APOLLO THEATER IN HARLEM TO HOST CSW 59 CONSULTATION DAY
Participants in Harlem
On February 6, the Harlem Chapter of WFWP, the New Future Foundation, and the Harlem Women International held a panel discussion in preparation for the NGO CSW Forum Consultation Day that will be hosted March 8 by the UN Women at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. WFWP Harlem invited community leaders and families of the Harlem community to discuss this unique opportunity.
The forum panel discussion was held to inform and encourage the women and men of Harlem to learn about and register for Consultation Day, which opens and sets the stage for the 59th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 59), which will be held from March 9-20. WFWP USA Vice President Juanita Pierre-Louis welcomed UN participants and the community alike to the event.
The Harlem chapter of WFWP, led by Chairwoman Nandi Bengu, collaborated with Mrs. Pierre Louis; Queen Mother Dr. Delois Blakely, who is the community mayor of Harlem, an ambassador of goodwill to Africa, an Ambassador for Peace appointed by the Universal Peace Federation, and founder of the New Future Foundation, a UN NGO; and Ms. Gail McClouden of Harlem Women International to put together this program for the Harlem community.
The panel discussion
Dr. Blakely was the moderator for the panel, which included Mrs. Pierre-Louis and the queen mother of Ghana, who is part of the Ghana delegation to the UN. The panel addressed issues concerning women and children both here and abroad. The queen mother of Ghana spoke about the boarding schools she started for children, especially girls, who are left on the streets with no means of survival or education. "This is not just Africa's problem, but a worldwide epidemic that the world is faced with," said Mama Nana, as she is lovingly called in the global community.
Sister Elizabeth Dzikunoo, a Harlem WFWP member, explained to us that queen mothers have a position similar to that of chiefs in Ghana. They own land and are in charge and take care of villages there. Queen Mother Dr. Blakely interjected that the world is in need of strong families. Mrs. Pierre-Louis agreed, saying, "We need women who can mother the present generation and usher in a generation of responsible young women and men who can govern the world in peace."
Ms. Bengu shared briefly with everyone about Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon and the work that WFWP USA and WFWP International have done with the UN since WFWP's founding in 1992 by Dr. Hak Han Moon and her late husband, the Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon.
Young women and men who are serving as interns at the UN for the 59th CSW Forum also came and spoke about the direction and goals that their generation envisions for the sake of building peace in the global village. The Source Magazine, a publication with a worldwide circulation, produced by and founded by young men and women in New York City, was on hand, as well as reporters from the local media and Columbia University.
The Ghana delegation to the UN was moved by Mrs. Pierre-Louis as she insisted we take the final group picture with a portrait of the WFWP founders. The picture we have is the one with Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon wearing traditional African dress during a visit to Cote d'Ivoire.
1. *Update: The Consultation Day event has closed.
2. http://www.unwomen.org/en/csw/csw59-2015
3. http://newfuturefoundation.org/about/