2016 GLOBAL INDIGENOUS WOMEN’S CONFERENCE
http://www.indigenousconferences.com/#!2016-womens-conference-main-page/c1zfc
September 12-14, 2016
Adelaide, South Australia, Stamford Grand Adelaide Beach Hotel Glenelg
The 2016 Global Indigenous Women’s Conference is scheduled on September 12-14, 2016 at Stamford Grand Hotel Glenelg Adelaide South Australia. The conference is hosted by The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance and Indigenous Conference Services (Australia) with great line up of speakers from around Australia and internationally. The aim is to provide a platform for Indigenous Women to celebrate their achievements in life within their home, family, community and workplace.
The event will focus on empowerment, strong leadership and self-determination of globally. Throughout the three day event, we will be facilitating small group discussions with informative Guest Speakers from all around the global. The event emphasizes the positives of Indigenous resilience and determination to strive for a better tomorrow without the constraints of the negative stereotyping which is more prevalent due to social media and bad media coverage.
Today’s society is plagued with stories of all the wrong in our communities when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. For years as Indigenous women all over the world, have strived to better our communities and families which have given rise to countless numbers of great initiatives and as such one of the ways to highlight these great achievements is to share this knowledge which has always been our cultural way. As such, we feel that it is time to start promoting these ideas so that others may be able to share and spread the knowledge.
CONFERENCE HOST
THE NATIONAL ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER WOMEN’S ALLIANCE
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance (NATSIWA) was established in 2009 to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women to have a strong and effective voice in the domestic and international policy advocacy process.
NATSIWA’s VISION
To protect the health, human rights and fundamental freedoms that are significant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women through cultural preservation, health education and coalition building.”
NATSIWA’s GUIDING PRINCIPLES
NATSIWA’s Vision will be achieved through our Guiding Principles that will remain cognizant of the needs, heath, wellbeing and development, and aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women.
- Aboriginal strengths;
- The need for cultural understanding;
- The impact of racism and stigma;
- Recognition of the centrality of kinship;
- The impact of history in trauma and loss;
- Recognition of different needs of communities;
- The recognition of human rights and social justice;
- Universal access to basic health care, housing and education;
- Equitable needs based funding.
NATSIWA Welcomes interest and support from both individual and/or professional organisations offering pro bono support. If you or your organisation have professional services to offer in assisting our Alliance please contact us
please click here for website
INDIGENOUS CONFERENCE SERVICES (ICS)
MEES Australia trading as Indigenous Conference Services (ICS) is an Indigenous enterprise. We have over thirty years experience in conference and event management. We are pleased to say that we have hundreds of events to our credit, not only in Australia but internationally as well. Our Koorie Indigenous and CEO comes from Kempsey in Dainggati county of NSW. Other members are from Indigenous convention groups in the Philippines & Thailand. In total, we have over 30 years of experience specializing in Indigenous events.
We specialize working with NGOs and governments and initiated several successful events over the years. In 2014, we have over a two thousand delegates attended our four conferences from all sectors of the community. These were not small achievements as our 2014 events were all self-funded and without government grants although we attracted sponsorships from several non-government organizations for 2015 events and 2016.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Before European settlement in many counter’s the introduction of foreign diseases, alcohol and other determinants, First Nations Peoples culture was vibrant and strong with spiritual and family mlores that were guiding principles to a way of life that for centuries has now succumb to bright lights and the trappings of modern day society.
Throughout the decades we have seen the erosion and destruction of our language, custom and spiritual well being. The dynamics of contemporary Australia showing seventy percent (70%) of Indigenous people live in urban setting.
Question: We ask you to consider – What if Captain Cook didn’t land on the shore of the East Coast of Australia, but in a far more remote area?
Would Australia’s east coast be what it is today?
The backbone of our existence is family, custom & spirituality. During group discussions, we would like to explore past and present experiences and therefore leading into future strategies & goals to empower women to be strong leaders in their communities. We believe that through sharing of experiences and knowledge, we become stronger as a collective.
UNITED NATIONS WOMEN & UN WOMEN
The opportunity to discuss women’s issues in an open, transparent and culturally sensitive forum could become a vital In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. In doing so, UN Member States took an historic step in accelerating the Organization’s goals on gender equality and the empowerment of women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system, which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment:
Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)
International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)
Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI)
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
The main roles of UN Women are:
- To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms.
- To help Member States to implement these standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it, and to forge effective partnerships with civil society.
- To lead and coordinate the UN system’s work on gender equality as well as promote accountability, including through regular monitoring of system-wide progress.
Meeting the Needs of the World’s Women
Over many decades, the UN has made significant progress in advancing gender equality, including through landmark agreements such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Gender equality is not only a basic human right, but its achievement has enormous socio-economic ramifications. Empowering women fuels thriving economies, spurring productivity and growth. Yet gender inequalities remain deeply entrenched in every society. Women lack access to decent work and face occupational segregation and gender wage gaps. They are too often denied access to basic education and health care. Women in all parts of the world suffer violence and discrimination. They are under-represented in political and economic decision-making processes. For many years, the UN has faced serious challenges in its efforts to promote gender equality globally, including inadequate funding and no single recognized driver to direct UN activities on gender equality issues. UN Women was created to address such challenges. It will be a dynamic and strong champion for women and girls, providing them with a powerful voice at the global, regional and local levels. Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the UN Charter, UN Women, among other issues, works for the:
elimination of discrimination against women and girls;
empowerment of women; and
achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.
– See more at: http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/about-un-women#sthash.PMKKA2iU.dpufnetworking source to develop collaborative approaches for the betterment of Women’s overall business.
UN Global Compact
The Women’s Empowerment Principles are the product of collaboration between UN Women and the UN Global Compact.
The UN Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. By doing so, business, as a primary driver of globalization, can help ensure that markets, commerce, technology and finance advance in ways that benefit economies and societies everywhere.
As social, political and economic challenges (and opportunities) — whether occurring at home or in other regions — affect business more than ever before, many companies recognize the need to collaborate and partner with governments, civil society, labour and the United Nations.
This ever-increasing understanding is reflected in the Global Compact’s rapid growth. With 7,000 corporate signatories in 135 countries, it is the world’s largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative.
For the UN Global Compact, the Women’s Empowerment Principles bring a needed gender “lens” to the Global Compact’s 10 Principles and help articulate the gender dimension of good corporate citizenship and business’ role in sustainable development.
In a recent General Assembly resolution UN Member States welcomed the Women’s Empowerment Principles and specifically requested that Global Compact Local Networks promote the Women’s Empowerment Principles and help create awareness of the many ways in which business can promote gender equality. Learn more.
For more information on the UN Global Compact, please visit www.unglobalcompact.org.The Women’s Empowerment Principles are a set of Principles for business offering guidance on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community. They are the result of a collaboration between the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the United Nations Global Compact and are adapted from the Calvert Women’s Principles®. The development of the Women’s Empowerment Principles included an international multi-stakeholder consultation process, which began in March 2009 and culminated in their launch on International Women’s Day in March 2010.
Subtitled Equality Means Business, the Principles emphasize the business case for corporate action to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment and are informed by real-life business practices and input gathered from across the globe. The Women’s Empowerment Principles seek to point the way to best practice by elaborating the gender dimension of corporate responsibility, the UN Global Compact, and business’ role in sustainable development. As well as being a useful guide for business, the Principles seek to inform other stakeholders, including governments, in their engagement with business.
Principle 1: Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality
Principle 2: Treat all women and men fairly at work – respect and support human rights and nondiscrimination
Principle 3: Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers
Principle 4: Promote education, training and professional development for women
Principle 5: Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women
Principle 6: Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy
Principle 7: Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality
For more information about the Principles, download the WEPs Booklet which highlights why Equality Means Business, provides context for the WEPs initiative and outlines each of the Principles in more detail. Additionally, it highlights current business practices that advance the WEPs and companies’ goals, summarizes reporting tips to help any business get started on the path, provides facts and figures and defines gender terms.
CALLING FOR PAPERS
Guidelines for Submitting Paper:
- Papers should not contain offensive language and take in to account cultural sensitivities.
- Papers may treat the themes in a manner that contributes to a further discussion of the conference aims.
- Conference papers must be presented in the finish format not less 60 days prior to the event.
- First round of call for papers will be closed by February 29th, 2016with a second, if required with the closing date March 30th 2016 for the second round.
- Papers that are not chosen in the first round may be resubmitted if there is a second round.
- Papers should be submitted in IBM and Microsoft Word format.
- A Brief Outline of Paper (maximum 350 words online)
- Author/s of papers presented at the conference will be formally notified acceptance.
- Presentation time at the conference for your papers will be allowed a maximum of 45 minutes, this will include question and answer time.
- Call for papers registration fee of $650 will apply to all persons submitting papers payable upon acceptance of papers.
- Papers should explore ways in which the themes show up in the philosophy of the conference.
- A maximum of two presenters for each paper are eligible for the discounted call for papers registration fee, If 2 presenters, then 2 biographies are required. Two paragraphs outlining the proposed speaker’s Biography
- All papers must be presented in a positive and informative light
- A Head and Shoulders photo of papers’ authors/presenters are required within 30 days of confirmation of acceptance of paper.
- Authors agree to have their paper published as part of the conference proceedings
- Authors to agree to allow biography of themselves and their photo published as part of the conference promotion
- Authors agree to consent to media interviews, if required
- Authors and Presenters must show due respect and acknowledgement to Traditional Owners and “Welcome To Country” at the beginning of their presentation.
- The correct wording will be provided as part of your confirmation letter if chosen and successful in being accepted with due respects and acknowledgement to traditional owners of land where we will be convening.
- To submit a Paper, you must register on the website portal and complete the online Submit-A-Paper form.
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