PPSEAWA Events During CSW67

PPSEAWA Organizes 9 Events During the sixty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations from 6-17 March 2023

The sixty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women was held at the United Nations in New York from 6 to 17 March 2023. PPSEAWA International is a non-governmental organization accredited with consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and may send up to 20 representatives in its delegation to CSW67. PPSEAWA sponsors and co-sponsors events during CSW67.

CSW Background: The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is under the UN Women Secretariat and is the main intergovernmental body dedicated to gender equality. Representatives from countries, UN entities, and delegates from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOS) meet during its annual session in March to discuss significant global challenges facing women and girls. One outcome from a fortnight of meetings is a set of agreed-upon conclusions with suggested guidelines and international standards on the theme. The themes this year are:

• Priority theme: Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls;
• Review theme: Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls (agreed conclusions of the sixty-second session).

Side Events are in-person events organized by Permanent Missions, Intergovernmental Agencies, and UN entities. You are pre-registered with UN Women as a representative of PPSEAWA, and receive a badge/temporary grounds pass. Many of these official sessions are available for public viewing on UN WebTV, Facebook and YouTube. Parallel Events are organized by the NGO CSW Forum as a space for civil society organizations to engage, discuss and share best practices for advancing women’s and girls’ rights. This year, the NGO CSW Forum was hybrid, with some sessions off-site and others held on different virtual platforms.

Highlights from nine of PPSEAWA’s CSW67 Events:

PPSEAWA International Virtual CSW67 Welcome Reception (3 March 2023)

We were joined by 44 PPSEAWA sisters from Hawaii, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States. Organizers introduced their CSW67 events.

NGO CSW Forum Parallel Event: “Women empowerment in the digital age: best practices for using innovation and technology for gender equality” (7 March 2023)

Host: PPSEAWA Taiwan | Moderator: Dr. Mandy Chen, PPSEAWA Taiwan President
Part 1: Social Entrepreneurs

• Dr. Heather Cameron, Professor of Social Practice in Entrepreneurship, Washington University. Global barriers to women’s entrepreneurship include a lack of access to technology and finance, but also a lack of agency and cultural norms. A good example of a program that promotes entrepreneurship is the Gender Impact Accelerator (GIA) is social enterprise accelerator to support young women social innovators.
• We then heard from two recipients of a GIA Award: (1) Pin Chun Chao of SALASUSU, GIA Award Winner (2021) – provides vocational training in Cambodia. (2)Shao Hua Huang and Monica Tsai, WE Room, GIA Award Winner (2022) – provides a digital space for women’s bodily autonomy and wellbeing, especially breast health
• Dr. Tzu Wen Wei, CEO, Diong Cheng Biomedical Co. Show Chwan Healthcare System spoke about ASEAN Female Entrepreneurs, focusing on two companies: GRAB in Taiwan, which was a taxi service catering to women that expanded to provide medical transport and food delivery; and Homage based in Singapore, to provide home care and community-based caregiving for seniors. Note that the majority of employees also are women.

Part 2: Digital Opportunities

• Dr. Chao Yin Lin, Director, Department of Social Work at National Taipei University, spoke about need to provide digital opportunities for women with disabilities. Digital skills could help young women with disabilities who are often homebound to access income-earning opportunities through online outsourcing and e-lancing. Policymakers can facilitate digital inclusion for women with disabilities in terms of accessibility and affordability of digital tools.
• Dr. Chi-chia Jessica Cheng, Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health at Fu-Jen Catholic University, spoke about a government website with online for adolescent sexual health. Adolescents are very concerned about whether they are “normal”, in terms of their physical, psychological, and social aspects. A trustworthy and reliable counseling object can eliminate many unnecessary doubts and panic. What teenagers need is not only information but also empathy and support. Online counseling can transmit positive energy through warm words.
  

NGO CSW Forum Parallel Event: “Technology-Facilitated VAWG: How CSOs Enhance Their Influence on Binding Treaty” (7 March 2023)

PPSEAWA International’s Programme Development Committee was a co-host along with Soroptimist International, Soroptimist International of Tainan Elite, Zonta International Club of Taipei II, Foundation for Women’s Rights Promotion and Development. Chavali Pamela Osathanugrah, PPSEAWA Thailand President, and Dr. Mariko Fujisawa, PPSEAWA Japan, were panelists.

NGO CSW Forum Parallel Event: “How Women Drive Innovation in the Renewable Energy Industry” (9 March 2023)
Host: PPSEAWA International.

Dr. Sumon Vangchuay, PPSEAWA International Representative to the UN Geneva stated there is a rising trend of renewable energy by wind and solar power form 5%-10% in 2010 to 20%-25% by 2026. The benefits of renewable energy are: Low cost, improve energy access and energy poverty, New green job creation, accelerated growth of the green energy > ambitious sustainability targets, Provide opportunities for change (entrepreneurship, new skills/ learnings/ paradigm shift). Worldwide employment in renewable energy is expected to reach more than 38 million by 2030 (especially in wind energy, hydropower, liquid biofuels, and solar photovoltaic). Therefore, the need for STEM training and education for women around the world is in demand and development. Example: solarsister.org

• There are socio-economic and humanitarian benefits to clean energy. The growth of the renewables sector creates green jobs, alleviates poverty and improves the livelihoods of women, their families and low-income communities. - Akari Yamada, PPSEAWA International First Vice President
• Women are a key part of the value chain in the renewables sector as providers, educators, entrepreneurs and decision-makers. - Dr. Sumon Vangchuay, UN Representative- Geneva, PPSEAWA-International
• Three women social entrepreneurs in the solar sector have contributed to switch to electric transport and provided additional income for businesses and households in Taiwan. – Honorable Dr. Eugene Chien, Taiwan’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Head of Climate Change and Sustainability
• The biggest barrier for rural people in off-grid areas is lack of technical language and access to digital devices. Mobile Applications like iAgree help children in Sarawak. - Natasha Nuralanis Binti Zulkipli, PPSEAWA Malaysia, Sarawak Chapter

CSW67 Side Event: “Innovations in Women’s Health and Well-Being: Integrating Information and Communication Technologies, Universal Health Coverage, NCDs, and Policy” (9 March 2023)

Co-sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Thailand, International Council of Women (ICW-CIF); Communications Coordination Committee for the United Nations (CCCUN); Pan Pacific South East Asia Women’s Association International (PPSEAWA).

This event is the continuation of a long term agenda to integrate women’s life course healthcare into the UN agenda withe a focus on the universal Health Coverage (UHC), especially in context of the greatest burdens of global diseases. These include the major non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, respiratory illnesses, and mental health and neurological conditions. With the challenges of COVID-19, NCDs and information and communication technologies (ICTs) have taken center stage in relevance to healthcare. With growing emergence of the importance of ICTs with both positive and negative influences on physical and mental healthcare. Women’s health and wellbeing must be addressed in a systematic and cohesive manner.

Takeaway: The greatest women’s health inequities are due to socioeconomic disadvantage and prevention through healthy water systems, and sanitation. Also differences in life expectancy between countries are often also observed between communities with countries, so in general, we need to urge for better consumer protection law enforcement and high-quality studies.

CSW67 Side Event: “Human Trafficking - Using Technology & Roadmap to End It” (9 March 2023)

This High-Level Side Event held at the Un Church Center covered rograms that bankrupt the business of human trafficking and expand the strategy by the “3-Ds” of Detection, Demand and Display.

• Ambassador H. E. Dr. Paul Beresford-Hill, Permanent Mission of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the UN in New York
• Deborah O’Hara Rusckowski, Permanent Mission of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the UN in New York
• Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children (SRSG-VAC)
• Ugochi Daniels, International Organization for Migration- Deputy Director General
• Beate Andrees, International Labour Organization- Special Representative to and Director of the ILO Office to the United Nations
• Kevin Hyland, Former UK Anti-Slavery Commissioner
• Valiant Richey, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe-OSCE Special Representative and Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings
• Heather Fischer, Thomson Reuters—Senior Advisor for Human Rights Crimes

NGO CSW Forum Parallel Event: “Voices of Child Survivors: Breaking silence on child sexual exploitation” (9 March 2023)

Co-hosted by PPSEAWA International and ECPAT International.

Moderator: Dr. Raj Abdul Karim, Second Vice President of PPSEAWA International and Coordinator of ECPAT Malaysia
Part 1 Importance of Child Participation in Monitoring Efforts and Informing Policies

• Guillaume Landry, Executive Director ECPAT
• Mikiko Otani, Chairperson of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC)
• Susan Wairimu, Advocate for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and a Survivor from Kenya
• Rangsima Deesawade, Regional Coordinator for East Asia and the Pacific at ECPAT International in Bangkok, Thailand
  

Part 2 Breaking the Silence of Online Child Sexual Exploitation

• Katrina Mariswamy, Deputy Regional Director for Aftercare-Asia at Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.)
• Rita Panicker Pinto, Executive Director of Butterflies India
• Snow White O. Smelser, Expert Advisor on Online and Offline, Global Program on Ending Violence Against Children, UN Office on Drugs and Crime

Conclusion by Dr. Raj Abdul Karim: “We have understanded more aspects of the survivors have been going through today. I feel challenged, I feel that there is hope, I feel that there are opportunities, and we can take forward some of the messages, courageous acts and programs that we have received from the presenters. Intergrading the voices of the survivors in the world in forming policies, strategies, in sighting intervention what we can have better way accessing justice through law enforcement and other channels. How we can make this system more effective, more friendly, more humane. It has to start from us, we need to be able to do this ‘with children’ instead of ‘for children’. ‘Hearing the Voices of Children’ and ‘Child Participation’ will be a positive look into the future planning of work.”

NGO CSW Forum Parallel Event: “Survivor Voices: Public-Private Partnerships Support Victims of Stalking in the Digital Age” (10 March 2023)

Co-hosted by the Taiwan Coalition Against Violence, Soroptimist International and PPSEAWA Canada

NGO CSW Forum Parallel Event: “Addressing the challenges of women in rural areas: Leveraging digital transformation for Sustainability” (13 March 2023)

Co-hosted by BPW International and PPSEAWA International

The discussion on how women can actively co-innovative and utilize agricultural techniques and technologies that improve agricultural productivity, increase economic autonomy, and occupy leadership roles in rural life . The experts presented their experiences, best practices, testimonials on rural women and their access to loans, land and technology, the dynamics power and discriminatory society norms, finding collectively the means to bridge the gap in order to propose entry points to accomplish deep seated and long lasting change. Digital transformation and emerging technology solutions can help a gender-just sustainability journey while creating more gender- responsive, intelligent and inclusive communities. We used MENTIMETER POLLS to get the audience to join in on more engaged in the event. The actual codes and links were given prior the event. It was fun and creative.

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Report by Kesinee Dulyarat, PPSEAWA International Representatove to the UN/NY

Dear all PPSEAWA sisters,

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental (NGO) body dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.

During the two week session, UN entities, Member States, and Civil Society discuss issues pertaining to women, girls, and gender equality as well as issues happening on the regional, national, and local levels.

Each year, the Commission focuses on specific themes related to gender equality, known as the ‘priority’ and ‘review’ themes. The 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) took place from 6 to 17 March 2023. The NGO CSW67 forum took place in a hybrid format with both in-person and virtual events throughout the forum. The NGO CSW Forum runs parallel to the official session taking place at the UN Headquarters.

Here is the statement by Ms. Sima Bahous, UN Undersecretary- General and Executive Director of UN Women .
“This year’s Commission on the Status of Women marks a milestone. Together, you have set the global normative framework on gender equality, technology and innovation that will shape the lives of women and girls right across the world.

It is your collective commitment, your energy, your vision, your resilience and your patience that has successfully led us to our Agreed Conclusions for CSW67.

You have risen to this moment and demonstrated the promise and strength of intergovernmental space. You have join forces to reframe technology and innovation as a powerful accelerator for development, for human rights and for women’s rights.

You have contributed to shaping an open, safe, and equal digital future for all women and girls. Thanks to those who have steered us so skillfully along the way.“

CSW67 Priority theme: Innovation and Technological change and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.

CSW67 Review theme: Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and empowerment of rural women and girls (agreed conclusions of the sixty - second session).

I had an opportunity to represent PPSEAWA International on 2 different Cosponsored Events:

(1) CSW67 Virtual Side Event: “Women’s Health and Well-Being: Integrating Information and Communication Technologies, Universal Health Coverage, NCDs and Policy.”
Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 1:30 -3:00 p.m EST
Co-sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Thailand to the United Nations, International Council of Women (ICW), Communications Coordination Committee to the United Nations (CCCUN) and Pan Pacific and South East Asia Women’s Association (PPSEAWA International)

This event is the continuation of a long term agenda to integrate women’s life course healthcare into the UN agenda with a focus on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), especially in the context of these greatest burden of global diseases of major non-communicable diseases (NCDs), especially, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, respiratory illnesses, and mental health and neurological conditions.

With the challenges of Covid-19, NCDs and information and communication technologies (ICTs) have taken center stage in relevance to healthcare. With growing emergence of the importance of ICTs with both positive and negative influences on physical and mental healthcare. Women’s health and wellbeing must be addressed in a systematic and cohesive manner.

The event was successfully presented by experts:

• Deputy Ambassador to Permanent Mission of Thailand..H.E. Vathayudh
• Ambassador to Permanent Mission of Mexico..H.E. Juan de la Fuente
• The World Health Organization..Ms. Surabhi Joshi
• University of Queensland, Australia Professor.. Dr.Gita Mishra
• Health Sciences and Law Ottawa, Canada..Executive Director and General Legal Counsel..Bill Jeffery
• Organized and Moderated by Dr. Elizabeth Carll, Chair of the Global Mental Health and NCDs and President of the CCCUN
  

(2) CSW67 Virtual Parallel Event: “Addressing the Challenges of Women in rural areas : Leveraging digital transformation for sustainability”
Monday, March 13, 2023 at Noon EST
Organized by: Business Professional Women International (BPW)
Cosponsored: Pan Pacific and South East Asia Women’s Association (PPSEAWA International)

The discussion on how women can actively co-innovative and utilize agricultural techniques and technologies that improve agricultural productivity, increase economic autonomy, and occupy leadership roles in rural life . The experts presented their experiences, best practices, testimonials on rural women and their access to loans, land and technology, the dynamics power and discriminatory society norms, finding collectively the means to bridge the gap in order to propose entry points to accomplish deep seated and long lasting change.

Digital transformation and emerging technology solutions can help a gender-just sustainability journey while creating more gender-responsive, intelligent and inclusive communities.

We used MENTIMETER POLLS to get the audience more engaged in the event. The platform was able to make Words Cloud and Polls. The actual codes and links were given prior the event. It was fun and creative!

International Women’s Day

In addition, PPSEAWA held an informal celebration of International Women’s Day, a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in women’s rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. PPSEAWA sisters who attended CSW67 events in New York: Polly Chang, LA Chapter President of PPSEAWA USA, Natalie Christou, USA Representative to the UN/NY, Amy Banker, PPSEAWA International Representative to the UN/NY, and myself had lunch together at the lovely buffet cafeteria on the 4th floor of UN Headquarters with spectacular views of the East River. It was a beautiful International Women’s Day celebration at UNHQ!