2011 Spring Seminar
EMPOWER WOMEN FOR A BETTER WORLD!
Mission Statement
As Unitarian Universalists, we strive to make the world a better place for all. Our first principle affirms and promotes the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Poor healthcare and education, systemic violations of human rights, climate change, violence, and global insecurity are only a few impediments that women, on a global level, face every day.
Acknowledging the real and pressing need for these issues to be addressed, the theme of our 2011 Annual Intergenerational Spring Seminar is “Empower Women for a Better World.” Expert speakers will address international women’s rights, the elimination of discrimination against women, and women’s roles in peacekeeping in armed global conflicts. Panelists will also discuss how more countries can ratify CEDAW and how we can help implement the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by opening up access to healthcare and education for all women across the globe.
At the end of the seminar, participants worked together to draft a statement to be delivered to the United Nations and to Unitarian Universalist congregations around the world. We are committed to global equality and support the United Nations in this endeavor. We leave this year’s seminar motivated and empowered to provide women around the world with skills to make the world better.
2011 Intergenerational Spring Seminar
Empower Women for a Better World
Whereas:
Women comprise more than 50 percent of the population yet carry the burden of systemic global injustices and inequalities;
Women suffer violence, rape, and torture;
One hundred countries have no laws against domestic violence, and 70 percent of women worldwide experience some form of violence in their lives;
Sex trafficking of women and children is an escalating issue in all countries;
Significant social change and economic development occurs when a country invests in its girls’ education;
When women have access to family planning services, they choose to have smaller, healthier families;
Smaller families and women’s access to reproductive health services can mitigate the negative impacts of climate change by reducing an estimated billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions;
Agricultural workers, the majority of whom are women, are unaware of and most subject to the adverse effects of climate change;
Global climate change exacerbates war and gender disparity;
The presence of women normalizes the volatile climate in areas of conflict;
Women are underrepresented in policy-making and decision-making yet bring equally beneficial perspectives, talents, and abilities to the political arena;
Women’s rights are human rights,
We hereby resolve to:
Demonstrate to the world community t Unitarian Universalist principles and values..
Continue to educate ourselves and our communities on global women’s issues.
Support implementation of UN General Assembly Resolutions 1325 and 1820 and the initiatives of “UN Women” to strengthen civil society worldwide.
Advocate that all businesses involved in the tourism industry commit to the code of conduct for the protection of children from sexual exploitation in travel and tourism.
Lead a faith-based effort to demand the ratification of the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) by the US Senate.
Invest in the education, health care, and security of women to empower them for a better world.
Provide voluntary family planning services to all women, specifically those in countries where women’s reproductive rights go unrecognized.
Encourage women to educate, advocate, and organize to support sustainable living and ameliorate climate change.
Help women be equally and proportionally represented in government and international affairs.
Urge women to join together to work toward peace and civility in the world.
Click here to view 2011 seminar statement as an attachment!!
We have resources available from our 2011 Spring Seminar:
Female Genocide in India: A Human Problem (powerpoint)
Rajani Ghosh’s Presentation Notes (word doc)
Spring Seminar: Standing on the threshold of Human Development (doc)
