The 52nd UN Commission on the Status of Women

Hi from New York City and the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Here is an update from Monday's meeting of the CSW:

Today is opening day of the UN Commission on the
Status of Women. It's my fourth year attending and
I'm starting to feel like a veteran. This year there
are seven of us who will be attending the entire week
and six more who will be participating in weekend
activities. I'm thrilled with our BWA representation.

Today at the UN consisted mostly of standing in line.
Registration is a long process and once finished each
participant has her own UN badge that gets her most
anywhere in the building. Here is a link to a yahoo
story on Ban Ki-moon's address to the opening
assembly:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080226/ap_on_re_us/un_violence_against_women

The Judson girls who are attending are full of energy
and questions. I think today left them feeling a bit
overwhelmed, but hopefully in a good way. One of them
brought her video camera and is making a documentary
of the meeting.

Today there is a workshop where Gloria Steinem is
speaking. Once again, I'm thrilled to have the
opportunity to hear her.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Steinem
Last night I asked the Judson girls if they knew who
she was. Not one of them did. Carol Ann Vaughn where
are you?

I think the most interesting part of today was
standing in line with women from all over the world.
It was fascinating to behold various line etiquette.
Many women tried to "skip" - some were discreet about
it while others moved boldly. I enjoyed the
conversations on the 2 1/2 hour path to the front of
the line. I met Abbie from Illinois - a young
twenty-something who graduates from college in May and
starts seminary this fall. She is here with the
Presbyterian Church, USA as a college
representatives.

I met Hilary from outside of London who is here with
Soroptimist International,
http://www.soroptimistinternational.org/ . She was
part of the unofficial line police and made sure
things stayed orderly.

Attendees of this meeting are leaders of their
organizations. I would imagine that they are
accustomed to being at the head of all lines. It's a
good exercise for them to have to wait. However, if
the UN would let Susan Jones and me be in charge of
registration we could get things done quicker.

Blake and Sydney come on Wednesday night. I'm excited
about our Elba girls being here.

Warmly,
S