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Sharing Workshop in Nepal on "Beijing + 5 : Outcome and Future Strategies"
It has been nearly two months since the conclusion of the United Nations Special Session entitled " Women 2000: Gender-Equality, Development, and Peace for the twenty-first century" which was held on 5th June to 9th June, 2000 at the United Nations in New York. This Session is also known as the B+5. More than 60 participants including the Government and the NGO delegation had participated from Nepal in this special session.
Four years ago, government signified their commitment to advance the goals of equality, development and peace for all women around the world by adopting the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA). The BPFA is the final outcome of the fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China in 1995. The BPFA obliges governments to look at its 12 Critical Areas of Concern as priorities for action.
Nearly two months has passed since the Special Session has taken place. Lots of curiosity in Nepal among those who could not participate in the Special Session but are working in the 12 Critical Areas has surfaced and they have expressed the interest to know about what happened at the B+5, how was Nepal's participation and what significance does the outcome of the session hold in the context of Nepal. In view of this Sancharika Samuha (Forum of Women in Media) is organizing a two day sharing workshop on 31 July and 1 August, 2000 at the Staff College, Kathmandu.
This workshop is organized to share experiences of various NGOs and GOs representatives who participated in the Special Session and to identify mechanisms and future strategies to monitor the implementation of the commitments made.
The objectives of the workshop are:
- To share the proceedings and Nepal's participation at the Special Session
- The significance of the participation of Nepal
- The outcome of the Special Session and its significance to Nepal
- To identify mechanism for future strategies for monitoring and implementation of the commitments
SAncharika Samuha is the main organizer of the workshop. Its collaborative partners are : Agro Forestry, Basic Health and Cooperation Nepal (ABC), Centre for Legal Research and Services (CLRS), Didi Bahini, Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO), Forum for Women Law Development (FWLD), Legal Aid and Consultancy Centre (LACC) and Saathi.
The inaugural programme of the workshop will take place at the Nepal Administrative Staff College on 31 July 2000, from 9.00 am to 11.00 am. Around 300 participants representing Governmental Organizations (GO), International Non Governmental Organizations (INGO), Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Community Based Organizations (CBO), Elected Ward Women Representatives (EWWR), media, community workers, individuals, and others are invited to the inaugural ceremony.
A brief sharing of experiences and commitments of Beijing + 5 will be held during the inaugural ceremony. Honorable State Minister of Women, Children and Social Welfare , Kamala Panta, head of the government delegation to the special session will share her experiences, the participation of official Nepali delegation the commitment made and plans for its implementation; President of LACC, Prof (Dr) Shanta Thapaliya, will share her experiences as an NGO delegate who has been attending all women related conferences, General Secretary of FEDO, Ambika Gajmer will share her experience as a participant form the Dalit Community ; President of ABC, Durga Ghimire will share her experience as an NGO representative in the Government delegation; Girl Child Yashodha Pandit from Nuwakot who had also shared her views at the B+5 Programme in New York will share what she gained from her participation and President of Sancharika Samuha, Bandana Rana who is also the coordinatory of the workshop will highlight the objective of the workshop and also share her experiences as an NGO delegate from a media perspective.
The Working Session of the two day workshop will start from 11 am to 5.00 pm on the first day and at 10.00 am to 5.00 pm on the second. Seventy participants will participate in the working sessions, out of which about 30 participants are from districts outside the valley from all five development regions. The participants will comprise of those who are social activists working for women's organizations or network, representatives of Community Based Organizations (CBOs), and some Elected Ward Women Representatives (EWWR).
The workshop will deliberate on the following topics :
- Significance of international conventions, international conventions related to women before the Beijing Conference and the Beijing Conference.
- Nepal's commitment to the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA), its follow up programmes including the national plan of action.
- Why, What and How B+5 and highlights of the outcome document.
- Participation process of B+5, Nepal's participation, significance of the outcome document in the context of Nepal.
- Identifying future strategies for monitoring and implementation of commitment and establishing linkages from the central to the grassroots level through group work.
Resource Persons
- Dr (Prof) Shanta Thapaliya, President of LACC
- Durga Ghimire, President of ABC
- Sapana Malla, Advocate and President of FWLD
- Bandana Rana, President of Sancharika Samuha Nepal
- Saloni Singh, President of Didi Bahini
Workshop Coordinator : Bandana Rana, President, Sancharika Samuha. |
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