Rio +20
Twenty years after the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where WEDO founders and supporters ensured women were at the table to help integrate gender equality principles into the sustainable development framework, it is time to take up the task once again. From 4-6, 2012, in Rio de Janeiro, the world community will come together to discuss the next several decades of sustainable development. Momentum is building. Governments and civil society alike are reviewing past successes and failures and making recommendations for future action. The preparatory process is well underway – and WEDO has been very busy.
As part of the Women’s Major Group Rio+20 Steering Committee, WEDO is working closely with women’s groups from all around the world and honing its positions with a range of partners. In all areas of discussion, WEDO works to ensure a focus on women’s leadership, full participation, equality and benefit-sharing.
Join Women on the Road to Rio+20!
The Women’s Major Group/Rio+20 Steering Committee is facilitating ways to make the links among the many women, men, organizations and movements from all corners of the world taking action for a gender-responsive Rio+20.
–>Join the Online Community
Become a member of Women on the Road to Rio+20! http://women-rio20.ning.com
This is a space to facilitate women’s contributions and communications around Rio+20. The discussions and blogs are open to all members and serve as a forum for sharing actions, planning events, etc. Post videos, share photos, connect with old friends and engage with new colleagues.
–>Share Your Views through the WMG Survey
The survey/questionnaire aims to collect experiences and ideas of women around the world. The survey asks questions related to the specific themes of Rio+20, sectoral issues, priority areas for women and what action is needed. Click here for survey: http://kwiksurveys.com?u=WomenRio20
–>Be Part of the Official Process
Join the Listserv for Women’s Major Group Rio+20 Steering Committee. The listserv is for anyone interested in planning for the official process for Rio+20. The group schedules monthly teleconferences; circulates information about meetings, conferences, position papers; and discusses ideas and activities. To join, send an email to chantal.vandenbossche@wecf.eu
–>Follow and Like
Follow updates on Twitter and Facebook! And remember, spread the word! Tweet “I’m joining Women on the Road to Rio+20 @Women_Rio20 http://women-rio20.ning.com #RioPlus20 #UNCSD”
How will women lead the way toward a sustainable future? How will sustainable development lead to gender equality? What do women contribute to sustainable development today? Join today to discuss these questions and more. It’s time for women to set the pace to take action! We look forward to walking this road with YOU!
The Latest Rio +20 News
New UN Global Sustainability Panel Report Advocates People-Centered Sustainable Development
“People are at the center of our vision of sustainable development.”
Today, January 30th 2012, the Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability released its final report Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing. The Panel, launched on August 9th 2010, has spent the last few months conducting consultations with an array of Government, civil society and private sector experts aimed to “formulate a new vision for sustainable growth and prosperity, along with mechanisms for achieving it.” [See WEDO's input at March 2011 GSP Interactive Panel]. Their efforts reflect the long term vision set out in the 1987 report of the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), entitled Our Common Future, and better known as the Brundtland Report. However, Resilient People, Resilient Planet, attempts to address why 25 years after the Brundtland Report, sustainable development has not become a practical reality. The report concludes with 56 recommendations which outline “concrete proposals in three key areas: empowering people to make sustainable choices, working towards a sustainable economy, and strengthening institutional governance to support sustainable development.” The Panel hopes that these recommendations can feed into the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), as well as other inter-governmental processes.
Women’s Major Group speaks out on the Rio+20 Zero Draft
“The zero-draft fails to raise our enthusiasm, it lacks ambition, concrete proposals for global instruments necessary to address the shortcomings of the last 20 years, concrete targets and time lines and funding mechanisms. The emerging crisis of climate change increases the urgency for an outcome document that reflects the urgent need for environmental justice.
Many women’s lives and livelihoods suffer from the current injustices. We feel that the sections 1 and 2 should strongly voice the failure of the neo-liberal system, where corporate interests have priority over human lives – and should acknowledge that small adjustments are not enough. A major paradigm shift is necessary.”
WEDO Calls for Reform and Revitalization for RIO+20!
The Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)[2] is closely following progress toward the Rio+20 conference, with an eye on aspects that will protect women’s rights and advance gender equality and sustainable development. It is from this perspective WEDO makes the following comments on the Zero Draft.
Rio+20 Zero Draft ‘Future We Want’?
The Zero Draft outcome document – the official document to be negotiated by United Nations Member States in the lead up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) – was released today. The text will be extensively negotiated in the coming months towards a final outcome in Rio+20.
From ‘Brown’ to ‘Equitable’ Economies: Women’s Priorities for Rio+20
WEDO is participating in the 2nd Intersessional of the Rio+20 prepratory process, taking place December 15th and 16th at the UN in New York. As part of the Women’s Major Group, WEDO is following the discussions on the Zero Draft to ensure that priorities for women and gender equality are included. On Thursday morning, during the first session on the compilation document (comments and guidance for the zero draft outcome document), the Women’s Major Group delivered an intervention focused on some major issues from the WMG submission and Rio+20 priorities. The Women’s Major Group called for a number of outcomes, including:…
