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Parallel events organized or co-sponsored by DAW The Role of Parliaments in Financing for Gender Equality 27 February 2008The Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Division for the Advancement of Women held a one-day event. The meeting brought together more than 100 parliamentarians, including a number of speakers of parliament, who discussed the role of parliamentarians in securing funding for gender equality. Senator Mónica Xavier of Uruguay, who is also the President of the IPU Coordinating Committee of Women Parliamentarians, chaired the meeting. Dr. Gertrude Ibengwe Mongella, President of the Pan-African Parliament, reminded participants in her introductory remarks that parliaments had specific mandates in terms of oversight of the executive branch. Parliamentarians’ accountability to their voters, including women, meant that they had to ensure proper distribution of resources for gender equality and women’s empowerment. The conclusions of the meeting acknowledged that gender equality required economic resources and political will as well as training and capacity-building of Parliament as an institution and of parliamentarians themselves and of technical and advisory staff. Working for a gender-responsive budget was recognized as a matter of accountability toward the electorate. Download the summary of the proceedings of the event [ English | French ]. Getting the Facts to Make the Change: the International Violence Against Women Survey 28 February 2008The Division for the Advancement of Women organized this event in partnership with the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations. The International Violence against Women Survey (IVAWS) is an international comparative survey which has interviewed over 53,000 women in Australia, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Mozambique, the Philippines, Poland and Switzerland about their experiences of gender-based violence. The panel presented comparative results of the IVAWS as well as specific findings made in Mozambique and Costa Rica. The panel also focused on how the survey was conducted in each country, and the contribution of the results of the survey to the development of national policies and advocacy for the prevention of violence against women. Chair: Ms. Clare Beckton, Coordinator, Status of Women Canada Speakers: A Conversation on Women and Sport: Launch of the DAW Publication "Women 2000 and Beyond: Women, Gender Equality and Sport" 28 February 2008The Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) launched its new publication, "Women 2000 and Beyond: Women, Gender Equality and Sport" at an event attended by members of civil society, United Nations staff and invited guests. Participants who gave remarks at the launch were: Carolyn Hannan, Director, Division for the Advancement of Women, introduced the publication. She noted that sport was a significant avenue for social interaction, discussed the benefit of sport, highlighted the problem of sexual harassment, and emphasized the role of the media in bringing attention to women’s issues in sport. She also elaborated on the content, preparatory process, and potential contribution of the publication to the promotion of gender equality. She expressed appreciation to the international sports organizations, WomenSport International and the International Working Group on Women and Sport, for their valuable contribution to the publication. The Honourable Minister of Sport from Malaysia, Dato Seri Azalina Othman Said gave the welcoming address via a video message. In her message, the Minister congratulated the United Nations on the launch of the publication, stating that the publication will be a force for achieving gender equality in the arena of sports. She also noted that the Government of Malaysia encourages women to fulfil their potential, both on and off the field. Financing for women's equitable access to ICTs 29 February 2008The Division for the Advancement of Women organized this event in partnership with the International Women' s Tribune Centre (IWTC) and the Association for Progressive Communications-Women's Networking Support Programme (APC). This interactive discussion focused on gender-responsive budgeting and financing for access to ICT and ways of using ICTs to facilitate women's access to funding. The session started with a digital story that illustrated how information and communication rights are essential pre-conditions for women to fully exercise their civil and political rights as citizens. The speakers then explored and elaborated on the issues listed below. 1. Willie Currie, APC - financing in the ICT4D sector The moderator for the event was Chat Garcia Ramilo (APC). Establishing the Secretary-General's Coordinated Database on Violence Against Women 4 March 2008 DAW's parallel event on “Establishing the Secretary-General’s Coordinated Database on Violence Against Women” was attended by representatives of civil society, Member States and UN entities. Ms. Christine Brautigam, Chief, Women's Rights Section, Division for the Advancement of Women, drew attention to the mandate for the establishment of the database in the General Assembly resolution 61/143, presented the preliminary outline of the content of the database and encouraged participants to provide comments and suggestions. Download Ms. Christine Brautigam's presentation.
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