About the Vancouver Conference and About Beijing

The conference Women and Sustainable Development: Canadian perspectives was co-ordinated by the Sustainable Development Research Institute (SDRI), University of British Columbia, and took place in Vancouver, May 1994. The Final Report, together with the Draft Policy Statements are available from SDRI.

This event emerged from the work of women involved in a number of local, national and international processes. It is a reflection of the ten years since the launching of the Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies at the United Nations Conference on Women in 1985, it is a continuation of the work that Canadian women initiated at the World Women's Congress for a Healthy Planet in Miami, it recalls the issues raised at the Earth Summit in Rio, it is a preparatory conference for the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, and it is a recognition of the initiatives and efforts of women throughout Canada who are struggling daily to create a more just, healthy and sustainable society.

Vancouver builds on the very strong role Canadian women played at Nairobi and Miaimi , and extends the lessons learned to a much broader assembly. Participants analyzed and defined the role women play in sustainable development in Canada, to identify the barriers that keep women from playing their full role, and recognize concrete ways to overcome these impediments. Through the development of policy options and through the fostering of alliances between sectors, regionally and internationally, the Vancouver Conference has profiled women's perspectives and contributions towards sustainability. The spirit of the conference is embodied in the Call for Action. Falls Brook Centre, Hartland, New Brunswick and the Environment Liaison Centre International, Nairobi, Kenya, have responded to the Call for Action with their inspiration to seed the future.

The Fourth World Conference on Women -- Beijing, 1995

As part of the strategy developed at Nairobi, it was determined that within ten years a United Nations conference would be convened to report on the implementation of the Forward Looking Strategies. This Conference was held in Beijing, September 4-15, 1995, and had four objectives:

to review and appraise the advancement of women since 1985;
to mobilize women and men at both the policy-making and grass roots levels;
to adopt a "Platform for Action" and;
to determine the priorities to be followed in 1996-2001 for implementation of the Strategies within the United Nations system.

The Canadian Beijing Facilitating Committee (CBFC) and the Canadian Preparatory Committee (CPC) were formed to organize Canada's contribution and commitment to this Conference.

"Click" here for more information on Beijing.

Contact these organizations working on Beijing-related action.

Although the progress towards change is cumbersome, women must be inspired by their commitment to each other and to the Earth. This is why it is so vitally important to keep our networks strong. In Canada, as women reflect on their experiences over the last ten years and consider the possibilities for the 1995 Fourth World Women's Conference, the lessons of Nairobi and Miami figure prominently.

Through Nairobi and Miami we have recognized the strength of building alliances, the importance of formulating policy options and the effectiveness of collective action in advancing our position.

Sustainable Development Research Institute
International Institute for Sustainable Development