How To Organize a National or Local Campaign

Empowerment of women starts at the grassroots and reaches for the sky

GOAL 1: Empowerment of women to assure them an equal say in all decisions. This means demanding gender balance in all decision-making bodies, governmental and non-governmental, from local to national, regional and international levels.

KEY DEMANDS: All national delegations to UN and other international or regional conferences should include equal numbers of women and men delegates -- not just advisors.

GOAL 2: Monitor your nation's and region's implementation of UNCED's Agenda 21 recommendations on women's issues, reinforced by Women's action Agenda 21.

(Note: Agenda for the 21st Century, 40 chapters, 800 pages, The United Nations Program of Action from Rio, 1992. Available from UN Publications, Sales Section, Room DC2-0853, United Nations, New York, NY, 10017)

Select recommendations of most relevance to women in your area as focus of an issues-oriented organizing campaign. Follow up at the international level by tracking the work of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, and participate in the WEDO-organized women's caucus at each CSD meeting.

KEY DEMANDS: Governmental body or non-organization dealing with Agenda 21 recommendations on women should be gender-balanced or, in the case of programs most directly affecting women (family planning-health facilities) should be managed and supervised by women.

GOAL 3: Extend monitoring of Agenda 21 and Women's Action 21 to the planning process and participation in forthcoming UN Conference. Join in WEDO-organized caucuses at these crucial meetings.

KEY DEMANDS: Expansion of women's participation as delegates and NGOs. Reports on, and further implementation and extension of, policies aimed at improving the economic, social and political status of women.

GOAL 4: Provide a solid base for empowering women on environment and development issues by organizing Women for a Healthy Planet networks-groups at community and national level. Use Community Report Card Kits (WEDO) as an organizing tool and to enable women to evaluate the health of their community's natural environment, political systems, social priorities and human development goals.

KEY DEMANDS: will emerge for the Report Card project findings.

Note: Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), 845 Third Avenue, 15th floor, New York, NY 10022

Making Women Matter by Hilkka Pietila and Jeanne Vickers, The Role of the United Nations, Zed Books Ltd., London and New Jersey, revised 1994