UN WOMEN'S CIRCLE CAMPAIGN GOING TO THE UN
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From: Ann S.
Date: Saturday, February 12, 2011, 5:44 AM
Subject: UN Women's Circle Campaign going to the UN
ID: 271564

A wonderful delegation of Circle women from many places in the world are packing their bags and ready to fly to NYC for the 55th UN Commission on the Status of Women Session (CSW). This is one of the more exciting meetings because of the newly formed UN Women, the launch of the UN Women’s Circle Campaign, and the momentum for a UN Fifth World Conference on Women. Yesterday, just when the announcement was made that President Mubarak was stepping down, I had emailed our UN Statement to the UN, UN Women’s Circle Campaign. We also heard that it was an Egyptian girl who rallied the people using video and Facebook. Please read the following statement and send best wishes that we may be granted the time to read this to the UN CSW. Even if not granted, each one reading this and each UN Women's Circle workshop given is one more step for liberation brought through peaceful Circle actions. Workshop and Statement and much more found on our website. Namaste!!! Ann

UN Women’s Circle Campaign Statement

1. The majority of the world’s grassroots women and girls do not interact with the United Nations. Because of this their voices are not adequately heard in developing policies, program development and funding allocations. Their increased participation is essential in bringing about equal participation of women and men in power and decision-making roles. UN Women’s Circle Campaign serves to bring grassroots women and girl’s leadership, that would not otherwise be in communication, to the United Nations.

2. We commend the recent decision of the sixty-fourth General Assembly to merge the four gender entities of the United Nations into UN Women. We welcome with gratitude Michelle Bachelet and her staff and pledge our support to work in partnership for gender equality and the development of women and girl’s leadership and participation.

3. The UN Women’s Circle Campaign, initiated by Circle Connections and supported by a large alliance of organizations and growing, is offering women and girls around the world an interactive circle workshop that is free, downloadable and written for successful facilitation by local women and girls. The workshop provides an egalitarian setting where circle processes and principles empower women and girls to speak for themselves and to bring forth their issues and solutions to all levels of governance.

4. The UN Women’s Circle Workshop is determined to access and channel the potential of grassroots women and girls and to expand their ability and confidence to serve as leaders in their own communities regardless their level of education, social status, culture, race, color, religion, gender, or age. The program teaches listening without judgment, win/win communication, shared leadership, decisions by consensus and other skills and processes that lead to full participation, respect for differences, community organizing and unifying efforts. In circle each woman and girl learns to find her own voice and to fully participate in discussing community problems and co-creating solutions. Women’s way of knowing, wisdom, perspective and organizing are honored as well as all life-giving indigenous and modern practices related to preserving the land, medicine, food, and health.

5. Women are committed to their families and community welfare. They know best not only the problems in their communities, but also the solutions. UN Women’s Circle workshop and additional trainings of experiential learning are given in a nurturing environment, providing women and girls with the self-confidence, skills and courage to use their knowledge to become community organizers and support one another to claim their rights and access to education, training, funding, full employment and decent work. Together and with help from community leaders and others they learn how to address their issues in stopping violence against women and girls, sex trafficking and domestic and agricultural slavery, AIDS prevention and treatment, and to transform poverty and environmental destruction through education, advocacy and social entrepreneurship. They become empowered to catalyze change within their communities.

6. This workshop for many women and girls is the first step in becoming a leader. Through the learning process they gain access to education and training, both formal and on-the-job training as community organizers and project co-facilitators. Our targeted groups are those that are most marginalized, women in minority groups, women with AIDS, informal women workers, rural or urban poor women, and women who have been victims of violence.

7. The circle is both ancient and modern. The women’s movement in the United States in the late 60s and 70s began with small consciousness-raising circles that led to large demonstrations. These circles became support and action groups that have grown in numbers throughout the world. Through the power of the Internet, cell phones and other forms of communication, UN Women Circle’s Campaign can reach women even in the most remote areas. Through these connections UN Women Circles and other women and girl’s circles will share resources, best practices and actions of solidarity that have the greatest potential of empowering the largest people’s movement in history.

8. We are dedicated to bringing women and girls and their grassroots organizations, not yet connected to the United Nations, into a working relationship and seek a two-way communication system with the Commission on the Status of Women and UN Women. We are dedicated to making UN Women’s Circles far and wide, accessible to all women and girls. We are dedicated to partnership building and providing mutual support to all efforts related to grassroots women and girls. The UN Women’s Circles declaration is: Committed to making an essential contribution, UN Women’s Circles are forming around the world to discern issues and solutions that matter to women and girls in their local communities. We pledge our support as grassroots women and girls leaders to work in partnerships with UN Women in making the Platform for Action, CEDAW, MDGs, living documents.