Yesterday saw a busy 12 hour schedule of meetings and events. We started with a gathering of Youth in a cafe to finalise our lobby points document and put the finishing touches to the speech I am to give tomorrow at the High Level Political Forum.
UK Priorities
I then dashed over 10 blocks away to a meeting with the UK Special Envoy on Post-2015, David Hallam. We put forward civil society views on the Post-2015 process so far and heard about the priorities of the UK government. I was pleased to hear that the UK is fully behind a stand-alone goal on gender equality in the Post-2015 framework, as well as gender mainstreaming throughout. There were further discussions on how civil society can engage with the UK delegation, talk about financing the future development agenda, and a difference in opinions on the role of the private sector in development.
Whilst I agree with my fellow civil society representatives that we can't let corporations activities go unchecked - especially as we endeavour to move towards sustainable consumption and production - there is a critical role for entrepreneurship and especially social enterprise in a development agenda. When unemloyment is a critical global issue, we really can't afford to ignore the role of the private sector in creating the world we want.
The Power of Tehnology
My key tool in the last week, that has made my participation more effective than at previous UN events, has been my first proper smartphone which I got this summer. In the past I had my laptop that needed me to sit close to power sockets and have the right adapter in order to be connected with the conversations beyond the room. Now, my phone allows me to tweet and email through the UN wifi with greater ease.
This is clear from the two side events I went to in the afternoon. The first,
A Million Voices, was a launch of a report produced from global contributions through platforms like
www.worldwewant2015.org and
www.myworld2015.org, as well as through global conversations. During the event I scanned a paper version of the report, highlighting the area related to WAGGGS - gender equality, violence against women and girls, and education. I tweeted my thoughts with the #amillionvoices tag for the session, including a number of questions. Others tweeted their thoughts, but not with that all important ? on the end. I kept tweeting to keep ideas of gender equality, WAGGGS and education on the feed displayed on the big screen throughout the session.
When it came to questions from the floor, the first one was taken to twitter, and mine was the one they saw! Gender was mainstreamed throughout the report, mentioned as a factor in so many topics, but I couldn't see the recommendation for a specific goal on the subject. I put that to the panel and heard messages of strong support for such a goal from the chair of the Latin American Regional commission, and from a high level member of staff from UNDP. The idea of a target on women's economic autonomy was put forward - a idea that would most likely help to reduce the levels of violence against women.
I stayed in the same room for the next session, intriguingly titled
'Millennial Generation Factivists' by the One Campaign. I took to Twitter with the #Factivism tag and was taking part in conversations across the room and with many back home in the UK. It was an inspiring session and I took away many ideas from the stories of factivism that I want to implement in the future - not least combining facts with the photos for the 'We Discover, We Grow' exhibition for a powerful message to share online.
How Do They Do That?
I'd alway wondered how and when the flags went up so fast and in the right order every day at the UN HQ building. On leaving the building I saw the security team doing just that! There's a team of about 10, relaying from pole to pole. They flag comes down and instead of being removed from the pole, it is gently folded into a small box at waist height and the lid closed for the night. A fascinating ritual that creates the famous and beautiful avenue of flags for every day.
I hurried off to grab some dinner before our delegation debrief. At the Olympia Cafe, I found my favourite US treat - Cookie Dough Ice Cream that is both gluten and diary free. I obviously had to get a tub and without a freezer finish it that evening...
I finished the day on a real high, and with the excitement building for my speech later today, I think I will be leaving New York on Wednesday inspired to take action and create change at a grassroots level.
To achieve real, sustainable development we need to take action at all levels. Everybody can be an active citizen and the grassroots action is as, if not more, important than the big talk at the United Nations. I'll leave you with my favourite quote from the day: "Great leaders are just average people who took the decision to stand up."
