Calendar

The International Leadership Institute for Young Women will take place in Bangkok, Thailand from 23-28 May 2013 .

The world YWCA will bring together selected young women champions from each region to discuss, debate and define a global young women's agenda for development, equality and rights. The event will draw on research undertaken by young women in their home countries among their peers and build on the " The Future Young women Want", a World YWCA global consultation conducted in January 2013.

The International Leadership Institute for Young Women is made possible with the support of Dr Cecilia Y. Koo of the National Women’s League of Republic of China, AusAID, Bread for the World, Norwegian Church Aid and German World Day of Prayer.

The 23rd session of the Human Rights Council is being held in Geneva from 27 May to 14 June 2013. The agenda includes the annual day of discussion on women’s human rights and the adoption of a resolution on violence against women led by Canada.

The HRC offers an opportunity for the World YWCA to advance its work on women’s inter-generational leadership by offering mentorship opportunities to young women; it provides a platform for engaging with other organisations on issues of women’s rights and enables us to sustain country level advocacy actions in line with our on-going work at the global level.

The 3rd Global Conference: Women Deliver will take place 28-30th of May in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

More than 5,000 participants from Ministries of Health, Finance and Development Cooperation, Parliaments, leading civil society organizations, global companies, media will participate in 120 concurrent sessions, high-level planarians, skills-building workshops, and ministerial and parliamentarian forums.                                                                                                                                                                 The focus will be to inspire and build a better world for girls and women.

Women Deliver Conference

The fifty-fifth session of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), will take place in July 2013 in Geneva, Switzerland.

It is scheduled to consider reports from the following seven State parties:

• Afghanistan
• Bosnia & Herzegovina
• Cape Verde
• Cuba
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Dominican Republic
• Serbia
• United Kingdom

Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 18, 1979, CEDAW is an international human rights treaty that focuses on women's rights and women's issues worldwide. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. CEDAW is not only an international bill of rights for women but also an agenda of action. Countries that ratify CEDAW agree to take concrete steps to improve the status of women and end discrimination and violence against women.

International Youth Day gives the world an opportunity to recognise the potential of youth, to celebrate their achievements, and plan for ways to better engage young people to successfully take action for development.

Activities and events that take place around the world on International Youth Day to promote the benefits that young people bring into the world.
International Youth Day provides an opportunity to acknowledge the power for peace and development of young women and men across the world. Young people will inherit the planet tomorrow, but they are already changing it today.
Recognise the potential of youth, to celebrate their achievements, and plan for ways to better engage young people to successfully take action for development.
 

The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body that is within the purview United Nations system.

It is responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them. The Council meets at the UN Office at Geneva.
The Council is made up of 47 United Nations Member States which are elected by the UN General Assembly. The Human Rights Council replaced the former United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

Know more 

This year the YWCA World Board will hold its annual meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.

The board brings together twenty women and young women representing each region. It will discuss how progress and impact of the movement in the last one year.

The YWCA strives for a world without without violence.
A world where women walk the streets at night without fear. A society where people need not be burdened with the fear of aggression. Communites where female genital mutilation, domestic violence and rape are faded memories of a long gone era.

This is the vision of the global movement of YWCAs. This is what the YWCA Week Without Violence works to achieve.
The YWCA Week Without Violence is an annual global campaign to stop violence in all its forms. Throughout the week activities focus on raising awareness, promoting attitude change and enabling individuals and organisations to begin positive actions towards ending violence in their communities.

The 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches will take place in Busan, Republic of Korea.

The rich offering of events at the Assembly is intended to maximize sharing among participants, to deepen their experience of fellowship, to increase their knowledge of the ecumenical movement and to provide space for dialogue on important issues.
The assembly has the mandate to set the future agenda of the council, to elect governance officials and to speak with a public voice on behalf of the churches. It is also a unique moment for the whole fellowship of member churches to come together in prayer and celebration.

The theme is “God of life, lead us to justice and peace” and engages participants in a response to this prayer.
The assembly programme will provide space for Prayer, Bible study, Thematic plenaries and Ecumenical conversations.

Know more

November 25 is marked as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

It is an occasion for governments, international organisations and non-governmental organisations to raise public awareness of violence against women.It has been observed on November 25 each year since 2000.
Living a life free of violence has been recognised as a human right in several international human rights conventions and treaties.
Much remains to be done before all forms of violence against women ceases.  On this day the global community calls for an end to atrocities against women and girls and to ensure that women and girls can live lives free from violence.

The date of 29th of November was chosen because of its meaning and significance to the Palestinian people

On that day in 1947, the General Assembly adopted resolution 181 (II), which came to be known as the Partition Resolution. That resolution provided for the establishment in Palestine of a "Jewish State" and an "Arab State", with Jerusalem as a corpus separatum under a special international regime. Of the two States to be created under this resolution, only one, Israel, has so far come into being.
The International Day of Solidarity has traditionally provided an opportunity for the international community to focus its attention on the fact that the question of Palestine is still unresolved and that the Palestinian people is yet to attain their inalienable rights as defined by the General Assembly, namely, the right to self-determination without external interference, the right to national independence and sovereignty, and the right to return to their homes and property from which they had been displaced.
In response to the call of the United Nations, various activities are undertaken annually by Governments and civil society in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. These activities include, among other things, the issuance of special messages of solidarity with the Palestinian people, the organization of meetings, the dissemination of publications and other information material, and the screening of documentary films.

World AIDS Day is an annual campaign to bring attention to the global HIV and AIDS pandemic.

World AIDS Day was first conceived on August 1988 in Geneva, Switzerland. The day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education towards HIV and AIDS. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV still has a vicious place our world. There is a global recognition of those individuals and communities who are living with HIV or AIDS around the world on this day. HIV and AIDS has been the World YWCA’s priority issue for nearly a decade now.

The ICASA conference contributes towards overcoming the HIV and Tuberculosis

These are the epidemics that grip Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most affected region with over 22 Million people living with HIV and AIDS and the highest Tuberculosis tuberculosis rates world-wide
ICASA represents a massive opportunity for all role players from basic science researchers, clinical researchers to the drug regulatory authorities and human ethics committees to review the current state of infectious diseases research in Africa.
There is a focus that an increased effort is required to maintain the international leadership for a reduction in HIV incidence targeting zero new infections, and a reduction of HIV and AIDS related mortality and morbidity.

Know more

Human Rights day is celebrated annually across the world on December 10.

The date was chosen to honour the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which occurred on December 10, 1948, the first global enunciation of human rights.
The World YWCA was one of the first organisations to bring women’s human rights onto the United Nations agenda. In 1948, the World YWCA prepared and presented to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, information gathered from member associations around the world. The World YWCA continues to reaffirm the importance of the full and equal enjoyment of human rights by women and girls.