A duo from Siena recently took part in a United Nations conference, carrying their campus work on women’s rights issues to the epicenter of world diplomacy.
Beth DeAngelis, director of Siena’s Sr. Thea Bowman Center for Women, and Nicole Alex ’19 spent March 15 at the United Nations in New York, participating in the 63rd Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63), which shared best practices on social protection systems, access to public services and the empowerment of women and girls around the world.
The collaboration between Siena and UN Women has been developing over the past couple years, with UN-connected speakers coming to campus last fall to talk about women’s migration, and Siena reaching out to Franciscans International and UN Women for support in its efforts to ensure gender equality.
“This is a working relationship now,” said DeAngelis. “We are colleagues.”
An invitation to CSW63 came about through an internship Emily Radigan ’19 held at Franciscans International.
CSW63 welcomed representatives from around the world for two weeks to do practical political and legal work on issues such as an end to child marriage, access to proper education and health care, and the outlawing of female genital mutilation (FMG).
“It was very empowering to be in a room with so many people making such important decisions impacting the lives of women,” said Alex. “Everyone there was as passionate as we are about these human rights issues.”
The conference featured committee meetings, formal presentations and educational displays attended by representatives from UN member states and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
“After two weeks of intense dialogue, the Agreed conclusions were drafted to provide a global call-to-action for social protection systems, public services, sustainable infrastructure, gender equality, and the empowerment of women and girls,” said DeAngelis.
Impressed by the activist fervor and variety of languages, DeAngelis and Alex said they will see that Siena has a presence at future Commission gatherings. In the meantime, they said anyone interested in these topics can access a wealth of UN research material and courses free of charge through www.unwomen.org, YouTube and other social media.
“This material is accessible to anyone who wants to learn more about these issues and make a difference in the lives of women,” said DeAngelis.
This year’s theme at Siena’s Bowman Center is about women using their voices for education and empowerment, and both DeAngelis and Alex agreed that the UN’s Commission event “is a great example of women doing just that.”
