Cities for CEDAW National Conference
January 20 2015
Co-organized by NGO CSW/NY and United States National Committee for UN Women (USNC-UN Women) (Version 5 January 2015) The Event Cities for CEDAW is part of the NGO CSW/NY Beijing + 20 campaign. USNC-UN Women will be a co-organizer of a national conference on Cities for CEDAW with the NGO CSW/NY Committee on 20 January (11:30 am to 1:00 pm PST and 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm EST). San Francisco is designated the peer leader for the US with the leadership of Dr. Emily Murase, Executive Director of the Department on the Status of Women, San Francisco and Marilyn Fowler, President and CEO of the Women’s Intercultural Network (WIN). The chair of this national conference is Krishanti Dharmaraj, CEO of the Dignity Index Group, who spearheaded the adoption of CEDAW as a city ordinance in San Francisco in 1998. Why? The short-term goal is to have city governments pass CEDAW as a city ordinance. The campaign will culminate in the US National Mayor’s Conference in San Francisco, June 2015. Thus far, more than 250 US mayors have supported a CEDAW resolution and cities such as Los Angeles, Berkeley, and Portland have passed ordinances. The long-term goal is to ensure that CEDAW at the local level is integrated into the UN sustainable development agenda and UN Habitat III. How is this different from the previous US campaigns on CEDAW? Previous campaigns on CEDAW in the US have often focused on ratification of CEDAW by the Senate (President Carter signed in 1980). In contrast, this campaign is about implementing CEDAW at the municipal level. How will the conference work? The conference will be both virtual and local. On January 20, 2015, groups gathered in cities across the US will join a virtual conference (using Maestro Conference – sponsored by the NGO CSW/NY committee). The software can accommodate up to 5,000 participants as well as virtual breakout sessions. Participants may join using their computers or mobile phones/devices. This will be a combined virtual and real-time conference held all across the US in different cities including New York City, San Francisco, Washington DC, Louisville, Kansas City and Raleigh. NGOs such as UN/USA, the National Council of Women, Amnesty International/USA and Third Wave are expected to participate in panels and receptions as well as mayors from San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington DC. WHY? How is this different from the previous US campaigns on CEDAW?
