It was a sunny afternoon when Dr. Ranjana Kumari called for a team meeting in the office and we learned about the Beijing Declaration Platform for Action.
At first Dr. Kumari story took us back to the time CSR participated to the Beijing+20 platforms in 1985 and 1995, to then project us into the future with an exciting project we would have undertaken in preparation to the 2015 Beijing+20 Global Review.
What came next was the exciting journey across ten universities in lndia!
CSR was all geared up to meet the students, tell them about Beijing+20 and the twelve critical areas of concern that the platform had identified. The primary aim of visiting universities was to surf through the opinion of youth on the twelve areas of concern. Students were provided with the opportunity to present their ideas through street plays, presentations, photos and paintings. The best entries were awarded as recognition of their efforts.
These recommendations were filed and presented at the 59th Commission on the Status of Women in New York.
The campaign which goes by the name of ‘Youth Contribution to the Beijing+20 Review Debate’ was organised in the universities in Jaipur, Kurukshetra, Chandigarh, Odisha, Varanasi, Kerela, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana,West Bengal and Delhi. This was probably the first time the youth was offered a platform to raise their voice along with the promise that their recommendations will reach the right tables.
The 20th anniversary of the 1995 Beijing conference this year opens new opportunities to reconnect, renew commitment, charge up political will and mobilise the public. As Dr. Kumari said: “We have completed a long journey and we are firming our resolve that there is no other way but Gender Equality for the society to be more just, humane and democratic. The call for the young generations today is to engage, challenge & Change”.
Check out the leaflet for the complete story of this journey.
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