WACC conveys support to UN Women

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

> WACC conveys support to UN Women

> Press Release, 27 December 2010

The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) has conveyed
its support to UN Women as it commences its first year of operation.

In a letter addressed to the UN Women Executive Director, Ms. Michelle
Bachelet, WACC supports the agency's vision to work for the
elimination of discrimination against women and girls and argues that
integrating efforts to foster women'?s communication rights into the
agency's goals "increases the possibility of achieving deeper,
structural and long-term change."

"We urge UN Women to intentionally advance efforts to secure
women's communication rights that empower women to express their
needs, make themselves heard, and take charge of their own
progress", says the letter addressed to the Executive Director, Ms.
Michelle Bachelet.

The letter, signed by the WACC General Secretary, The Rev. Karin
Achtelstetter, further states that UN Women's vision of providing
women and girls with "a powerful voice" resonates with WACC's
pursuit of the right to communicate, particularly for the historically
marginalised, the majority of whom are women.

Over the years, WACC has continued to express concern about equal and
affordable access to communication and knowledge, media and gender
justice, and the relationship between communication and power. Through
its Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) launched in 1995, WACC has
successfully carried research studies mapping progress in gender
portrayal and representation in the world's news media.

Its recent report launched September 29 states that 76% of the people
heard or read about in the world's news are male. (See full report
here...) <http://www.whomakesthenews.org/

The report was financially supported by UNIFEM (United Nations
Development Fund for Women).

Through GMMP, WACC has collaborated with UNIFEM country offices to
draw up an agenda for women's communication rights in practice.

UN Women was created in July 2010 by the United Nations General
Assembly as the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women. Its main roles are:

To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the
Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards
and norms.

To help Member States to implement these standards, standing ready to
provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries
that request it and to forge effective partnerships with civil
society.

To hold the UN system accountable for its own commitments on gender
equality, including regular monitoring of system-wide progress.

The full letter is available on the WACC website:
http://www.waccglobal.org/component/content/article/2494:-wacc-conveys-supp
 ort-to-un-women.html

> To learn more about UN women go to:
> http://www.unwomen.org/about-un-women/

> --