Melissa Guardaro
NYS International Affairs Director

The work that AAUW does on behalf of women and girls around the world falls under the "International Affairs" category.

PROGRAM SUGGESTIONS:

MY SISTER’S KEEPER
The My Sister’s Keeper project was launched in July, 2010 and is a New York State American Association of University Women’s statewide project. The goal of My Sister’s Keeper is to foster a greater understanding of the plight of women worldwide and within our domestic borders. Individuals, interest groups and branches were encouraged to develop programming, volunteering, advocacy and education outlets for women suffering from the issues of gendercide, violence, lack of educational opportunities, the lack of maternal health care and support the rights of women, and gender equality.

MSK 2.0
The focus of the efforts in the second year of the statewide project, My Sister’s Keeper, will center on sustainability and providing enduring opportunities. We need to know and understand the issues, solutions already tried and ask the tough questions.  Whether it is a donation, a purchase, volunteering or organizing a school or clinic, the first question for year two initiatives should be “Will this be sustainable?” It is important to evolve from donor-dependent, philanthropic initiatives to self-sustaining programs. It is also important to have the person or group being assisted make their own decisions and reach their own conclusions rather than have a solution “dictated”. We embrace the philosophy that a self-determined, locally controlled group of men and women understand their situation best and are the real agents of lasting change.

Second, it is vital to the American Association of University Women to foster alliances within our branch, state and national structure. Inter-branch activity is encouraged for MSK 2.0

Third, given the widely held view of a dwindling supply of resources and time, it is important to work with other organizations – local, regional and national – to encourage greater AAUW participation and membership and forge new alliances. Many of these issues are being tackled by other national organizations and now is the time to combine efforts to solve these pressing problems.  For more information about this program, visit the My Sister’s Keeper tab on this page.

Did you know about "Activism 101"? Click here for a list (with trailers) of sixteen films about violence against women.

CONFERENCES:

AAUW's UN Day Conference was held Tuesday, October 11th, 2011. Morning briefings at the United Nationswere followed by a panel discussion covering the topics of Gender Equality and Sustainable Development. For more information and a registration form, click here. A report will soon be available.

CTAUN’s Annual Conference is scheduled for Friday, February 3rd, 2012 in New York City. The topic for the Committee on Teaching About the United Nations conference is “Education IS a Human Right”. Details and program updates can be found at  www.teachun.org. CAROL BELLAMY, Chair of the Global Partnership for Education,
and former Executive Director of UNICEF, will be one of the featured speakers. Registration information is available at http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e39ezbh3bac3832a&l\
lr=7kcssleab