At the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) to be held in Johannesburg in August-September 2002, 65,000 delegates from around the world will come together for the largest conference ever held on the African continent. This event will be an important catalyst for implementing the global commitments to sustainable development made at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. This is especially significant for women, who make up more than half of the world's population, are the poorest in the world alongside children, and are underrepresented in most decision-making bodies.
The purpose of the WSSD is to revisit the commitments made in Rio ten years ago, evaluate progress, and prepare for future actions toward sustainable development. As in Rio, women need to be central to the decision-making process in Johannesburg.
It is imperative that women from diverse segments of society participate in the WSSD in unprecedented numbers, because the policies and approaches being discussed by the world's leaders will have a major impact on the lives of grassroots women, poor women, and women of color. As one of the nine major groups, women must take advantage of this opportunity to have a strong and visual presence, organize for effective advocacy and concrete partnerships with all actors, and prepare for direct negotiation with government leaders during the multi-stakeholder dialogues.
At the second Preparatory Committee of the WSSD in New York, women from all regions and sectors came together to strategize about how to make our voices heard at Johannesburg. The idea of the All Women's Voices Tent follows on the success of Planeta Femea at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 - women's organizing to mainstream gender into the final Agenda 21 document resulted in 172 references to women, Chapter 24 devoted to women, and recognition of women as a major group.
A number of priority issues emerged from the initial meetings of the WSSD women's caucus, both in response to government deliberations and in creating women's own vision of a sustainable future. The women's caucus notes the lack of a gender perspective and human rights framework in current deliberations - for example, discussions on water, energy and food security/agriculture/rural development should be linked to gender and human rights. There is a need for greater commitments and concrete actions on issues of governance, including women in decision-making; globalization; peace and demilitarization; sustainable consumption and production, including global public goods; health, including HIV/AIDs and reproductive health; education; earth values; and Financing for Development. The women's movement is creating a new and common vision of a healthy and peaceful planet through the drafting of Women's Action Agenda 2015, and the women's tent at Johannesburg will follow this framework.
The All Women's Voices Tent will be a space to share experiences, network, strategize, and ensure that the WSSD's vision of sustainable development integrates a gender perspective and reflects the voices of women..
To organize and facilitate the All Women's Voices Tent at the WSSD in Johannesburg, August 24 - September 5, 2002, in order to offer women from all corners of the globe a place and common ground to voice their concerns and strengthen their networks, partnerships and activities. The activity should promote women's empowerment, contribute to engendering the WSSD and result in a series of practical follow-up activities.
The All Women's Voices Tent will be a permanent physical space close to the central UN and media conference center - for the following purposes:
The All Women's Voices Tent is being organized by a steering committee of women's organizations participating in the WSSD process, chaired by WEDO (Women's Environment and Development Organization) and a South African Women's Coalition/Johannesburg Secretariat (facilitated by Mandisa Monakali).
We expect that at least 10 international women's organizations will organize special events in the Tent, including: WEDO, REDEH (WAA2002), GROOTS, Ecumenical Team, DAWN, WILPF, WECF (Women in Europe for a Common Future), WEN (Women and Environment Network), Council of World Women Leaders, South African Women's groups, and regional networks. Each of these will be the lead for one or more activities in the women's tent and follow-up.
Every day several hundreds of women and men, from all major stakeholder groups as well as government and inter-governmental delegations, will participate in the women's tent.