April 2018 Newsletter
Dear Members and Supporters
He mihi mahana ki a koe
Warm greetings to you
Thank you so much for your amazing support for our International Women’s Day 2018 Celebrations.
One of the great strengths of IWD every year is that it gathers women and girls from all over Aotearoa New Zealand to share their stories and to be inspired anew for action for the coming year. 2018 was no exception. This year, in part due to livestreaming of the annual Breakfast in Parliament, we reached more groups and individuals throughout New Zealand than ever before. We also reached out to groups overseas for the first time. To date, we have received $3,000 from your donations during IWD for the UN Women Meri Seif Bus project in Papua New Guinea. Tenkyu tumas!
In addition to our IWD activities, we are also pleased to provide, courtesy of Dr Jackie Blue, Equal Employment Commissioner in the Human Rights Commission, a brief summary of New Zealand NGOs participation at the annual Commission on the Status of Women meeting held in March in New York.
With sadness, we note the recent death of long time UNIFEM and UN Women NCANZ Auckland based supporter, Lady Rae Frampton. Beverley Turner, former UNIFEM President and UN Women Life member remembers Lady Rae.
Nga mihi nui
Barbara Williams
President UN Women National Committee Aotearoa NZ
IWD Events around Aotearoa NZ
Barbara Bedeschi Lewando, Vice –President and IWD Coordinator
The many events held across New Zealand, were a huge success and we couldn’t be more proud to see so many people join us in solidarity on the road to achieving gender equality and supporting women’s empowerment.
This year, our special thanks go to the Christchurch Local Committee of UN Women, and to the many groups which supported us including Zonta Club Marlborough, Soroptimists Waimea, Zonta, ICW and Graduate Women North Shore and Women’s Federation for World Peace. We really appreciate your support and look forward to next year to further strengthen our collaboration.
While International Women’s Day is one day, we know that recognising actions needed to achieve gender equality must be something we do everyday.
Together let us work to ensure that no woman is left behind, on International Women’s Day or ever. Thank you to all our supporters, partners, sponsors, guests and speakers for making this IWD an inspiration and another step forward for women’s empowerment.
If you made a kind donation at the event, our team will be processing your gift in the coming weeks and you will be sent a tax receipt via email or via post.
Images of our events are available on our Facebook account – click here to access.
If you would like to do more, you can still support women’s empowerment across the globe by donating to the Meri Seif Bus project or by purchasing an Esprit IWD 2018 Signature Scarf here.
Thank you again for your support.
IWD breakfast at Parliament 2018
Sue Kedgley, UN WomenNCANZ Board Member and Breakfast Coordinator
Helen Clark was the star attraction at the International Women’s Day breakfast at Parliament this year, organized by the National committee for UN Women and Wellington Zonta and hosted by the Minister for Women, Julie Anne Genter.
The Governor General, Dame Patsy Reddy, spoke at the breakfast, along with the Minister for Women, and the Women’s Choir sang ‘I Can’t Keep Quiet’ in Te Reo.
Then Dr Gill Greer, Executive Director of the National Council for Women, interviewed Helen Clark for 40 minutes.
The breakfast was a huge success, with 400 people attending the event at Parliament. As well, we live streamed the breakfast for the first time, and thousands of people tuned into the breakfast by live stream from all around New Zealand, and in 14 other countries,. More than 100 groups organized breakfasts in their local communities around New Zealand to participate in the breakfast.
Here is the link to – the entire breakfast or just the interview with Helen Clark.
So far 1,400 people have uploaded the video of the interview with Helen Clark, and more than 1000 people have uploaded the video of the whole event.
The feedback we have received from the breakfast and from the people who watched it by live stream has been incredibly positive, and we intend to live stream the breakfast again next year.
Live streaming of the event was made possible by the generosity of UN Women Empowerment Partner, the ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited.
Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) women: a New Zealand perspective
New Zealand presented a Side Event* at CSW62, chaired by Dr Jackie Blue and speakers addressed: “Empowerment of Rural Women through economic opportunity”. This was a wide ranging presentation and very well received by a packed audience; see: https://www.hrc.co.nz/news/advocating-womens-rights-united-nations/
The New Zealand Mission hosted a most enjoyable evening reception at the Mission to celebrate NZ’s 125th Anniversary of Suffrage and all ‘kiwis’ at CSW62 were presented with distinctive white camellia lapel pins to mark the occasion.
http://women.govt.nz/about/new-zealand-women/history/suffrage-125/symbol-suffrage-125
* ‘Side Events’ are hosted by Governments, UN agencies etc and held on UN premises, nearly always within UN Headquarters.
Side Events should not to be confused with NGO Parallel Events which are held in various meeting spaces across 4 venues within 20 minutes walk of UN – NZers were involved in hosting and/or presenting at several of these; also in facilitating the 2nd Asia Pacific Regional caucus.
In memory of Lady Rae Margaret Frampton BA, MNZM who died on 13 March 2018, aged 87 years
Beverley Turner, former President of UNIFEM (predecessor of UN WomenNCANZ)
Lady Rae Frampton a former President of the Auckland Branch Committee of UNIFEM New Zealand died recently in Auckland after a long and active community life. Rae was an enthusiastic supporter of many voluntary organisations dedicated to making a difference in society, especially to the lives of women both in New Zealand and overseas. These included National Council of Women New Zealand where she enthusiastically convened the Home Economics and Consumer Affairs Standing Committee from 1990 and also New Zealand Federation of University Women, now Graduate Women New Zealand where she served a successful term as Auckland Branch President. NZFUW/FGWNZ’s primary focus on the importance of education for girls and women as a means of ensuring that everyone in society is able to develop to their fullest potential fitted Rae’s values well and had much appeal.
A colleague from another international NGO to which Rae belonged within New Zealand recalls that “Rae was a calm and positive influence working toward the betterment of the status of women and encouraging women to achieve with university qualifications. She was always willing to help and give useful advice gained over many years from her wide involvement with various NGOs.”
The 1998-1999 UNIFEM New Zealand Auckland Region’s 6th Annual Report presented by Rae as the outgoing President detailed a busy year of activity under her very capable leadership. Activities had ranged from the annual IWD fundraising Breakfast in central Auckland and other successful IWD fund-raisers in Titirangi and Papakura; to ‘Dollars for Women’ fund-raising by Westlake Girls students. A unique event convened by Rae was a special Dames’ Day Afternoon Tea based on the themes of Gender Equity and Progress for Women with ten recipients of this highest honour partaking vigorously in a skilfully chaired Q & A session; the considerable donations received also signalled the increasing visibility of ‘UNIFEM Auckland’ as we were known.
Rae was a modest leader and could seem self-effacing at times as she worked quietly and diligently to support UNIFEM goals in support of human rights of women and girls with an increasing focus on the Pacific region.
Several UNIFEM Auckland colleagues during Rae’s presidency have shared their memories of Rae…
‘Rae may have been quietly spoken but she was passionate about women’s rights.’
‘Her goals were clear, both nationally and internationally; Rae was always positive and willing to “give it a go”.’
‘I remember Rae as a small, slight and modest woman with bright eyes and a very big social conscience’…
When Jane Prichard, a long-time friend of Rae’s spoke at Rae’s funeral, she concluded by saying:
Thank you Rae for the life that you yourself described as “challenging, enlightening, stimulating and enjoyable”. What more could you ask…
Sir Alan and Lady Rae Frampton with Massey University Chancellor Russ Ballard – Taken on March 13, 2013
NCW launches findings of the Gender Equal Survey
New Zealand’s first Gender Attitudes Survey shows strong ideas about what boys and men “should” be like hold us all back
Gender Equal NZ, led by the National Council of Women, has today released the results of New Zealand’s first Gender Attitudes Survey, along with the Good Guys animated short film and infographic.
“We carried out this demographically representative survey with Research NZ in late 2017” says National Council of Women CE and Gender Equal NZ spokesperson Gill Greer. “The Gender Attitudes Survey tested attitudes around gender roles – in the household, at school, at work and in the community and gives us a snapshot of where we’re at in New Zealand on gender”
“The good news is most New Zealanders recognise gender equality is a fundamental right for all of us. But we are seeing a pocket of New Zealanders that hold old-fashioned views about gender stereotypes and roles” says Gill, “these views hold all New Zealanders back from achieving true gender equality.”
Read the full basic report from the Gender Attitudes Survey here.
View the Good Guys animated film here.
View and download the Good Guys infographic here.
Link to www.genderequal.nz
SDG Summit
UN Women NCANZ will be represented at the SDG Summit being held in Wellington on 23 April. We will report on this ground breaking event in our next newsletter.
Thank you for your support of UN Women Aotearoa New Zealand. There are plenty of ways you can be involved:
