Organized by the NGO Committee on the Status of Women (New York), these sessions will be focused on lobbying skills for "first-time" participants and those wishing to brush up on their skills. For further information, contact Lesley Wright, Chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women (New York): Email: wagggsny@yahoo.com

The 44th session of CSW will be held from 28 February - 17 March 2000. Eleven days of the three-week session will be allocated to the Commission acting as Preparatory Committee for the GA Special Session, "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st Century." Two panel discussions will be held duirng the 44th Session of the CSW, and the PrepCom, respectively. This will be the last session when the Commission acts as the Preparatory Committee before the Special Session.

Click here for the provisional agenda of the Preparatory Committee.(PrepCom)
Click here for the proposed organisation of work of the PrepCom.

Organised by the NGO Committees on the Status of Women (New York, Geneva, Vienna), to lay the groundwork for substantive NGO input into the PrepCom.

For further information on any of the events listed above, or if you are planning to organize a panel or other kind of workshop event at the PrepCom in March, contact:
The Conference of NGOs in Consultative Status with the UN (CONGO) 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA
Rebecca Nichols, Executive Director or Sudha Acharya, Beijing + 5 Focal Point
Tel: (1-212) 986-8557
Fax: (1-212) 986-0821
E-mail: congongo@aol.com

So as to make the 8th of March "a day to remember by seeing to it that women make the news", UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura is launching an appeal to the media today:
"By drawing attention to the glass ceiling that still limits the number of women journalists who rise to key editorial positions in the media, UNESCO is pursuing the commitment made at the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 to defend equal professional opportunities for women."

UNESCO invites media organisations to register their participation in the initiative through the newly created Website (www.unesco.org/march8).

The Conference of Non-Governmental Organisations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO) facilitated the first meeting of the international planning committee on 11 August 1999. Some initial discussions took place on coordination modality with inputs and clarification from the Division for the Advancement of Women. Next meeting date of the international planning committee is to be announced.

1. At its forty-third Session, the Commission on the Status of Women acting as Preparatory Committee for the Special Session adopted resolution (E/CN.6/1999/L.2 Rev.1) on Preparations for the Special Session. The following is an up-date on responses to the resolution and activities currently underway or being planned.

2. The Commission invited Governments that had not yet done so to prepare national action plans. As of 1 February 2000, 116 Governments and two Observers had prepared such plans and submitted them to the Division for the Advancement of Women.

3. As of 1 February ,2000, 137 Member States and two Observers had responded to the Secretary-General’s questionnaire on the implementation of the Platform for Action. These reports are available for review at the DAW. They will also be made available on the DAW website.