On 15 to 17 September, Jane Brock – Coordinator of the of the NSW Branch was able to take the opportunity to have some sort of table talks on 1325 with 40 participants at the 5th World Conference of Women’s Shelters held at the ICC (International Convention Centre), Sydney. The table talks took place during the Conference session breaks in the morning, lunch and afternoon. Jane shared what is the UN Security Council Resolution 1325. She emphasised, this year “WILPF is marking the 25th anniversary of 1325 as one of the tools in addressing the impact of war on women and calls for special measures to protect women and girls from conflict related sexual violence. WILPF is at the forefront of campaigning for women’s full and equal participation in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction.”
The participants were very appreciative of the information that was shared to them and it must be noted that among the 40 women whom Jane shared the information on 1325, only one is aware of the resolution. Indeed, one of the challenges we are facing in community education on peace building is expanding and deepening the reach of our messaging and organising and mobilising work.