Category: News

The Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in Rio de Janeiro on 20-22 June 2012 brought together world leaders, government officials, and civil society and private sector representatives who sought the best ways to work towards achieving a global ‘green economy’, poverty eradication and sustainable development. Long before the conference even began, however,…

For many years the Union of Denmark has been supporting the Danish AIDS foundation. This work has now been recognised through a national award, presented on behalf of the Danish AIDS Foundation. This award celebrates and acknowledges their advocacy and awareness raising work.  Since 2004, Soroptimist International Denmark has been a loyal partner of World…

SI UN Representative Wilfrida Hendrickx recently attended a CoNGO and Human Rights Council session on women’s rights and the multiple discrimination women face around the world. During this session, the various barriers women and girls face in realising their full rights were reviewed and debated, taking into account the various cultures, legal systems, and traditions…

Last week, SI UN Representative Cinzia Palmi attended the 144th Session of the Food and Agriculture Organisation. She reports back on the latest debates on food security and rural investment. Many of the regional conferences held earlier in 2012 focussed on issues of food security – particularly in rural areas. There was consensus amongst Government…

SI UN Representative Wilfrida Hendrickx attended the 20th Session of the Human Rights Council. She reports back from a side event on Harmful traditional Practices against Women and Girls – Laws vs. practic. During the 20th regular session of the Human Rights Council (18 June – 6 July 2012), special attention was brought to women’s…

SI UNESCO Representative Dominique Mertz attended the annual review of the Global Partnership for Female Education at the end of May. She reviews some of the innovative private sector partnerships which are providing schools and resources in some of the poorest countries. The Global Partnership was launched in 2011, armed with the conviction that education…

Soroptimist International UN Representative Yoko Komori Olson attended an NGO briefing on child labour earlier this month. She reports back on behalf of Soroptimist International. In 2002, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) launched the World Day against Child Labour (June 12th) to focus world attention on the urgent need to eradicate child labour. This year,…

On 5th June 2012, World Environment Day, and only 2 weeks before Rio + 20, the Geneva Environment Network, as part of UNEP (United Nations Environment Program), held a high level discussion on green economy, the development agenda post 2015 and the challenges facing us in the near future. It is widely accepted that we…

On Sunday 24 June 2012, the Women’s Major Group (WMG), representing 200 civil society women’s organizations from all around the world issued a statement to express great disappointment with the results of the Rio+20 conference. Soroptimist International is a member of the Women’s Major Group and an active participant in the process of negotiation and…

SI’s delegation at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, known as Rio+20, report back from the opening day of the Heads of State Plenary Session. You can tweet your questions to SIE Programme Executive @SubaUma with any questions, or leave SI International Assistant Programme Director Anusha a message through the SI Facebook pages. On Wednesday…