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Young Adult Participation in the Commission on the Status of Women

Monday morning awoke us with the shaking of tim- brels, the beating of drums and the raising of voices as we kicked off the first week of the 54th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women with the song of Miriam. Leading the charge that morning were thirty-four delegates between the ages of 18 and 35. Through a col- laborative effort between the National Council of Churches, the World Student Christian Federation, the Episcopal Church and others, an international, ecumeni- cal delegation of young adult delegates took their place at the table with Ecumenical Women this year in new and exciting ways.

Watch Ecumenical Young Adults at the UN Commission on the Status of Women

For two weeks each March, thousands of women and men from around the world converge in New York City for the Com- mission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the United Nations (UN). The Commission meets once a year, and is made up of governmental delegates from UN member states who gather to assess the status of women in the world in relation to a yearly topic. While there is usually a more narrowly- defined yearly theme, this year the CSW focused on reviewing the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (see box on reverse), which was adopted 15 years ago with the support of 40,000 NGO and civil society women.

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