Attending the Commission on the Status of Women with the World YWCA at the United Nations is an intergenerational experience, and an energizing one!

Women of all ages from the entire world share real life experiences in preventing, overcoming, and striving to eliminate violence against women and girls, discrimination, and racial injustice while promoting equal access to education, decent work, finances, health care, safety, political opportunities, decision making and dignity.

The intergenerational commitment to sharing these issues at each age and working together to promote women at every stage of living is essential to making this happen.

Look at your life at your age today in the environment in which you live. Imagine that

• You have no pure water. You walk for hours each day to carry the infected water that you do find.
• You are unable to attend school because your mother is ill and you must replace her to work in the home.
• You denied decent work opportunities or advancement in the workplace.
• You risk violence and rape on the path to school.
• You do not have access to health care. The nearest infirmary is three hours by foot.
• Your parents arrange for you to marry while you are still a child. You have no choice.

This may be difficult for you to imagine or it maybe the way life is where you live.  Either way it is important for discussions and solutions to be intergenerational.

Bonnie Fatio

Age Esteem is participating at the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations in New York with the World YWCA.

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), established in 1946, influences the lives of people of all ages, including children and men.  It is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) dedicated to gender equality and advancement of women. Each year it draws women from around the globe to the United Nations in New York to evaluate progress, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide.

This is also important for you men!  It has been shown time and again that when women are empowered the family and the whole community also improve.

Age Esteem will present an Intergenerational Dialogue on February 28.

Bonnie Fatio

Maureen Bell, 53, Canada

When I hear Age Esteem I think of being happy with who you are whatever.  Just being happy with who you are so that when you are 14 you don’t wish you were 21 and when you’re 50 not wishing you were 40. It’s living your life as it is, enjoying what you’re doing and not being conscious of how old you are.

Maureen’s Tips: I can’t say that I’m doing anything to prepare for my own age esteem other than living.  I never think, “Well I’m too old.”  I go and do it.  I ran the 10K because I realized I hadn’t run the 10K for awhile and it would be a fun thing to do.  I enjoyed the race and it got me onto a whole new level so that I started doing other things too.  I don’t really think about how old I am.  When it sort of comes to mind when I have a birthday and I add it up in my head I think, “Oh, gee, I’m older.”  It doesn’t bother me.

Maureen Bell is a financial specialist and treasure of the World YWCA.