“Addressing inequalities and Challenges to inclusion through fiscal, wage and social protection and HLS under the theme: “Empowering People and Ensuring Inclusiveness and Equality” New York 15 February 2019

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On the occasion of the UN Commission for Social Development that took place from 11 to 21 February 2019, the World Family Organization (WFO) hosted a luncheon on 15 February at the Delegate’s Dining Room premises at the UNHQ in New York. 

The overarching theme of this luncheon and discussion was focused around the topic of “addressing inequalities and challenges to inclusion through fiscal, wage and social protection policies” with the aim to further contribute to the ECOSOC 2019 High-Level Political Forum and High-Level Segment under the theme of “Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality”. 

The luncheon was moderated by Ms. Hanifa Mezoui, PhD and attended by the President of the WFO, Dr. Deisi Kusztra together with Mr. Isidro de Brito, Vice-President for Legal and Administrative Affairs of WFO (Portugal) who presented WFO’s work over the past year and how effective UN family policies could contribute to reaching the common goal of equality and inclusiveness in all spheres of life.

In a spirit of partnership, the luncheon was attended by other notable officials from the UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs, including, Ms. Daniela Bas (Directorof DESA’s Division for Inclusive Social Development), Mr. Alberto Padova (Chiefof DESA’s Social Inclusion and Participation Branch), Mr. Navid Hanif, Directorof DESA’s Financing for Sustainable Development Office, the UN Global Compact, Mr. Angus Rennie) Marc-Andre Dorel, Acting Chief, NGO Branch and the Secretariat of the G77.

Additional participants from civil society included, Ms. Suneeta Dewan, representing Children’s Hope India, who contributed on the role of social inclusiveness and equality in developing countries with the focus on children and youth growing up in poverty and lack of opportunities as well as the need for empowering women.  The International Federation for Family Development (IFFD) represented by its President, Mr. Ignacio Socias gave a briefing of the CSD57 side event coordinated in partnership with various stakeholders, titled: “The value of Unpaid Care and Domestic Work* – Is Target 5.4 a Utopia?” He presented the IFFD Family Award for 2019, to, among others, Ania Feron and the country of Austria.  

The luncheon was also honored by the presence of H.E., Mr. Mohamed Fathi Ahmed Idrees, Former Chair Group77 for 2018, Ambassador Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations, who emphasized, the crucial role played by Member States in financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by highlighting international cooperation, North-South, South-South and Triangular Cooperation.  

The discussion revolved on the need to combat discrimination and social exclusion by promoting inclusion through social protection systems that will enable families to thrive. 

Concerns were also raised on: How to align the global financial system with sustainable development? And how to advance the finance mechanisms for the SDGs and develop initiatives to reduce the current investment gap? 

It was also reported that at its January 2019, regular session, the NGO Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations had before it 521 applications and recommended 236 of them for consultative status. It was mentioned that in regards to the geographic distribution, efforts have to be made to increase the number of NGOs from Africa and Latin America.

We were also briefed, on activities and contribution to this year’s 63rdCommission on the Status of Women and to the upcoming Fourth Forum on Financing for Development.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to everyone who attended this very fruitful and inspiring discussion and we recognize the dedicated efforts of WFO in working with local authorities to advance the 2030 Agenda and SDGs in relations to family issues. 

*“Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies, and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate” Tuesday, February 12th, 2018

The Family Africa – World AIDS Day 2018

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We had to postpone our celebration of World AIDS Day until today as on Monday the roads were blocked with burning tyres. Even so by driving down at 5am in the morning David was able to get in and out of the township and deliver the food for our TB/HIV group just in time before the protests and the tyres were set alight.

So today everything was quiet and we held our memorial for all the relatives and friends we have lost to HIV/AIDS over the years. Rachel presented a new powerpoint covering the 20 years we have worked in Diepsloot focusing on  the development of our many HIV programmes and support for those infected and affected with HIV.

The women had made new banners and after we prayed and sang, everyone wrote the names of lost loved ones on stickers  and we made a procession to our lovely fig tree which stands right next to our memorial rose garden, where we placed their names on the branches. There beneath the leafy branches we have placed  a new bench, donated by a a friend, so that anyone who wishes to can sit and enjoy the rose garden and meditate on those they have lost.

https://thefamilyafrica.blogspot.com/2018/12/world-aids-day-2018.html

“Seniors and Millennials: Working Together for the Sustainable Development Goals”

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On October 10, 2018, the Association of Former International Civil Servants for Development (Greycells) will celebrate its tenth anniversary by holding a dialogue at the Palais des Nations between representatives of seniors and millennials entitled: “Seniors and Millennials: Working Together for the Global Goals “ 

The views of both generations will be exchanged and compared: on the one hand, older people’s experience and advice, on the other hand, youth’s future projects and hopes. What are the views of the Millennials on the legacy and responsibilities of the older generation regarding the SDGs? How do the Millennials view their own later years, and what are their expectations? How do seniors view the opinions they had when they were young as compared to the Millennials’ views? How can both young and old generations learn and benefit from each other in achieving the SDGs? 

During the days preceding the Dialogue, thanks to state-of-the-art technology, the views, questions and comments of the young generation on the role of seniors will be gathered through a world-wide social media campaign, organized in cooperation with the UN Secretariat. 

Greycells, in consultation with all partners contributing to the commemorative event, will prepare substantive inputs on the role of seniors and millennials in achieving each SDG, with a view to launching and stimulating the campaign. Selected questions and comments will serve as a basis for the dialogue. The results of both the campaign and the Dialogue will be disseminated all over the world through the above-mentioned social media, as well as by specialized journalists. 

The Dialogue will be introduced by the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Mr. Michael Møller, and by Ms. Esther Alder, President of the Department of Social Cohesion and Solidarity of the City of Geneva. It will focus on poverty, inequality and migration; employment, retirement and professional projects; environment; gender: equal rights and opportunities. The moderator, Mr. Jeremy Seydoux, will facilitate the interactive discussion with the public. 

The campaign and the dialogue have the benefit of participation by: The Seniors’ City of the City of Geneva, the Platform of associations of senior people in Geneva, Geneva International Model United Nations (GIMUN), Young-UN, the Parliament of Young people in Geneva and Rotaract Geneva International. 

The Dialogue will be conducted in French with interpretation into English, it will last two hours and will be followed by a reception hosted by Greycells and its partners, with the kind participation of the United Nations Jazz Ensemble. 

The Family Africa – Mandela Day 2018

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And what a day it was!  100 years celebration of Mandela’s birth and it started at 8am and carried on until 5.30pm. There were support groups together for the day, TB and HIV groups, Grandmothers caring for orphans and of our the children from our Free Day Centre. In the morning all the clients received blankets, toiletries and clothes.

There was a ceremony for the 43 people who have just completed the Health Champion Course, The children also received blankets and knitted hats. It also ran the normal feeding scheme of bags of food for our support group members to take home. All 200 of us ate a chicken and rice meal together and continued dancing and singing throughout the day. During the day we had different volunteer pop in with gifts and seedlings for the garden and in the afternoon we had a team of lawyers who delivered 150 food parcels full of goodies like cooking oil, sugar tea, mealie and tinned goods.

In the afternoon we had our teen club and orphan support group running where they played games, ate hot dogs and also received blankets and lots of treats. As all the support groups were still there from the morning along with all the extra children – well you can imagine how packed our centre was- full of happiness and thankfulness for Mandela’s life.

More pics here

World Family Summit 2017 – Geneva Declaration

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Geneva Declaration – “No Family Left Behind: Families and Local – Authorities working together to transform cities and human settlements into inclusive, safe, resilient, sustainable with strong communities.

Click in the links below to download the final text of the Geneva Declaration, accepted by the United Nations and translated into English, French and Spanish. The Declaration was presented and circulated during the High Level Political Forum 2018 at the UN Headquarters in New York.

 English | French | Spanish

International Family Day 2018 – Message from the President

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No Family Left Behind: Families and Local Authorities working together to transform cities and human settlements into inclusive, safe, resilient, sustainable with strong communities

Humankind has achieved unprecedented social and economic progress over the past several decades. However, the progress has been uneven. Everywhere, some individuals and groups confront barriers that prevent them from fully participating in economic, social and political life, leaving them behind. The focus of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the core aspiration of the World Family Organization in celebrating the 2018 International Family Day is to highlight the inclusion of the family in the process of development with No Family Left Behind.

By 2050, the world’s urban population is expected to nearly double, making urbanization one of the twenty-first century’s most transformative trends. Populations, economic activities, social and cultural interactions, as well as environmental and humanitarian impacts, are increasingly concentrated in cities, and these poses to governments and to families’ massive sustainability challenges in terms of housing, infrastructure, basic services, food security, health, education, decent jobs, safety and natural resources, among others.

Recalling that in Celebration of the World Family Organization 70thAnniversary, the focus of the World Family Summit 2017 was on the New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”, and SDG 12 “Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns” we would like to emphasize on this 2018 International Family Day that its implementation at local level and in the family is an exceptional opportunity to achieve better integration between communities needs and family-friendly public policy development, leading to a renewed hope, harmony, social coherence and economic growth, while ensuring inclusion and sustainability.

By encouraging local governments, communities and families to work together in a participatory approach at local level, we can promote civic engagement to stimulate a sense of belonging and ownership among all people to introduce the concepts of the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals on the local level strategic and budgetary plans to implement the targeted actions as an effective response to family needs, transforming  cities and human settlements into prosperous, inclusive, safe, resilient, sustainable and strong communities, LEAVING NO FAMILY BEHIND.

Happy 2018 International Family Day!

Dr. Deisi Kusztra
WFO President

1 June 2018 is the deadline to apply for consultative status with the UN

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May is the last month for Non-Governmental Organizations to apply for consultative status with ECOSOC if they wish to be considered by the NGO Committee in 2019. Those interested should submit their application and required documents on or before the deadline of 1 June 2018.

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Who is eligible for applying?

Consultative relationships may be established with international, regional, sub regional and national non-governmental, non-profit public or voluntary organizations. NGOs affiliated to an international organization already in status may be admitted provided that they can demonstrate that their programme of work has direct relevance to the aims and purposes of the United Nations.

To be eligible for consultative status, an NGO must have been in existence (officially registered with the appropriate government authorities as an NGO/non-profit) for at least two years, must have an established headquarters, a democratically adopted constitution, authority to speak for its members, a representative structure, appropriate mechanisms of accountability and democratic and transparent decision-making processes. The basic resources of the organization must be derived in the main part from contributions of the national affiliates or other components or from individual members.

What are the benefits?

NGOs that are accredited with ECOSOC can participate in a number of events, including, but not limited to regular sessions of ECOSOC, its functional commissions and its other subsidiary bodies. NGOs may:

  • Attend official meetings;
  • Submit written statements prior to sessions;
  • Make oral statements;
  • Meet official government delegations and other NGO representatives;
  • Organize and attend parallel events that take place during the session;
  • Participate in debates, interactive dialogues, panel discussions and informal meetings.

Organizations established by governments or intergovernmental agreements are not considered NGOs.

For more information about ECOSOC Consultative status click here.

To apply click here.

The Family Africa March/April Updates

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The Family Africa Early Learning Enrichment Centre and Reading Clinic

We have recently been able to add to our already extensive list of projects: The Family Africa Child Enrich­ment Centre and Reading Clinic .We have an extra staff member (Lita)  who is responsible for other preschool groups coming for regular sessions  during which the children are taught how to read along with other exciting and stimulating activities. We also have an educational consultant  (Susie), who is an experienced ESL (English as a second language) teacher. and who is also investing time in training our children and teachers. We have already started to see positive results in the children especially with their ability to speak English.

More pics: Here

DESA NGO Newsletter – March 2018

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EVENTS

3 – 6 April: Intergovernmental negotiations on the global compact for migration
The intergovernmental negotiations on the global compact for migration will be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Registration now open: multi-stakeholders in consultative status with ECOSOC and those with special accreditation to the GCM process are invited to register to attend all upcoming negotiations:

  • 3-6 April 2018 (Conference Room 2)
  • 14-18 May 2018 (Conference Room 2)
  • 4-8 June 2018 (Trusteeship Council Chamber)
  • 9-13 July 2018 (Conference Room 1)

Register through the following link: https://reg.unog.ch/event/23763/
For more information on the negotiations, please visit: https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/intergovernmental-negotiations
http://csonet.org/index.php?page=view&nr=422&type=13&menu=14

5 April: World Autism Awareness Day observance on “Empowering Women and Girls with Autism”
The 2018 World Autism Awareness Day observance at United Nations Headquarters New York will focus on the importance of empowering women and girls with autism and involving them and their representative organizations in policy and decision making to address these challenges.Through dynamic moderated discussions with experts and advocates, the observance will examine the particular challenges that women and girls with autism face in this context. Other key issues to be addressed include challenges and opportunities in fully exercising rights in matters relating to marriage, family and parenthood on an equal basis with others, as underscored in Article 23 of the CRPD and in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders at the United Nations in 2015 (SDG 5.6). For more information, please visit: www.un.org/en/events/autismday/
http://csonet.org/index.php?page=view&nr=430&type=13&menu=14

6 April: International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
On the occasion of the 2018 International Day of Sport for Development and Peace on 6 April, the Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) is launching an online campaign to celebrate the growing contribution of sport to development and peace through the promotion of tolerance, respect, empowerment of women and youth, health, education and social inclusion. The online campaign #PlayforGlobalGoals seeks to encourage individuals and organizations who support or carry out sport for development and peace activities to participate in the commemoration of the International Day. Specifically, it invites individuals and organizations to share a picture on social media that represents for them the “power of sport to promote peace, unity and social inclusion”. Find out more on how to join: http://bitly.com/IDSDP2018
http://csonet.org/index.php?page=view&nr=429&type=13&menu=14

9 – 13 April: 51st Session of the Commission on Population and Development
As an ECOSOC functional commission, the Commission on Population and Development plays the primary role in monitoring, reviewing and assessing the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development at the national, regional and global levels, identifying reasons for success and failure, and advising the Council thereon.

The 51st session will take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 9 to 13 April 2018. The special theme of the session is “Sustainable cities, human mobility and international migration.” More information on this session is available at:
http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/commission/sessions/2018/index.shtml

ECOSOC accredited NGOs are welcome to register for this event from 1 November 2017 to 16 March 2018. For more information on pre-registration please visit: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/commission/sessions
http://csonet.org/index.php?page=view&nr=415&type=13&menu=14

16 – 18 April: Intergovernmental conference on marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (organizational meeting)
In its resolution 72/249 of 24 December 2017, the General Assembly decided to convene an Intergovernmental Conference, under the auspices of the United Nations, to elaborate the text of an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, with a view to developing the instrument as soon as possible.

In accordance with that resolution, a three-day organizational meeting will be held in New York from 16 to 18 April 2018, to discuss organizational matters, including the process for the preparation of the zero draft of the instrument.
Non-Governmental Organizations in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), as well as those that were accredited to any of the conferences mentioned in paragraph 13 of resolution 72/249, are entitled to attend the conference as observers.

For more information on the meeting, please visit: https://www.un.org/bbnj/
For information on NGO registration, please see: http://www.un.org/depts/los/bbnjtf/Information_for_Participants_registration_and_credentials.pdf
Event registration page in Indico: https://reg.unog.ch/event/23972/
If you have questions, please contact: lika.diouf@un.org
http://csonet.org/index.php?page=view&nr=426&type=13&menu=14

16 – 27 April: 17th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)
The 17th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) will be held during 16 – 27 April 2018 at UN Headquarters in New York under the theme “Indigenous peoples’ collective rights to lands, territories and resources.”

The Forum members have decided on changes to the two week annual session. The first week will be all open plenary meetings. There will be no closed meetings during the first week. A condensed schedule during the first week will see the Permanent Forum discuss all substantive agenda items. During the second week of the 2018 session of the Permanent Forum, members of the Forum will hold informal meetings with representatives of indigenous peoples, Member States and UN entities. The purpose of these meetings will be to draw on information presented during the first week, and channel this into policy recommendations that are strategic, focused and actionable. Indigenous representatives, Member States and UN entities that are accredited to attend the 2018 session of the Permanent Forum are invited to attend these meetings.

Registration for NGOs with ECOSOC Status, IPOs and Academics and requests to hold a side event is now open. See here for more details: http://bit.ly/unpfii17-en
http://csonet.org/index.php?page=view&nr=427&type=13&menu=14

23 – 27 April: The 17th session of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA)
The 17th session of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 23 to 27 April 2018.
There are three overarching issues on the agenda of the seventeenth session to be explored from a variety of perspectives, namely:

  1. Readying institutions and policies for implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;
  2. Building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels; and,
  3. Supporting the transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies: enhancing and equipping institutions.

NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC and other invited organizations, please register here.For those unable to attend in person, live and on-demand webcast coverage of this event will be available in six languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish).
http://csonet.org/index.php?page=view&nr=421&type=13&menu=14

24 – 25 April: High-Level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace
The President of the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák identified peacebuilding and sustaining peace as a key priority. Therefore he will convene a High-Level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace on 24 and 25 April 2018 to assess efforts undertaken and opportunities to strengthen the United Nations’ work on peacebuilding and sustaining peace.

The High-level meeting is scheduled to take place on 24 and 25 April 2018. It will open on Tuesday, 24 April, with an opening segment and contributions from high-level speakers with experience on peacebuilding and sustaining peace. It will then be followed by high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly, where Member States will be able to deliver their statements.

During the two-day event, four interactive dialogues will be held in parallel to the high-level plenary meeting, which will focus on objectives mentioned above and take into account the report of the Secretary-General as per resolutions 70/262 and 2282 (2016) on the Review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture.

On the first day, two interactive dialogues will be held in the afternoon. On the second day, the plenary debate will continue and another two interactive dialogues will take place in the morning.

To register: https://fs22.formsite.com/unngls/form64/index.html
Additional information: https://www.un.org/pga/72/event-latest/sustaining-peace/
http://csonet.org/index.php?page=view&nr=424&type=13&menu=14

7 – 11 May: Thirteenth Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF13)
The Thirteenth Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF13) will be held in New York, from 7-11 May 2018. The Forum welcomes the participation of the nine major groups as identified in Chapter 23 of Agenda 21, including: women, children and youth, indigenous people, non-governmental organizations, local authorities, workers and trade unions, business and industry, scientific and technological communities, farmers and small forest landowners.

Major groups organizations that are accredited with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) and the former Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) are encouraged to participate in sessions of the Forum by registering here: http://reg.unog.ch/event/24237

Organizations that are NOT accredited to ECOSOC or CSD may attend as part of the delegation of their country or as part of the delegation of an accredited organization.
http://csonet.org/index.php?page=view&nr=428&type=13&menu=14

NEWS

2018 ECOSOC High-Level Segment – Open Call for Oral and Written Statements (9 April – 4 May 2018)
The Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs is pleased to announce an open call for oral and written statementsfor the 2018 ECOSOC High-Level Segment (HLS) for NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC . The open call will be held from 9 April to 4 May 2018.

The theme for the 2018 session of the Economic and Social Council is “From global to local: supporting sustainable and resilient societies in urban and rural communities”.

The HLS will be held from 16 to 19 July 2018 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. This is a unique opportunity for organizations in consultative status with ECOSOC – and for civil society at large – to be heard at ECOSOC deliberations, as well as to contribute to issues of critical concern to the global development agenda. It will also provide a platform to address specifically, steps toward implementation, follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to track progress at all levels and ensure that no one is left behind.

The HLS includes the three-day ministerial meeting of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), convened under the auspices of the Council. For information about the High-level Political Forum please click here.
http://csonet.org/index.php?page=view&nr=385&type=230&menu=14

Civil society hearing and high-level meeting on the fight to end Tuberculosis
The General Assembly will hold a one-day high-level meeting on the fight to end tuberculosis on 26 September 2018 with the overall theme “United to end tuberculosis: an urgent global response to a global epidemic”. As part of the preparatory process for the high-level meeting, the President of the General Assembly will convene a civil society hearing in New York in June 2018 with the participation of civil society organizations, academia, medical associations, the private sector, parliamentarians and Member States. The accreditation of civil society organizations without consultative status with ECOSOC will open in April for both events. Registration of all participants for the civil society hearing will open in May. For further information and updates, please visit: https://www.un.org/pga/72/

2018 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
Registrations to the 2018 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development will be launched in the last week of April on the Indico platform. The registration platform will be open to organizations that have status with ECOSOC or that are part of the CSD roster. When launched, the HLPF registration page will be available at https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf/2018

2018 ECOSOC e-Discussion: From global to local: supporting sustainable and resilient societies in urban and rural communities, 26 March – 8 April 2018
Stakeholders, experts, practitioners and policy-makers from all over the world are invited to engage in a global dialogue on specific aspects of the 2018 ECOSOC theme of “From global to local: supporting sustainable and resilient societies in urban and rural communities”. The 2018 e-Discussion will provide the Economic and Social Council with suggestions and recommendations on how to best address implementation challenges of the new Agenda, with a special focus on the national level.

You are cordially invited join the 2018 ECOSOC e-Discussion, coordinated and organized by UN DESA and UNDP, at: https://www.globaldevhub.org/ECOSOC-2018.

Sub-regional capacity building workshop for Major Groups and other Stakeholders on the HLPF and VNR process held in Dakar Senegal
DESA/DSD organised a sub-regional capacity building workshop for Major Groups and other Stakeholders on the HLPF and VNR process, in Dakar Senegal. Participants came from all west and Central African VNR countries (Benin, Cape Verde, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Republic of Congo, Senegal et Togo). Participants learned about the options for stakeholder engagement (as per resolution A/RES/67/290) and exchanged experiences and lessons learned with each other on What had been done so far in terms of engaging both at local, national and global level on the follow up and review of the 2030 agenda. The workshop also provided an opportunity for dialogue with the 8 member states on stakeholder engagement in the VNR process, including alternative reports.

Asia-Pacific Civil Society Forum on Sustainable Development held in Bangkok
The Asia-Pacific Civil Society Forum on Sustainable Development 2018 took place from March 25th to 27th in Bangkok in preparation to the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development. The meeting was attended by approximately 300 participants who also engage in the Asia-Pacific Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism (AP-RCEM). More information can be found at http://www.unescap.org/events/apcsfsd

PFII Secretariat co-sponsored CSW side event on indigenous women’s rights
20 March 2018: The Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues co-sponsored a side event at the 62nd Commission on the Status of Women with International Indigenous Women’s Forum (FIMI), International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, International Fund for Agricultural Development and UN WOMEN on “Indigenous women’s rights: a vital tool to ensure gender equality and economic and social empowerment”. Speakers shared lessons and experiences of indigenous women to achieve social and economic empowerment, combat violence and discrimination and promote political participation in decision-making. Participants identified concrete policy ideas and measures to advance implementation of indigenous women rights and support their empowerment. Participants also advocated for the inclusion of the priorities and rights of indigenous women in the outcomes of the CSW62 and follow up on previous CSW recommendations relating to indigenous women.

PFII Secretariat co-organized CSW side event “Indigenous Women: Key actors in achieving the 2030 Agenda (Implementing SDG 5)”
15 March: The Secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues/DSPD/DESA co-organised a side event at the 62nd Commission on the Status of Women titled “Indigenous Women: Key actors in achieving the 2030 Agenda (Implementing SDG 5)” in partnership with the International Indigenous Women’s Forum, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, Indigenous Peoples Major Group and the Asia Indigenous Women’s Network. Indigenous women panelists from Kenya, Guatemala, Ecuador, the Philippines and Peru provided insights on the situation and challenges facing indigenous women in different communities and contexts. The side event was well attended, and highlighted the advances and challenges in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of indigenous women and girls, in rural areas to achieve Agenda 2030.

Save The Youth Madagascar – March 2018 Update

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Save The Youth Madagascar – An Affiliate of The Family Africa

Activities at the CBA orphanage.

We are always very grateful for the donors who help us to supply rice and grain to the CBA orphanage. Before we started this ongoing project, the children were suffering from malnutrition and hunger, and several of the older ones had even run away from the center to find some food. This month again, we were able to bring them 500 kg of very nourishing local red rice, 100 kg of dried beans, eggs, oil, etc…. After story time we cooked them a very nourishing meal.

To give you a better idea of the situation of some of the children at the centre, we are including these photos of Miranto, 9, and her little brother, Tendry, 4.  In fact, they are 4 brothers and sisters, and the older brother and sister are young teenagers who are also living at the centre.  Their father died 3 years ago and sadly the mother became a prostitute to support her children. But she couldn’t cope so she left them with their 85-year-old grandmother.

​Since they are from a village close to the CBA, a few years ago Haja noticed them staying at their poor grandmother’s and so she decided to welcome them at the centre with their grandma’s agreement, where they are fed, housed and educated.

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Antanimora (with the help of  Minaz, Voahangy, Michou and Nanou)

We were also able to visit the 125 underage inmates in the Antanimora Central Prison and we conducted a workshop on anger and fighting, which are recurrent problems in the prison. They listened well and participated, and we hope that it will have a positive effect on their attitudes and actions.

The guard made this very encouraging comment : “Several groups come to visit the young people from time to time, but generally they are very unruly and unresponsive. But when you guys come, they listen well and are always calmer, even after you leave, and they love the food you bring them!”

This time, the boys enjoyed chicken liver mousse sandwiches, pastries, dragées (sugared almonds –it was the first time in their lives they ate some!) and received fish, rice and oil for their dinner.

Our mission is to reach out to the most forgotten in society and to bring hope and change in their lives