10 Mar 2025 CSW69: WACC and partners to take stock of women’s communication rights 30 years post-Beijing
WACC and partner organizations will review progress towards global commitments to advance gender equality in and through the media and will propose guidelines for future action with an event during the NGO CSW Forum 69 taking place in New York City on 10–21 March.
The Forum is a civil society gathering held in parallel to the annual session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), a United Nations body that promotes the rights and empowerment of women and global gender equality. The theme of CSW69 is a review of the landmark Beijing Platform for Action adopted 30 years ago by UN Member States.
Upholding commitments to women and media
The event “Section J @ Beijing+30: Safeguarding Women’s Communication & Digital Rights” on 11 March at 6:30–8:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4) will take stock of implementation of the “Women and Media” part of the Beijing Platform and begin developing related action guidelines for a post–2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Section J of the Beijing Platform for Action has aimed to increase women’s participation and access to expression and decision-making via the media and new communication technologies, and to promote balanced representation of women in the media.
It remains one of the most neglected of this UN roadmap towards global gender equality, says WACC program manager for Gender and Communications, Sarah Macharia.
She says that only a handful of actors have given attention to the issue, among them WACC’s Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) network in more than 100 nations. During “Section J @ Beijing+30”, Macharia will explore gender equality in and through the news through 30 years of the GMMP.
WACC is organizing the NGO CSW69 event together with the Global Alliance on Gender and Media (GAMAG). GAMAG chair Aimée Vega Montiel will give an overview of global progress and ongoing challenges of Section J.
Regional reviews of Section J with WACC partners
The event’s regional reviews of Section J will feature WACC partners including GMMP coordinators:
- Amie Joof, FEMEDEV (Senegal; West and Central Africa)
- Hang Pham, CGFED (Vietnam)
- Cirenia Ixtoj Coatl, CIMAC (Mexico)
- Angie Handal, Women Media and Development/TAM (Palestine)
- Blessing Oladunjoye, Journalists for Christ (Nigeria)
Both in-person and virtual participation are possible for the “Section J @ Beijing+30: Safeguarding Women’s Communication & Digital Rights” event. Online participants are asked to register in advance.
Section J @ Beijing+30: Safeguarding Women’s Communication & Digital Rights
Tuesday, 11 March 2025
6:30–8:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)
In-person participation: Church Center for the United Nations (CCUN), 8th floor, 777 United Nations Plz
Attending NGO CSW69?
Check out the in-person only parallel event “Women in Media, Shaping Narratives for Gender Equality” on 12 March at 12:30pm where Sarah Macharia will be speaking along with Sandra Chaher of GMMP Argentina national co-coordinator Asociación Civil Comunicación para la Igualdad.
The event will take a closer look at implementation of Section J by exploring initiatives that promote women journalists’ leadership and equal representation in the media. Speakers also will discuss how the media can become agents for change for a narrative that reflects the plurality and rights of women in all their diversity.
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