress inImplementation of theAgreed Conclusions on“The Elimination of allForms of Discriminationand Violence Against theGirl Child” ArchivedWebcast

Parallel EventDuring CSW 55CSW55 Commercial SexualExploitation and the Girl Child: AHuman Right Approach. Thisevent highlighted state of theart research on commercialsexual exploitation and the girlchild. The presentationhighlighted some promising Participants included (1) Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violencepractices designed to address against Children; (2) Nan Kennelly, Deputy Director,prevention of child trafficking/ Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, United States Department of State; (3) Shashi Iranicommercial sexual exploitation, Kara, Programme Management Officer, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); (4) Sarahor protection and assistance for Hendricks, Plan International; (5) Ika, Indonesia, Planchildren who have been International, Girl Delegate; (6) Daniel Seymour, Chief, Gender Equality & Human Rights Unit, UNICEF; (7) Garytrafficked (e.g., recovery, Barker, International Center for Research on Women/rehabilitation, reintegration). Promundo; and (8) Yvonne Rafferty, Pace University, New York (SPSSI and WGG).

Developed Talking Points for members of theWGG Advocacy Task Force to enhance theirin-person meetings with UN agencies (e.g.,UNICEF, UNIFEM) and missions. They also usethe recommendations from the writtenstatement during their meetings withmissions.

Commission for Social DevelopmentPrepared a written statement, endorsed by 21 membersof the WGG and submitted to the Commission forSocial Development (49th Session). CSocD49focused on “Poverty Eradication.” The WGG statementincludes a review of research documenting theprocess by which gender discriminationcontributes to the continuance of poverty. Forexample, research indicates that prevailingsocial norms and cultural practices have apowerful negative inﬂuence on the lifeopportunities of girls and that the key barriers include: (1)Discriminatory Educational Practices; (2) Child Labour; and(3) Prevailing Social Norms that Support Gender-BasedViolence. The WGG statement was subsequently translatedinto each of the six UN languages and placed on theCSocDwebsite to be read by participants at CSW 2011 andother interested parties , E/CN.5/2011/NGO/15: English |

Annual Ministerial ReviewPrepared a written statement, endorsed by 25 members of theWGG and submitted to the Annual Ministerial Review [AMR] tobe held during the High-level Segment [HLS] of the ECOSOC inJuly at Les Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The AMRwill focus on “Implementing the internationally agreed goalsand commitments in regard to education.” The WGG statementhighlights Goal # 5 of the “2000 Dakar Declaration onEducation for All” which focuses on eliminating genderdisparities in primary and secondary education, with a focus onensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basiceducation of good quality. Research documenting girls’ limitedaccess to education, high drop-out rates and grade repetition,and barriers associated with ongoing discrimination and violenceagainst the girl child was highlighted. The WGG statement willsubsequently be posted on the ECOSOC ARM 2011 website.

AdvocacyMeetings monthly at 1:00 p.m on the ﬁrst ThursdayWorked with 3rd Committee for the Resolution on theRights of the Child with Uruguay (respecting girls’rights in early childhood)Prepared material for talking points and visitedmissionsAdvocacy TrainingsBegan a relationship with the new “face” of the EU –the European Union delegation

Did mission visits in preparation for CSW 55Prepared advocacy workshop and trainedleaders for Girls Stand UpCurrent work:Annual Ministerial Review 2011 on educationand the MDGsGeneral Assembly 66 – 3rd Committee,Resolution on the Rights of the Child (read –girls with disabilities, and Resolution on GirlsRights (child marriage)

GIRLS STAND UP!

GIRLS STAND UP! wasorganized by the WGG toprepare girls and youngwomen to activelyparticipate in CSW 55.The event took place atPace University inManhattan on February 20,2011. 185 girls and youngwomen, 15 boys and 78 The day included interactiveadults from 26 countries workshops on the history of CSW,registered for the Girls’ and the primary and reviewStand Up. themes as they relate to girls’ rights. Participants also receivedKeynote speakers included training in advocacy skills andMs. Michele Bachelet and learned how to advocate mostMs. Leymah Roberta effectively for girls’ rights at CSWGbowee 55.

CSW 51The WGG CSW 51 Task force met throughout the year onthe ﬁrst Thursday of the month. This year brought tofruition a four year cycle of tracking the outcome documentof CSW 51 ‘The Elimination of All Forms of Discriminationagainst the Girl Child’ The task force prepared and sentout the third set of indicators – Protection of Girls,Migration and Trafﬁcking. Responses came from 36 groupsacross 18 countries.

The task forces collatedthe replies, created aPowerPoint forpresentation andfacilitated 2 parallel “Girls’ Voices - Promises Made” A Review of CSW 51 A PROJECT OF THE WORKING GROUP ON GIRLS <WWW.GIRLSRIGHTS.ORG>events during CSW 55 on Girls can be agents of change in their own lives, families, communities and societies! On the occasion of the 55th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the Permanent Missions of Zambia and Ireland look forward to showcasing the worldwide response of girls to the toolkit created by the Working Group onFebruary 22nd and 24th. Girls for implementation of the Agreed Conclusions of the 51st session of the Commission on the Status of Women: “Elimination of Violence and Discrimination against the Girl Child”. This parallel event combines intergovernmental collaboration and NGO partnerships with girls’ voices at the centre. We will hear directly from girls around the world via reports from discussion groups across several nations, and the real-life stories of CSW55 Girl Delegates from Zambia. Kindly RSVP to anne.kane@dfa.ie by February 22.The latter event was an Thursday, February 24th 4.30 – 5.45 p.m. Conference Room A, North Lawn Building, UNintergovernmental event Panel: ! ! Moderator: Beth Adamson, Anglican Communion Office at the UN. Winifred Doherty, Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd : ‘Girls Voices – Promisesfacilitated by the Missions Made’ : A review of CSW 51 ! Pauline Moreau, Director of Gender Equality Division, Office of the Minister for Equality and Integration, Irelandof Zambia and Ireland. ! Monde Mwala-Gwaba, Specialist-Social, Legal and Governance in the Gender and Development Division of the National Machinery, Zambia ! Chilenga Ng’uni : ‘Hopes and Dreams of Girls in Zambia’ Lungowe Mufungulwa : ‘A Day in the life of Lungowe’Both were entitled “Girls’ ! ! Daphne Nawa Chimuka, National Coordinator, Forum for African Women Educationalists of Zambia ! Annmary Andrews, International Presentation Association ‘Girls as Partners’Voices - Promises Made”A Review of CSW 51 buthad different presenters.

The Girl Advocates - Ashley, Caroline and Stephanie did a wonderful jobpresenting the PowerPoint at the Church Center. The Girls Task Forcefacilitated girls representing other WGG international organizations toattend. These girls participated actively and contributed very meaningfullyto the discussion. Two girls from Zambia – Chilenga and Lungowe, guestsof the Presentation Sisters shared very effectively on their Zambianexperiences at both events.

The intergovernmental event was facilitated by BethAdamson. Representatives from both missions shared oneffective partnership in promoting girls education. Thisintergovernmental event preceded the Review of CSW 51held on February 25, 2011.

Violence Against GirlsThe Violence against Girls Task Force held 3parallel events for CSW55. The ﬁrst pre-CSW55 "Making our schools safer: workingwith boys and girls" was held at HarvardClub, NYC. It was a panel discussion of 5speakers from UN, UNICEF, Non Proﬁtorganizations and entertainment industry.The VAGTF members read out essays bystudents of Sri Lanka. Catherine Moore gavea wonderful talk about her experience as aPrincipal.

The second event "Are we doing enough for girls?" hadtwo PSEAWAA students from India and Korea on thepanel who gave a talk about early marriage and thereviews on whether enough is being done for girls.The last and official parallel event held at the Drew roomof the UN Church Centre was also a panel discussion andwe had a very interesting panel that centered around thetheme "Protecting and Empowering the Girl Child: Onlineand Offline" Task Force member Brigid from ECPAT-USA(one of the 4 panelists) spoke on the Sexualization of girlsin social media. The event was extremely well attendedand unfortunately the Drew room was overflowing withpeople. The event was advertised and appeared on theback cover of the CSW55 booklet.

How the events contributed to the main theme of CSW55The three events centered around the priority themeof CSW55 but looked in detail at different areaswithin it and what we are doing right and what weare doing wrong. This was very useful going forwardwith our aim to help girls. We had girls input at eachevent we did and got their views on the issues.What we learned from the events to help us withTask Force events in the future. Bringing girls in to participate in the events wasimportant and this is something we will be doing infuture events.

The WGG continued to make use of:the Internet, our publications and list serve tocommunicate with our network and the UNcommunity.

Action for GirlsOur publication,“Action forGirls” ispublished threetimes a year inEnglish, Frenchand Spanish.

Features ofwww.girlsrights.org Action for Girls CSW 51 Tool Kit UNICEF News and Photo Essay Feeds Task Forces Fact Sheets on Girls and much more . . .

WGG Bloghttp://thewgg.wordpress.com/

The WGG on Facebook

Guest speakers were invited to address themembership at monthly meetings. Averageattendance at our membership meetingswas 41. September - Andres Guerrero, Partnerships Manager, Civil Society Liaison at UNICEF briefed the membership. January - Natasha Lewis, Research Consultant, Global Migration Section, UN Women. Natasha addressed the membership on UN Women, February - Soon-Young Yoon - UN representative for the International Alliance of Women briefed us onThe UN Women Expert Group Meeting on Education, Science and Technology, Paris, 2010--Its relevance for girls

Thank you!

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WGG Annual Report 2010-2011

by Mary Ann Strain on May 17, 2011

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WGG Annual Report 2010-2011 — Presentation Transcript