CSW59: Women and ICTs are here to stay!

New York, 10 March: On day one of the 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women held at the United Nations yesterday, the Association of Progressive Communications hosted a high level meeting with various delegates to discuss the reprioritisation of Section J of the Beijing platform for Action, which has received inadequate attention since 1995. In the current draft Sustainable Development Goals, gender in the media and ICTs are missing, which is a major concern for gender equality, considering access to media and ICTs are crucial for empowerment. Alton Grizzle, UNESCO’s Programme Specialist in Communication and Information said, “Access to ICTs and empowering women is a secret weapon to achieving equality and other gender and development goals.” Furthermore, the rise of cyber violence is of critical concern that governments need to collaboratively address.

Estonia’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister shed light on what her country is doing to address cyber-crimes and gender and media inequality, emphasising the need for a post 2015 agenda that ensures women’s equal and safe access to media and ICTs. Jan Moolman of APC urged the audience to imagine what could be different if we had certain freedoms and what universal affordable access to technology would give us.

Watch parts of the session here

Gender Links, as secretariat of the SADC Gender Protocol Alliance, and as Chair of UNESCO’s Global Alliance on Media and Gender, is also pushing to ensure stronger targets and indicators on gender equality in and through the media not, only in the SDGs but the post 2015 SADC Gender Protocol renewal.

This vodcast is part of the Gender Links News Service special coverage of CSW59 currently underway at the UN headquarters in New York, bringing you fresh views on everyday news.