Berkshire Women for Women Worldwide: A Commitment to the World’s Women

Find out about the International Violence Against Women Act and learn how to get involved.  Women Thrive develops, shapes, and advocates for policies that foster economic opportunity for women living in poverty. Their aim is to integrate U.S. international assistance and trade programs with concerns for women worldwide.

Say NO – UNiTE to End Violence against Women is a global call for action, launched in November 2009, on ending violence against women and girls. It is presented by UNIFEM as a contribution to advance the objectives of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women through social mobilization. UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman is the Spokesperson of Say NO.

Check out this project Safe Cities / Ciudades seguras supported by UNIFEM

For news on all the UN agencies working for women, WomenWatch

Adriana Quinones, manager of the UN Fund to End Violence against Women, visited the Berkshires on May 12th. She first met with the BWWW Board and then gave a talk to students in the class, Narratives of Violence against Women in Contemporary Spain, at Williams College. She addressed the global aspects of VAW and the work that UNIFEM does to eradicate injustices and empower women, highlighting some of their programs in India and Uganda.  Quinones explained the Fund’s position, supported by the UN Resolution (50/166) and the Millennium Development Goals, that aims to secure women’s rights and end violence against women as the ultimate means to strengthen social fabric, economics, and political climates worldwide. See  attached sheet with 2009 projects supported by the Fund.

From her talk, the students were able to grasp the global reality of this serious problem. The course itself had only focused on the issue in Spanish society through literature, film and media. Thanks to Adriana Quiñones’ presentation, students were able to see how people and institutions around the world act to eradicate violence against women. From the closed doors of the classroom and academia, students were taken to a world full of challenges. They were inspired by Quinones’ presentation, and each exclaimed, “I want to work for her!”

BWWW was invited this past March 5^th to attend a special luncheon/learning event, “Answering the Call of the Secretary General’s UNiTE Campaign: the Role of the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women in Upscaling Promising Practices.” It was hosted by the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations and held in conjunction with the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. BWWW attended as a donor to the Fund along with 35 or so other donors and grant recipients from around the world. See attached for Jane Canova’s UN Trust Fund meeting report.

Berkshire Women for Women Worldwide (BWWW) is extending its commitment to women on a local level. The Family Literacy Program is the 2009 recipient of the President’s Fund. The Family Literacy Program, located within the Adult Learning Center in Pittsfield, MA, offers education for parents – GED, ESOL, Adult Diploma, and computer skills, while providing quality daycare for their children.

BWWW is a fund-raising organization that benefits UNIFEM, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, in its efforts to help third-world women overcome poverty and violence. The President’s Fund was begun in 2008 in honor of long-time, outgoing Board President Adrea Seligsohn with the purpose of raising monies for organizations other than UNIFEM, particularly local organizations.  The Elizabeth Freeman Center received the first gift for its work of empowering women in the Berkshires to live lives free of poverty, disease and violence.