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Third CoNGO Global Thematic Webinar: Gender Justice, Youth, and Intra-/Intergenerational Justice  and Solidarity for Future Generations

31 August 2023 @ 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM UTC-5

Register here for online participation.

The webinar will be conducted in English, Spanish, French and Arabic.

CONCEPT NOTE

(Version 4.5)

1. The Civil Society Summit on Substantive Issues, “Shaping the Future: The UN We Need for the World We Want,”  by CoNGO on 8 October 2021, highlighted global justice among all humanity’s significant global critical concerns. The Summit brought together over 1,000 participants worldwide to contribute experience and competencies, share doubts about our current world, and collectively articulate aspirations and proposals we must achieve for the world we want. The Civil Society Summit was rich in outlining concepts and actions needed to shape the future. 

2. As a direct outcome, the CoNGO General Assembly resolved to use the outcome of the Summit—the Synthesis Report—as a substantive basis for CoNGO’s programmatic direction, especially highlighting it in 2023, CoNGO’s 75th  anniversary year. It agreed to convene a series of six high-level global thematic webinars throughout 2023 to highlight and engage a  global constituency on the critical themes articulated at the Summit and to elaborate on the agenda, responses, and actions necessary to “define the present, shape the future, and make the change now.” This latter phrase is the anniversary’s theme.

3. The first webinar (March 2, 2023) focused on social justice, particularly migration, racial, and health justice. The second webinar (June 5, 2023) focused on pursuing global justice and solidarity, particularly realizing Agenda 2030, sustainable development and humanitarian action. This third iteration of the thematic webinar series (August 31, 2023) focuses on gender justice, youth and intergenerational solidarity, with a specific highlight on the responsibility of the present generation to protect and promote the human rights of future generations. The fourth webinar scheduled for Sept. 7 will focus on peace and the threats to the security and sustainability of people and the planet. Other webinars will focus on UN-NGO relations in revitalizing multilateralism and addressing the erosion and shrinking of civil spaces for democratic discourse.

4. The Synthesis Report emphasized the intersections of gender and other issues. Peace is not only the absence of war but the presence of justice in society. It stressed that “gender equality and justice foster conditions that make peace possible for all…Gender equality and justice foster conditions that make peace possible for all.” It also asserted that “the climate-gender-youth intersection requires our full engagement, recognizing that women and girls consistently carry the main social burdens” and that “a people-centered approach [is] crucial [in]…address[ing] the existing inequities in access to health, education, social protection and employment.” “Financing must also be gender-transformative,” the report added. “Human security includes protection for the vulnerable, gender justice, redress for victims, empowerment for rights holders and accountability for perpetrators of human rights violations. Human security is closely linked with Agenda 2030 and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.”

5. This third webinar will explore further what the Synthesis Report meant by advocating for Governments “to endorse  (and fund)  the Secretary-General’s intention to appoint a Special Envoy for Future Generations.” It is recalled that the 2014 CoNGO General Assembly supported a similar proposal, then entitled Ombudsman for Future Generations). CoNGO will “engage its membership in the shaping and empowering future generations as envisaged by the UN SG’s “Our Common Agenda,” including the proposed convening in 2024 of a Summit of the Future. “A robust, responsible and responsive UN – and multilateralism itself – must invest in our children and youth,” the Synthesis Report stressed. These will guide discussions on intergenerational solidarity for future generations, including an outcome document that NGOs want to address both in the drafting process and the substance of what is planned as the “Pact for the Future.” The webinar will also examine the key takeaways of the ECOSOC Youth Forum 2023 proposals.

6. The keynote presentations will address the webinar topics, while three panels will address specific issues. Panel 1 will focus on gender justice in a transformed multilateralism. This panel will address gender equality as a fundamental human right and how a multilateral approach to gender justice with a transformative framework will influence societies’ economic, political, and social transformation. Panel 2 is a roundtable discussion with nine young people about the sources of their fears today and their hopes for the future. Panel 3 will explore the main principles that should serve as fundaments to ensure that states’ human rights obligations frame solidarity with future generations. The panel will address the tensions between the rights of present and future generations, will define how the human rights of future generations should relate to the present, especially in the context of an unequal world, will explore how to apply intra- and intergenerational justice to public policies and legislative processes, and how to protect the use of the concept of solidarity with future generations in a way that does not undermine women’s rights and gender justice.

PROVISIONAL PROGRAM

9:00 Anniversary Greetings by CoNGO 75th-Anniversary Honorary Co-Chairs

  • Gillian Sorensen (Former UN Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations)
  • Patrick Rea (ret.) (Grand Master Emeritus, Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem, OSMTH)

9:04 Opening Remarks 

  • Liberato Bautista (President of CoNGO and Assistant General Secretary for United Nations and International Affairs of The United Methodist Church—General Board of Church and Society | Philippines | USA)

9:10 Keynote Addresses

The keynotes will connect UN and NGO perspectives on gender, youth and intra- and intergenerational justice and solidarity with a view in mind to contributing to the sharpening of both the discourse and action plans related to the UN Secretary General’s “Our Common Agenda,” the SDG Summit (2023), the UN Summit of the Future (2024) and related conferences and documents.

Moderator: Liberato Bautista (President, CoNGO)

Panelists:

  • Jayathma Wickramanayake (UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth | Sri Lanka)
  • Kim Won-soo (Rector, Global Academy for Future Civilizations, Kyung Hee University | International Advisory Board Chair, Taejae Future Consensus Institute | Former UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs | Republic of Korea)
  • Hibaaq Osman (CEO and Founder, Karama; Member, UN Women’s Global Civil Society Advisory Group | Somalia)
  • Abramo A. Chabib (Executive Director, Italian Diplomatic Academy | Italy)

9:45  Panel 1: Gender Justice in a Transformed Multilateralism 

This panel will address gender equality as a fundamental human right in achieving peaceful societies with full human potential and sustainable development. To achieve gender equality, a multilateral approach to gender justice with a transformative framework will influence societies’ economic, political, and social transformation. Gender inequality is intergenerational as oppression and discrimination pass on from a young girl to womanhood, institutionalizing the systemic oppression of women. Gender is part of the broader socio-political-economic-cultural context analysis, which includes class, race, poverty level, ethnic group, sexuality, reproductive rights and age. To have a secure, sustainable, and transformative future, gender justice must be addressed at socio-political-economic levels in all countries.

Moderator: Pamela Morgan (Co-Chair, NGO Committee on Status of Women, New York; Zonta International | USA)

Panelists:

  • Elizabeth Cox (Former Regional Head, Pacific Multi-Country Office of United Nations Women | Australia)
  • Indai Sajor (Senior Gender Advisor | Former Convenor, Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal | Philippines)
  • Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo (International President, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, WILPF | Cameroon)
  • Lilly Be’Soer (Founder and Director, Voice for Change | Member, UN Women’s Civil Society Advisory Group | Papua New Guinea)

10:25 Q&A

Rapporteur: Mara Cohen (Montclair State University | New Jersey, USA)

10:35 Panel 2:

Youth: Sources of Their Fears Today and Their Hopes for the Future 

Any talk of the future cannot escape a discussion with young people about the present, significantly if the present and the future affect their lives today. This panel will address the sources of fears of young people today and how that is affecting their current lives and their hopes. Nine young professionals will converse with the CoNGO President about their fears today and hopes for the future. The panel is organized so that youth may also demonstrate their strategic role in addressing issues perpetuating gender inequality by promoting gender justice, which is the systemic redistribution of and access to power and opportunities for people of all genders without discrimination. The youth should play a significant role in breaking the inequalities between young women and men in responsibilities assigned, activities undertaken, access to and control over resources, and decision-making opportunities. If the hope of the future is in the youth, then their present condition matters, and the fight must be waged today against these inequalities that permeate all aspects of their lives.

Moderator: Liberato Bautista (CoNGO President)

Roundtable Discussion with French Young Professionals:

  • Elia Chevrier (Law, culture and international relations)
  • Jessica Champenois (Local and international solidarity, cooperation and social innovation)
  • Lea Hadjadene (Political scientist, social policy and innovation | education, migration and discrimination)
  • Victoria Charreyron (Human rights and international criminal justice)
  • Alice Lureau (Marine Protected Areas Project Officer | French Biodiversity Agency)
  • Chloe Moullec (Political scientist, international relations, diplomacy and conflict resolution)
  • Alice Fouillouze (Specialist in human-nature relationship and systemic societal changes for sustainability)
  • Cyprien Brabant (Industrial ecology, engineering, carbon emissions reduction, CSR)
  • Diane Ducleaux (Expert in international law, common law and the American legal system)

Live Intervention:

  • Angelica Tostes (World Student Christian Federation | Student Christian Movement | Brazil)
  • Pauline Masylgeline Mbong (Young WILPF Communications and Campaign Co-coordinator | Cameroon)

11:25 Q&A

Rapporteur: Kangwa Mabuluki (General Secretary, All Africa Theological Education by Extension Association | Former Co-General Secretary, World Student Christian Federation | Zambia)

11:30 Panel 3: Intra- and Intergenerational Justice and Solidarity for Future Generations 

This panel will explore the main principles that should serve as fundaments to ensure that states’ human rights obligations frame solidarity with future generations. The panelists will speak about how to solve the tensions between the rights of present and future generations and define how the human rights of future generations should relate to the present, especially in the context of an unequal world. Panelists will explore how to apply intra- and intergenerational justice to public policies and legislative processes, considering both the short and long term. The panel will also explore how to protect the use of the concept of solidarity with future generations in a way that does not undermine women’s rights and gender justice. The panel recognizes that gender equality is, first and foremost, a human rights issue. Equality and non-discrimination, regardless of gender and race, are fundamental human rights principles. If we don’t address the violence and systemic discrimination against women today, the cycle of violence is bound to be repeated, and future generations will continue to suffer.

Moderator: Ana Maria Suarez Franco (FIAN International | Colombia | Switzerland)

  • The Maastricht Principles on the Human Rights of Future Generations: Prof Sandra Liebenberg (Distinguished Professor & HF Oppenheimer Chair in Human Rights Law, Stellenbosch University | South Africa)
  • A Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities of the Present Generations Towards Future Generations: Kenneth Stokes (President & CEO, World Sustainability Forum | USA)
  • Youth Perspective: Lucy Plummer (Youth Engagement Consultant & Practitioner – Social and Environmental Issues & UN Affairs, Soka Gakkai International | United Kingdom)

12:00 Q&A

Rapporteur: Susanne Seperson (Vice Chair, NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, Generations United: USA)

12:10 Break for Rapporteurs

12:15 Rapporteur’s Report in View of an Outcome Document

Lead Rapporteur: Cyril Ritchie (CoNGO First Vice President)

12:25 Closing Remarks by Liberato Bautista (President of CoNGO)

12:30 Webinar ends

HELPFUL RESOURCES

  1. Our Common Agenda
  2. Synthesis Report of the CoNGO Civil Society Summit on Substantive Issues
  3. The Maastricht Principles on the Human Rights of Future Generations
  4. UNESCO Declaration on the Responsibility of Present Generations Towards  Future Generations
  5. A Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities of the Present Generations Towards Future Generations
  6. Young People’s Proposals for the 2023 SDG Summit (Key Takeaways from the Youth and the SDGs Online Consultation