UNIFEM UK: Working for women's empowerment and gender equality
Progress for Women Is Progress for All
UNIFEM UK and its Branches
We are the UK National Committee for UNIFEM. A Board of 13 trustees, elected each year, is responsible for the strategic direction of our organisation. Our current President is Zarin Hainsworth.
Board members represent UNIFEM UK at a range of events and maintain good contacts with the Department for International Development and other government agencies. We work in partnership with many other organisations including the United Nations Association, the Royal Commonwealth Society, the National Alliance of Women's Organisations and Soroptimist International to raise awareness of women's issues. There are close links also with the UNIFEM National Committees in 15 other countries across the world.
We currently have branches in
All branches contribute to the twin goals of awareness raising and fundraising. For details of current activities check the Diary of Events.
We are looking to establish new branches. There is already an active group of members in Gloucestershire and we hope to set up groups in Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow and Surrey. If you are a UNIFEM supporter in one of these areas and would like to be more actively involved, contact us at info@unifemuk.org.
Around the Branches
UNIFEM in Edinburgh
The Branch continues to organise regular fundraising events such as coffee mornings and a 'Sparse Lunch' with special guests speaking on a range of topics. These have recently included the experiences of Palestinian women, the history of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Last year we hosted a well attended seminar on trafficking and its impact on families and communities with speakers and information stalls from other organisations campaigning on the issue.
Our Branch also participates in UNA events and contributes to the work of the Scottish Women's Convention and the Cross Party Group on International Development in the Scottish Parliament. We recently submitted comments on the new Scottish Government’s international development policy review.
UNIFEM in London
The Branch aims to hold several seminars each year with expert speakers as well as organising fundraising activities. Some events are joint ventures with partner organisations. We were very grateful to Janet Cooper of Linklaters for hosting another fundraising conference in November, this time with the theme ‘Women and Work’, which raised over £600 for the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women. We have also recently organised two events at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) rooms in the Houses of Parliament. On the first occasion members and guests were able to hear about the progress of UNIFEM projects the UK Government is funding in six conflict-affected countries when our speaker was Jeremy Stickings from the Department for International Development. The second event was our 2008 AGM with contributions from a panel of UNIFEM UK members, including President Zarin Hainsworth, who had attended the 52nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York.
Fundraising events in the past year included a wonderful concert and supper evening at St Mary’s Church Hall in Wimbledon which was organised by a Branch member and raised £400 for the UN Trust Fund. We were also allocated a day to collect donations on the main concourse at Waterloo.
A member of our Branch Committee is continuing to lead the development of an education and training programme which aims to raise awareness of UNIFEM’s work. She has already presented workshops and lessons at a number of schools across London.
UNIFEM in Northern Ireland
Recent fundraising events have included a coffee morning and gift fair at the home of a Branch member which raised nearly £400 for UNIFEM projects. The highlight was a new song dedicated to UNIFEM by special guest singer songwriter Inge Haghighi who is a member of the Branch.
Our ‘Women’s Rights – Human Rights’ Conference last year aimed to raise the profile of UNIFEM UK by providing information to voluntary sector organisations and the Police Service about the abuse of women’s rights locally, nationally and internationally. Speaking about UN Security Council Resolution 1325, Monica McWilliams, the Chief Commissioner for Human Rights NI, made a plea to UNIFEM to insist that when countries in conflict situations send delegations to Northern Ireland to share our experience of emerging from armed conflict, they must include women in the group.
Contact the Northern Ireland branch
UNIFEM in Wales
Last October the Branch organised a very successful Musical Extravaganza on behalf of UNIFEM UK at St David’s Hall in Cardiff. The event showcased Wales-based talent in a wide-ranging programme of music, song and dance and it raised £3,000 for the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women. Mounting such a major event is costly in both time and funding and it would not have been possible without the input of Marina Monios, who created and produced the show, the performers who gave their time and skills (some free of charge, others for greatly reduced fees) and the sponsors who made the project viable.
Our first event in 2008 was a multicultural evening held in partnership with SOVA (Supporting Others through Volunteer Action) which is running a Time Together project in Cardiff providing refugee mentoring. The event offered an opportunity to learn about what it means to find your way in a new country and a new culture through sharing experiences and perceptions. This covered the experiences and problems encountered by unaccompanied children as well as asylum seekers and refugees.
The speaker at our third Annual Mena Williams Lecture in April was Professor Deidre Beddoe, chair of women’s history at the University of Glamorgan and President of Women’s Archive Wales. The title of her lecture was 'Writing Welsh Women’s History'.
Yorkshire UNIFEM
In 2008 the Yorkshire branch is continuing to develop its links with local universities. In February we shared a platform at the University of York with the Vice President of the European Parliament, Diana Wallis MEP, to compare what the UN and Europe have done and NOT done for women in their respective forums.
Yorkshire is a small branch and we are very keen to expand our membership and to increase awareness of UNIFEM in the region. We are particularly interested in involving anyone who wishes to expand their knowledge of women’s issues around the globe. We also welcome links with other groups – formal and informal, large or small – and we can offer speakers from our branch to develop these links.
UNIFEM in Gloucestershire
There is an active support group of UNIFEM UK members in the Stroud area. They have given presentations about the work of UNIFEM to a number of women's groups in Gloucestershire and have taken part in local events such as those to mark the International Day of Peace, the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and International Women’s Day.
Contact us if you would like more information about the group.
You can now donate securely online (and qualify for gift aid)
How you can help:
The projects undertaken by UNIFEM make a difference to the everyday lives of women around and their families around the world. UNIFEM UK needs your support to help fund this work and to raise awareness of the issues affecting women's rights and security.
- Find out more on our 'How YOU can help' page.
- Donate securely online (and qualify for gift aid)
Become a member:
Download a registration form below:
- Personal membership application (1.91 MB)
- Student membership application (2.33 MB)
Online membership facility available soon.
© Copyright 2006 UNIFEM UK
UNIFEM UK – United Kingdom National Committee for UNIFEM
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