Women from the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada and many other Anglican Communion Provinces along with a youth delegation will gather for the 55th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) in New York City February 21- February 27.

The 2011 theme of UNCSW is Access and participation of women and girls in education, training, science and technology, including for the promotion of women’s equal access to full employment and decent work.

For complete details: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/uncsw

AWE

Thanks to Anglican Women’s Empowerment (AWE), a non-profit organization dedicated to working for gender justice in the church, nearly two dozen “first timers” and 25 experienced women from the neighboring dioceses will gather at the Episcopal Church Center for programs paralleling the UNCSW meeting.

First timers include women from Episcopal dioceses of Chicago, Long Island, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, Western North Carolina, and Wyoming, along with women from other Anglican provinces such as Australia, Brazil, Ghana, Korea, the Philippines, Tanzania, and a woman traveling from earthquake-devastated Haiti. Additionally, a group of 10 from the Roedean School in Brighton, UK, will participate.

“Through this gathering, women from throughout the Anglican Communion will share their stories, their issues, their concerns and their joys,” noted Kim Robey, chair of AWE and UNCSWW Provincial Coordinator for the Episcopal Church.

Young Adult participation

Ten Episcopal young adult delegates, between 18 and 30 years old, will participate in the sessions and blog their experiences.

For the second year, Jason Sierra, Episcopal Church Young Adult and Campus Ministries Officer, will lead the delegation. “Our youth delegation and their blogs were so well received last year that we are offering our blogs again in 2011,” he said. “All of the bloggers are new, so their voices will be fresh.”

The young adults hail from the dioceses of Connecticut, Idaho, Long Island, Louisiana, Minnesota, Tennessee, Los Angeles, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Northern California.

Young Adult representatives schedule and blogs here: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/uncsw

Important links

– AWE: http://anglicanwomensempowerment.org

– UNCSW: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/uncsw

– The Anglican Observer at the UN: http://www.aco.org/ministry/un/

– The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/index.html

– Ecumenical Women at the United Nations: http://ecumenicalwomen.org

– NGO Committee on the Status of Women: https://www.ngocsw.org

– Blogs of young adults: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/uncsw

– Roedean School http://www.roedean.co.uk

The Episcopal Church welcomes all who worship Jesus Christ in 109 dioceses and three regional areas in 16 nations. The Episcopal Church is a member province of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

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