Dear BPW Members

RE: Participation for CSW53

This is a call for members to participate and pre-register for the 53rd Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW53) to be held on the 2nd - 13th of March 2009, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Please advise your federation or club president of your intention to attend along with your details: name and email. Your president will send the list to presidents.office@bpw-international.org for credentialing. The deadline to receive names will be December 31st,2008

The 2009 focus is on "The equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including caregiving in the context of HIV/AIDS". In preparation for next year’s session, the Working Group on Girls of the NGO Committee on UNICEF (WGG) is compiling a list of Non-Governmental Organisations who plan to bring girls to the CSW53 proceedings in March. WGG is planning a series of events that will focus on the impact of caregiving and HIV/AIDS on the girl child and intends to include girls as panel and parallel event presenters, and to engage girls as active audience participants.

The President’s Office would be delighted to hear from members who are planning to bring girls to next year’s CSW53 so that we can ensure that all girls attending are able to participate fully in WGG sponsored events.

Additional information about the 53rd Session, meetings and documentation can be obtained from www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/53sess.

Please be reminded that accommodation will need to be reserved directly.

There will be much information to follow with regards to CSW53 and all the exciting BPW Events planned for 2009 – workshops, seminars and social gatherings that BPW members are warmly invited to participate.

Please mark the dates for CSW53 in your diary and start promoting now – the girls participation will make next year’s session an unforgettable one!

We are looking forward to welcoming all BPW members, encourage Young BPWs to attend and hope that you will be able to reach out directly to girls in your area who will be able to take part in the WGG sponsored events.

"Start spreading the news" for CSW53 and how this promises to be a very special occassion.

Elizabeth Benham
President
BPW International 2008-2011