“Men and Women United to End Violence against Women and Girls”
5 March 2009, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
United Nations Headquarters, Conference Room 2
OPENING
H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations H.E. Mrs. Aja Isatou Njie Saidy, Vice President and Secretary of State for Women’s Affairs of the Republic of the Gambia H.E. Ms. Maria del Rocio Garcia Gaytan, President of the National Women’s Institute of Mexico H.E. Ms. Tanya Plibersek, Minister for the Status of Women of Australia
HIGH-LEVEL PANEL
Violence against Women and Girls in the Context of Armed Conflict Ms. Radhika Coomarswamy, United Nations Special Representative for Children and
Armed Conflict
Violence against Women: the Scope and Dimensions of a Global Challenge Ms. Yakin Ertürk, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
Violence against Women in the Work Place Mr. William Lucy, International Secretary-Treasurer of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
Ending Violence against Women and Girls: Using the Law to Create Change Ms. Imrana Jalal, Human Rights Lawyer and Advisor at the Pacific Regional Rights
Resource Team
United
Nations Division for the Advancement of Women
Launch of the UN Secretary-General's database on violence against women
5 March 2009, 1:15 – 2:45 p.m.
United Nations Headquarters, Conference Room 2
Official launch:
Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro,
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General
Speakers:
Ms. Carolyn Hannan, Director, Division for the Advancement of Women Senator Pia Cayetano, Philippines Ms. Cheryl Thomas, Director, Women’s Human Rights Program,
The Advocates for Human Rights
Ms. Dubravka Šimonović, Member, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Representative of a UN entity (tbc)
Chair:
His Excellency Frank Majoor,
Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the United Nations
Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General
on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI)
Panel discussion Workplace Flexibility
and Productivity: Strategic Business Models across Industry and Organizations
5 March 2009, 1:15 - 2:45 pm
United Nations Headquarters, Conference Room 3
Speakers: Cali Williams Yost, CEO, Work+Life Fit, Inc. Deborah Epstein Henry, Founder & President Flex-Time Lawyers LLC Brad Harrington, Executive Director Boston College's Centre for Work and Family Barbara A. Taylor, General Counsel BDO Seidman LLP Moderator
Aparna Mehrotra, Focal Point for Women, United Nations
Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE)
MIKA
An awareness-raising play developed and performed by the theater ensemble
Tiyatroglobal and inspired by the United Nations Secretary-General’s call
to Unite to End Violence against Women
and
panel discussion “Eliminate violence against women through the arts and the media”
5 March 2009, 6.30 pm
Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium,
Doors open at 6:00 pm
Chair: Carolyn Hannan, Director, Division for the Advancement of Women
Moderator: Margaret A. Novicki, Chief, Communications Campaigns Service, Strategic Communications Division, UN Department of Public Information
Speakers: Paul L. King, Executive Director; Director of Theater Programs, Office of the Arts and Special Projects, New York City Department of Education Julie Crosby, Producing Artistic Director, Women's Project Helen E. Richardson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Theater, Artistic Director, Tiyatroglobal Tom Sellar, editor of Theater magazine, Yale School of Drama and Duke University Press, and assistant professor (adjunct) of Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism at the Yale School of Drama Emilya Cachapero, Director of Artistic Programs/ International Theatre Institute-US, Theatre Communications Group Liliana Hendel, Psychologist and Feminist Journalist, Argentina
In addition, the ILO will also hold a panel discussion on Friday, 6 March, on the impact of the crisis on the sharing of work and household responsibilities between women and men.
Global report
The report entitled Global Employment Trends for Women 2009 will provide an update on the projected impact of the economic crisis from a gender perspective based on the latest data on both male and female labour force participation, unemployment, and vulnerable employment at the global and regional levels.
The report will be launched at a press conference in Geneva at the Palais des Nations, Room III, Thursday 5 March at 1.30 p.m. Speakers include ILO Employment Sector Executive Director, José M. Salazar-Xirinachs, the ILO Bureau for Gender Equality Director Jane Hodges and ILO Employment Trends Unit economist and report co-author Theo Sparreboom.
Panel discussion
The ILO will host a tripartite panel discussion on the theme Work and family: The way to care is to share!. The panel will discuss the impact of the global economic crisis on work and households, as well as good practices by countries, and workers’ and employers’ organizations in addressing the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men.
Ms Bibata Niandou Barry (Minister of Women’s Promotion and Child Protection – and recipient of the MDG3 Torch, Niger); Mr. David Loughman (Managing Director of A/S Norske Shell, Norway); Ms Francisca Jiménez (Vice-chair of the Women’s Committee of the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA), Dominican Republic).
The panel discussion will be held Friday, 6 March - 10.00 a.m., at the ILO headquarters, in Geneva, 4 route des Morillons, in the Governing Body Room, Level R3 South. Simultaneous English, French, Spanish interpretation will be provided.
For further details on ILO's activities on International women's day 2009 please visit: http://www.ilo.org/gender/Events/lang--en/WCMS_101670 or contact Iselin Danbolt at danbolt@ilo.org or +4122/799-6281, interviews can be scheduled with the special guests before or after the event.
International Telecommunication Union
(ITU)
ITU Celebrates IWD with Lunchtime Jazz:
Monday, 9 March 2009 from 12:00-1:00 pm Montbrillant cafeteria, ITU Headquarters in Geneva
ITU Activities:
ITU is taking the lead in promoting the use of ICTs to combat violence and abuse perpetrated against girls and women
ITU and gender issues: ITU's goal is to narrow the digital divide between women and men and our initiatives aim to narrow the gendered digital divide.
ITU Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA): ITU's framework for international cooperation aimed at enhancing confidence and security in the information society. GCA can be the instrument for using ICTs to combat violence and abuse perpetrated against girls and women.
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
IWD Events Sponsored by UNIFEM and National Committees for UNIFEM:
5 March, China Investing in Women and Girlsn
Co-sponsored by: UN Theme Group on Gender, All China Women's Federation
6 March, Singapore Women Mean Business: Celebrating International Women's Day 2009
Co-sponsored by: The Singapore National Committee for UNIFEM and the Australian High Commission
11 March, Singapore Why Women Mean Business: The Emergence of Our Next Economic Revolution Seminar
UN in The Gambia Joins the Government to Celebrate Women Through Art and Film
The UN System in The Gambia organised a week-long Photo and Art Exhibition and Film Show at the UN House as a contribution to the national activities to commemorate the International Women’s Day 2009. The Exhibition attracted massive participation and support from, among others, Senior Government Officials and Development Partners, civil society organizations, law enforcement institutions and schools.
UN Theme Group on Gender jointly with the UN Communications Group in Mongolia has undertaken series of events, public awareness initiatives and campaign to commemorate the International Women's Day:
Mobilized different groups of the society: women, men and youth: As part of the global campaign launched by the UNSG, this year on International Women’s Day, the “Men and women to join hands to end violence against women” campaign is being jointly organized by the UN Country Team in Mongolia, Mongolian Men’s Association and MONFEMNET (Mongolian Women's NGO Network) and UN Youth Advisory Panel between March 5-18, 2009. The campaign encourages men and women to combine their efforts to end violations of women’s rights and to work together to create a more equal and peaceful society;
Customized to local context a theme of the global campaign: In the framework of this campaign, Mongolian Men’s Association and MONFEMNET in cooperation with the UN Youth Advisory Panel calls on men to work hand in hand with women to eliminate violence against women under the theme "Let’s create a more harmonious life together".
Delivered key statements of the UNSG message: A press conference with the participation of the UNRC, national counterparts and a range of media representatives was organized to present key statements of the UNSG message on International Women’s Day and to commence the national campaign;
Increased public awareness on CEDAW recommendations particularly related to gender-based violence: series of articles with the key message and CEDAW recommendations were published In main daily newspapers;
Increased general public awareness on gender-based violence and ways to address it: TV talk show with participation of CSOs, academia and students was organized to have different perspectives and views on this problem and ways to overcome it; an exhibition of art works by women followed by a discussion on perceptions by attendees; posting of the billboards at the central square;
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)
"Gender Implications of the Economic Crisis in Asia-Pacific"
8 March 2009
In celebration of International Women’s Day, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, together with other entities of the United Nations system in Thailand, has organized an event to take place on Monday, 9 March 2009 at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC). Economic downturns and volatility hit the world’s poorest most severely and disproportionately impact women. Yet women and girls play an increasingly critical role in economic growth, and their well-being is essential to poverty eradication. This year’s special regional theme is “Gender Implications of the Economic Crisis”, which will bring to light how women are being affected by the current crisis as well as address the ways in which women and girls – and investment in opportunities for them – factor into effective short- and long-term responses.
The Regional Coordination Mechanism Thematic Working Group on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women will present a half-day event to include keynote presentations on the gender dimensions of the economic crisis followed by a dialogue with practitioners on the diverse impacts of the crisis on women and required responses. The dialogue will be followed by short films and an inter-agency exhibition.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Every year in March, UNESCO celebrates International Women’s Day (March 8) by hosting a flagship programme, consisting of round-tables, conferences, exhibitions and cultural events that highlight issues relating to the empowerment of women and the promotion of gender equality.
International Round Table
This year’s theme is “Gender Equality as a Global Priority: Next Steps Forward”. The discussion will focus on the role UNESCO can assume in implementing this priority, and identify the future challenges. Director General will open the Round Table that will bring together several women Ambassadors, Permanent Delegates from UNESCO’s Member States and a high-level guest speaker for the keynote address.
9 March 2009, Room II, 3 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. By invitation only. More information >>
Lura
Concert organized in collaboration with the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie 9 March 2009, Room I, 8:00 p.m. Free tickets and more information >>
Nô Theatre Dance Performance and Demonstration of Japanese Flower Arranging
Organized in collaboration with the Comité de la Journée Franco-Japonaise de la Femme-JFJF and the Permanent Delegation of Japan to UNESCO 10 March 2009, Foyer Salle 1, 12:30 p.m. - 1 p.m. More information >>
Misuzu Kaneko’s Poetry Reading
Poetry reading organized in collaboration with the Comité de la Journée Franco-Japonaise de la Femme-JFJF and the Permanent Delegation of Japan to UNESCO 10 March 2009, Foyer Salle 1, 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. More information >>
Seminars - Being a Woman in Japan: Facing Challenges
Seminars organized in collaboration with the Comité de la Journée Franco-Japonaise de la Femme-JFJF and the Permanent Delegation of Japan to UNESCO
10 March 2009, Room IV, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. More information >>
The Seeds of a Dream Art exhibition paying homage to Dolores Cacuango; organized in collaboration with the Permanent Delegation of Ecuador to UNESCO 10 – 25 March 2009, Salle des pas perdus More information >>
NO MAS !
Exhibition of paintings by Yolanda Naranjo
10 – 25 March 2009, Hall Ségur II More information >>
ICHI GO ICHI E– Women of Japan
Brief encounters on the social scene and backstage
Slide-show of photographs by Manuel Henry
10 – 25 March 2009, Salle des Actes More information >>
Figure Paintings
Exhibition of paintings by Dr Annie Wong Leung Kit-Wah
10 – 25 March 2009, Room Miró 3 More information >>
Creative Nature
Exhibition of paintings by Carolina Alfonso de la Paz
10 – 25 March 2009, Salle des pas perdus More information >>
Celebrating Women
Photographic exhibition by Paola Gianturco
10 – 25 March 2009, Rooms Miró I and II More information >>
Pretty, Pretty Shoes, Dogs and Others
Exhibition of paintings by Xenia Hoffmeisterová
10 – 25 March 2009, Hall Ségur 1 More information >>
United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR)
On the occasion of the International Women's Day UNISDR is launching a short PSA advocacy video on the role of women during disasters:
United Nations Headquarters New York
UN News Centre photo story:
International
Labour Organization (ILO)
The report entitled Global Employment Trends for Women 2009 will provide an update on the projected impact of the economic crisis from a gender perspective based on the latest data on both male and female labour force participation, unemployment, and vulnerable employment at the global and regional levels.
International Telecommunication Union
(ITU)
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
International Round Table
Lura
Nô Theatre Dance Performance and Demonstration of Japanese Flower Arranging
Misuzu Kaneko’s Poetry Reading
Seminars - Being a Woman in Japan: Facing Challenges
The Seeds of a Dream
NO MAS !
ICHI GO ICHI E– Women of Japan 
Figure Paintings 
Creative Nature 
Celebrating Women 
Pretty, Pretty Shoes, Dogs and Others
United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR)
Previous years International Women's Day observances