United Nations NYC – Federation Chairman Margaret Broome at CSW67
The sixty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) was held in New York from 6th to 17th March 2023.
Representatives of Member States, UN entities and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organisations from all regions of the world were invited to contribute – and our very own Federation Chairman Margaret Broome of Seaforde WI was in attendance representing ACWW! Here she shares some snapshots and snippets from her travels…
It was my great honour to represent ACWW as a delegate at the Commission on the Status of Women 67 in New York, in March 2023. I was able to attend twelve different events in various locations (see below) and was struck by the similarity of problems faced by women throughout the globe. Every area/country has its own particular problems, but time and time again, the same issues were brought up – gender inequality, gender-based violence, lack of connectivity, the need for collaboration, to name but a few.
The main theme this year was on “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”.
It was fascinating to listen to women from such different and diverse nations talk about how important technology was and how each country was trying to improve access to it.
I was also able to attend a reception for the UK Ambassador to the UN, Dame Barbara Woodward and to speak with her on some local problems faced by rural women.
Themes for the events I attended:
UN Women Online Briefing & Orientation Session
Irish Consortium on Gender Based Violence
Widow’s Rights International
Launch of Ukraine’s Updated National Action Plan
Ukrainian Young Change Makers
Look Back to Look Forward
Food Sovereignty Innovation & Technological Change & Education
International Women’s Day Event
Rural Women as Agents of Change
UN General Assembly
Youth Panel
Margaret Broome
(Vice-Chair ACWW United Nations Committee)
Me inside the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The blue and white UN flag features their logo of a world map centred on the North Pole, with an olive tree branch at each side – a recognisable emblem for people across the globe, representing the organisation’s humanitarian work worldwide and the hopes of peace and unity. The poignant quotation on the wall behind me reads: “The UN was not created to take mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell.” – taken from a speech delivered by former United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld in May 1954.
Me outside the United Nations Headquarters – the flags from every country in the UN are hoisted each morning, Monday to Friday at 8am, and taken back down at 5pm.
Me in front of the iconic ‘Non-Violence / Knotted Gun’ bronze sculpture, which sits outside the United Nations Headquarters in New York. This famous piece was made by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd and features an oversized magnum revolver with the muzzle at the end of the barrel tied in a knot – a gun that can no longer be used! I felt this was a very symbolic and appropriate picture, particularly as we marked the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement recently. There are more than 30 copies of this sculpture placed in various locations around the world.
This was me receiving a small gift from a Ukrainian lady, in traditional dress, who had, along with a number of her fellow countrywomen, spoken of her experiences of the war in Ukraine.
Myself with the United Nations Committee – Hania White, Anne Innes and Marie Kenny (Chairman), all from Canada. The sculpture in the background was gifted to the UN and is composed of two interlinked spheres. It was designed by the well-known Italian artist Arnaldo Pomodoro and is entitled ‘Sphere within Sphere’. This can be interpreted as a symbol of the emergence of a new world from the old.
Anne, Hania and I in front of the official United Nations logo and flags inside the UN Headquarters building.
