The Commission on the Status of Women

The session I am going to focus on for my final blog is the Rural Women's Empowerment, Strategies and Challenges of Women's NGOs by the International Alliance of Women, which included our own Cheryl Heyles. It was the perfect final session to attend. The session had six powerful women (again from around the globe) who, although they acknowledged the difficulties that still exist, are perfect role models for women like myself on how to keep pushing through adversity with tenacity, grit, and drive.  They were full of positive energy, which would seem impossible to maintain considering the what they have faced...and yet, here they are.  It was an absolute delight to once again hear  Sizani Ngubane, the co-founded the Rural Women’s Movement (RWM) in South Africa, which is an organization by rural women for rural women. In addition to raising women up around her for at least 28 years, she has been awarded the 2018 Woman of Distinction Award and it is well deser...

I slept in today! Of course realizing what time it was, I panicked, got dressed and ready as quickly as possible, and I ran out the door.  I am halfway to the station when I realize I am completely under-dressed for the weather as I watch big, feathery and lazy snowflakes hit the ground all around me. Everything is slowly turning white. I arrived in New York City just in time for the 1-:30 round of sessions. Strengthening the Capacity of Women: Gender Mainstreaming  was hosted by the Friede-Institute Fur Dialog and presented five amazing youth delegates from around the world who each discussed their experience from their individual parts of the world. The group was incredible. It was one of those times when you question everything you've done and wonder how you could have done more. They were truly admirable and together they raised a really interesting point, and although I think it applies to more groups than youth, it is something I want to spend some time conside...

Today I adventured beyond the Armenian Convention Center! So far, every parallel event I have attended has been at this venue, but today I walked in the opposite direction from Grand Central Station to find my way to 4 W 43rd Street.  I was set to spend my morning here before heading off to meet with the CEO of a prominent Canadian women organization (I have not specified who because I forgot to run it past them if it was ok if I used their name!) before heading into the afternoon sessions. At this point, I did not realize how quickly my jet lag would catch up with me today... In my first session we learned about the  Progressive Integration of Immigrant Women into Diverse Societies at 8:30 in the morning with the Rainbow Foundation. It was a beautiful venue- above ground and with natural light beaming in! and...what. a. fabulous. session. Women from all different cultural backgrounds, religions, and jobs coming together to discuss how to to find commonalities a...

Trying to navigate the UN Commission on the Status of Women has been quite overwhelming, and needless to say I am quite confused. Between the CSW62 main events, side events, and parallel events, I am having a difficult time selecting which sessions I want to attend and how to do so.  It's not been made terribly clear how to go about this, and I feel more or less like a chicken with her head cut off trying to find my way around.  As I was considering what to write about today, however, despite feeling this way, I was quite surprised at everything I was still able to get myself to: two morning parallel events, a side event, and a meeting of the general assembly. I am going to take a second to discuss both a parallel session and the UN side event. 1. My Bias The two morning sessions were the  Addressing Violence against Rural and Indigenous Women—Challenges and Strategies  by the International Public Policy Institute, and the  Opportunities and Challenge...

                                                     Photo: UN Headquarters, display focused on rural women Day one:  Ups and Downs The lineup to get my UN grounds pass this morning was an event in and of itself. My morning commute into New York for the first time made me feel like a true New Yorker. I made my train on time, caught the right train, and got off at the right stop. So far so good.  As I walked through the busy New York City streets, I spotted a surprisingly familiar picture on the side of a truck- an inukshuk! The picture was accompanied by a short note on the inukshuk and its relation to the Canadian landscape. What a wonderful coincidence, I thought to myself. I am clearly set to have a wonderful day...right? Upon my arrived at the UN office, my excitement came to a stand still...a literal stand still...for two a...

It was freezing outside this morning, although you would have never guessed it with the sun beaming in the beautiful blue sky.  I was on my way to Consultation Day! In retrospect, I can now say that this session was surprisingly powerful. Truth be told, though, I had barely slept the night before and was worried that I would not make it through the session.  I have been to plenty of conferences and had yet to find an opening session that was of value, but I was told I ought to go so I reluctantly did - coffee in hand. Perhaps not surprisingly to anyone who knows CSW, I remained wide awake. I am not sure why at the time I seemed even mildly surprised by this, considering the amazing speakers that were set to present. In my defense, though, I had never been in a room so filled with such powerful women.  It was a remarkable first experience! The keynote speaker, Sizani Ngubane, the founder of Rural Women's Movement from South Africa, whom I would be lucky enough to see...

Hello! My name is Allison Gonzalez and I am a very excited student delegate for the Canadian Federation  of University Women (CFUW) to the 62nd Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62), which will be taking place in New York City at the United Nations Headquarters. Before we get into this, however, I will introduce myself! I was born in Bogota, Colombia but have lived in Canada since 1999. I am currently attending an amazing university and will graduate with a major in Political Science and a minor in Policy Studies. I love people; I love policy; I love governance; Not because I think any of them to be perfect, but because of their potential. Policy and governance allow me to both problem solve complex challenges as well as help to find solutions for my community and the people within it.  Growing up I wanted to be a part of the the foreign service and although I have not abandoned those dreams, I am currently working towards becoming a policy analyst for the pro...