Tag Archives: women

Stories of Migrant Women by Migrant Women in Bega, Australia

UNIC Canberra travelled to Bega, New South Wales to meet with women at the Funhouse Studio to hear about the women’s lives and journeys to Australia.

As part of the day we all participated in a story telling project  part of which the women interviewed each other and recorded their stories and made this video as part of the UN’s Global “Together, Respect, Safety and Dignity for All” Global Campaign.

Thanks to Yvi at the Cooma Multicultural Centre for her continued partnership with us and of course to the women whose dignity and courage never ceases to amaze.

UN’s Coming Together Campaign in Canberra – In the Lead Up to International Women’s Day

On March 1, in the lead up to International Women’s Day, the United Nations Information Centre Canberra, International Organization for Migration, the Canberra Multicultural Community Forum and the Canberra Multicultural Women Forum held a community event to promote the ‘Together, Safety and Dignity for All Initiative’ . It was also an opportunity to promote the recent establishment of the Canberra Multicultural Women’s Forum. The rest of the story is here also on our website.

UN’s Coming Together Campaign in Canberra – In the Lead Up to International Women’s Day

On March 1, in the lead up to International Women’s Day, the United Nations Information Centre Canberra, International Organization for Migration, the Canberra Multicultural Community Forum and the Canberra Multicultural Women Forum held a community event to promote the ‘Together, Safety and Dignity for All Initiative’ . It was also an opportunity to promote the recent establishment of the Canberra Multicultural Women’s Forum (the Women’s Forum).

Opening the event the Chair of the Women’s Forum, Ms Laura Aoun noted that many of the people in the audience were living proof that those from migrant and refugee backgrounds have enriched Canberra and Australia more broadly in ‘more ways than we realize’.

The Director of the UNIC Canberra, Mr Christopher Woodthorpe, noted the similarities between the Women’s forum – which bases it work on equal participation of women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds – and the UN’s Together Initiative – which seeks to promote the importance of such work. In closing he invited everyone to celebrate women, rejoice in diversity and to come together.

Chief of Mission for IOM, Mr Jo Appiah, in his speech said that “on International Women’s Day the International Organization for Migration (IOM) embraces the official United Nations theme, Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030, by honoring migrant women and girls and called for us all to take a moment to recognize not just their specific contributions but also their challenges”.

Inter-dispersed between speeches the over one hundred strong audience was privy to two fine performances – firstly by the local ACT Chinese Australian Association Ladies Dance Group followed by the pace of some very colorful Colombians.

The keynote speech of the night was given by Her Excellency the High Commissioner of Pakistan, Naela Chohan during which she said that “today there is a growing number of women in conflict situation compelled to become refugees and migrants. It is indeed among the most urgent humanitarian challenges of our times. Much of this displacement has neither been voluntary nor orderly. People particularly women and children have been fleeing from desperate conditions of conflict, war or poverty. These helpless women and children on the move, deserve compassion and humane treatment”.

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Interview with UNWomen Pacific: Placing Pacific Women at Forefront of Disaster Planning and Response

Photo: UN Women/Murray Lloyd

As the Pacific braces itself for another cyclone season, UN Women is leading efforts to ensure that women and girls are at the center of disaster preparedness, response and recovery work.

According to UN Women persisting gender inequalities often lead to additional vulnerabilities and different impacts for women and girls when disaster strikes.

UNIC Canberra spoke via Skype with Aleta Miller, UN Women’s representative at the
Fiji Multi-Country Office.

The Need to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in Papua New Guinea

How are people’s lives linked to the Sustainable Development Goals? This film tells the stories of three families in the Coastal, Highlands and Central regions of Papua New Guinea. It documents the challenges they face in their daily lives, how they are over coming these and their aspirations for the future.

Film created by UN Office PNG

In Opinion Piece, Secretary-General António Guterres Shares New Vision for UN

In an opinion piece today for Newsweek, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres outlined a vision for addressing the enormous challenges facing the international community, including maintaining peace and security, promoting economic development, and combatting climate change.

“The greatest shortcoming of the international community today is its failure to prevent conflict and maintain global security,” he wrote. The new Secretary-General, whose five-year term began on 1 January, is urging the international community to respond to recent crises by committing to a more diplomatic and peaceful 2017. To do that, he argued, we must focus on the basics: stronger institutions and more resilient societies.

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Over 140 World Leaders Gather at UN in New York

Sustainable Development Goals logos

19-23 September

Since the unanimous adoption of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the cornerstone of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 2015, governments, the private sector and civil society are quickly moving to take the action that we need to end poverty, address inequalities and tackle climate change by 2030.

To mark the first year anniversary, a number of high-level events and side events are taking place from 19 to 23 September.

Who:    
Heads of State and Government, joined by leaders from the private sector, civil society organisations, academia and senior UN officials

What:  
Key intergovernmental events plus dozens of other meetings and side events by governments, UN agencies and leaders from civil society, foundations and the private sector will raise awareness around many issues related to the Sustainable Development Goals. Please note all events listed below are subject to change.

When: 
19-23 September 2016, with more events occurring before and after

Where: 
United Nations Headquarters (and surrounding venues)
High-level events will be webcast live at http://webtv.un.org/

 Next page for information on events and their contacts

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