Page 1 - BPW-UK E-news - Edition 95 - August 2021

E-news

Edition 95 - August 2021
BEIJING + 25

MY MEMORIES AND MESSAGES FOR THE NEW GENERATION

https://www.theonlinebookcompany.com/OnlineBooks/
Beijingplus25MyMemories/Content/Filler
This online book, co-produced by Soon-Young Yoon, a Korean-American advocate for
women’s human rights, currently serving as a United Nations representative of the
International Alliance of Women and Chair of the Board, Women’s Environment and
Development Organization (WEDO), and Tanya Selvaratnam, a writer, artist, and an
Emmy-nominated and multiple Webby-winning producer with more than twenty-five years of experience in the arts
and social justice. The book is a compilation of memories and messages from participants at the UN Fourth World
Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995.

Sylvia Perry, Past International President and Past President BPWUK and I, as then President of BPWUK, attended this
major UN event and it obviously resonates strongly with us. However, for those who were not there, but who are
interested in learning about the experience, it is highly informative and demonstrates not only the enormous global
spectrum of the international women’s movement but also the mind-numbing diversity of women’s issues worldwide.
It conveniently lists the Critical Areas of Concern of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Strategic Objectives for
each one accompanied by a poignant memory or message in respect of a related issue.

Margaret Owen OBE, a Cambridge-educated human rights barrister specialising in women’s right and
who founded the charity ‘Widows for Peace through Democracy’, describes beautifully the feelings of
optimism experienced by all of us as we arrived:
“Flying in from all corners of the world we, women of all ages, ethnicities, religions, and languages, were
fired with excitement and optimism, believing that at last there would be a lasting transformational
change for women and girls, and an end to discrimination, poverty, abuse, violence, and powerlessness
that so many women suffered from. Yes, we were really hopeful!”

There are many stories of the transformative experiences of some of the younger participants, such as
the following from Marcela Ballara of Chile:

“I was part of the Beijing Express organized by UNDP and part of the LAC women caucus in Huairou….The train started
in Warsaw, Poland and went through several countries, Russia and Asia, where women from the CIS countries (recent
Independent Countries) were joining the train to participate in Beijing 1995. The train stopped in different cities where
we were warmly welcomed by women’s organizations; sometimes by Heads of State….”

I can thoroughly recommend reading the book if only for the heart-warming stories of how women supported each
other throughout the Conference and who are still working together or still in touch now.