Beijing has happened! The UN Fourth World Conference on Women and the parallel NGO Forum has brought OFAN to the climax of an important stage of its development. And what a culmination to our two years of hard work! Beijing represented the high point for us, as it brought together OFAN members from all corners of the world, giving us a chance to showcase the achievements of women in science and technology, promote linkages between formal and non-formal science, and lobby for science and technology to be included in the Platform for Action.
Those of us who participated in the NGO Forum were able to share in the celebratory experience of the Pavilion, for which we have been preparing for many months. And it is an experience we will never forget. Truly visual and vision-making, educational and entertaining, the Pavilion gave life to the OFAN vision for science and technology.
The Conference itself provided us with the opportunity to put into effect, once again, strategies to influence the direction of science and technology at the policy level. With the lobbying of OFAN and other science and technology interests groups, we were able to make delegates and policy makers more aware of the importance of science and technology for sustainable human development. We are gratified that, in the end, science and technology maintains a constant presence in the document, being particularly strong in the areas of education and training for women, women and the economy, and women and the environment. As OFAN enters the next stage of its development, the challenge facing us as an organization is to ensure the implementation of the Platform for Action for the benefit of all.
In this issue of the newsletter, we look at the conclusion of our advocacy trail leading up to the Fourth World Conference on Women, the science and technology inclusions in the Platform for Action, highlights of the Pavilion, and plans for the continuation of OFAN.
This newsletter also marks the end of my tenure as Programme Coordinator for the Network. I came into OFAN as a result of my work in gender, science and technology. OFAN has definitely broadened my outlook on ways science and technology can serve society, and has provided me with empirical tools to continue policy analysis in this area of research work. I plan to continue as a member of OFAN, because I believe in the vision and goals of the network. I believe there is a lot we can contribute, and that we are on the right track. We must be doing something positive, based on the approximately 300 new individuals and groups who have indicated their interest in becoming a part of OFAN, and the encouraging comments on the questionnaires circulated.
I would like to express my thanks and deep sense of appreciation to Patience Dennis, TWOWS Technical Advisor to OFAN, for her hard work and commitment to a cause she believes in. I have learned a lot from her. Thanks to Alice Mastrangelo of IWTC and Ilse Marks of UNIFEM for providing support throughout the process. Because of their commitment and team spirit, OFAN was able to come into its own as an organization. Special thanks to Eunice Forrest of the JSST, who went over and above the call of duty, particularly in the final stages, to ensure that things went according to plan. Thanks to Winsome Callum for the many hours of hard work which she put in - we weathered the storm, and came out stronger for it. Thanks to Carlette Falloon and Deirdre Tyndale for their administrative assistance. They gave life to the OFAN Secretariat - without them I would not have been able to do it all. Thanks also to Gerald Tyndale for giving so many hours to OFAN.
My thanks to the Jamaican people for providing me with a home away from home, and for cushioning the pangs of homesickness that I have felt for many years. Jamaica has really been good to me, and has helped me to put many things into perspective.
Once again, thanks to all OFAN members. And, as they say in Jamaica, "Me gawn!" which means "Goodbye!"
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