We begin the second decade of the 21st century facing grave challenges around the world. At the heart of these challenges—environmental degradation, extremist ideologies, poverty and income disparity, violence, crises in government, the dilemmas and potentials of globalization, and expansion of information technology—we find gender inequality cutting across issues of race, ethnicity, religion, and class. February 2011 witnesses the launch of UN Women, the most significant structure yet devised by the community of nations for bringing about a fundamental and all-encompassing change in gender relations.
This event, cosponsored by the Women’s Learning Partnership, the Center for Public Scholarship, and the Gender Studies program, celebrates the establishment of UN Women. Women leaders from around the world will provide insights into the challenges that women face on the ground and offer their visions, hopes, and strategies for this new United Nations initiative.
Scheduled panels include Our Vision for UN Women: View from the Field; Culture, Religion, and Human Rights: Applying What We Have Learned; Women and Economic Development; Reflections on Regional and Global Work With the UN; and Where Do We Go From Here?
Scheduled speakers include:
* Michelle Bachelet (Chile), under-secretary-general of the United Nations; executive director, UN Women
* Arien Mack (USA), editor, Social Research; professor of psychology, The New School for Social Research
* Mahnaz Afkhami (Iran/USA), founder and president, Women's Learning Partnership
* Wajeeha Al Baharna (Bahrain), executive director, Bahrain Women Association
* Sindi Medar-Gould (Nigeria), executive director, BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights
* Mallika Dutt (India/USA), president and CEO, Breakthrough
* Sakena Yacoobi (Afghanistan), executive director, Afghan Institute of Learning
* Thoraya Obaid (Saudi Arabia), former under-secretary-general of the United Nations; executive director of the UN Population Fund
* Radhika Coomaraswamy (Sri Lanka), under-secretary-general of the United Nations; special representative of the secretary-general for children and armed conflict
* Ann Snitow (USA), professor of literature and gender studies and director of the Gender Studies program, Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts
New York City, NY; NYC