Metropolis celebrates International Women’s Day 2012 at the UN Headquarters in New York. Dilma Rousseff recognised for her work on women’s rights
The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, delivered a welcome address to over one thousand attendees at the 56th session of the Commission on the Status of Women on International Women’s Day 2012.
Representatives from the political sphere, the United Nations, civil society, associations, the private sector and the media have come together in New York over the last two weeks within the framework of the 56th session of the Commission on the Status of Women.
The United Nations headquarters has played host to a large number of sessions and conferences to exchange experiences and best practices, to analyse opportunities and areas for improvement and to endeavour to reach agreements to carry out priority actions so as to speed up the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action with regard to gender equality.
The overarching theme at the 56th session was the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication as well as the development of opportunities. The representative from the Metropolis Women International Network availed of the opportunity to meet with Bibiana Aído, advisor to the Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet, to strengthen the UN’s commitment to the association.
To mark International Women’s Day (8 March), the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, delivered a few words of welcome to over one thousand conference attendees in which he emphasised that “the energy, talent and strength of women and girls represent humankind’s most valuable untapped natural resource". Moreover, he urged “Governments, civil society and the private sector to commit to gender equality and the empowerment of women as a fundamental human right and a force for the benefit of all”. Michelle Bachelet was also present by way of a video message.
On the other hand and to mark International Women’s Day, The President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, receives the Bertha Lutz Award, which is granted by the Brazilian Congress to personalities that play a role in advocating gender equality.
“I am convinced that the 21st century will be the century of women”, emphasised Dilma Rousseff, the first female head of the Brazilian State.
The president affirmed that the fight for women’s rights is complemented by “the pursuit of racial equality and many other equalities”.