Women had been preparing for it for years, and women will be talking about it for years to come. The 1995 NGO Forum on Women was the biggest such event ever held. In late August, women from every corner of the globe began converging in the city of Beijing, prepared to join hands in the fight for equality, development and peace. The euphoria was almost tangible, the feeling of solidarity was contagious. Non-governmental organizations were taking action for the advancement of the world¹s women.
It wasn¹t all smooth sailing, though. There were the mundane hassles of getting settled into our hotels, securing display space and equipment for our various activities, and learning to communicate with people who did not speak our language. Despite the inconveniences, however, the approximately 30,000 women and men who had registered for the 1995 NGO Forum were determined to have a successful event. Not even the rain was going to stop us. In no time at all we settled in, and began the important task of setting up our theme tents, booths and pavilions.
Representatives to the 1995 NGO Forum started networking and celebrating, earnestly planning the agenda for the women¹s global movement, and preparing strategies for influencing the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
There were over 5,000 activities scheduled for the Forum. But first we had to enjoy the magnificent Opening Ceremony organized by the Chinese. With much ado, participants from around the world were welcomed to China. We were treated to a grand cultural extravaganza which had women and men sitting on the edges of their seats.
Then, the 20,000 doves and balloons were released into the air in a breathtaking display, carrying the message of peace and unity. The symbolic highlight, however, was the presentation of the peace torch to Forum Convenor Supatra Masdit by the Kampala Women for Peace in Africa. This was greeted with tumultuous applause from the audience, who joined in singing the theme song for Beijing, ŒKeep On Moving Forward¹.
And we did move forward with our planned activities once the formalities were over. There were plenaries to attend, workshops, demonstrations, drama presentations, healing sessions, training programmes and press conferences to participate in. Then there were the various activities of the regional tents, and the special tents for youth, grassroots groups, women with disabilities, older women, indigenous women, and refugees.
Spontaneous activities were as successful as the planned activities - women were eager to network and address issues at whatever forum presented itself. The issues dealt with covered a wide spectrum and cut across all borders: economic structures, politics and power sharing, education, human rights, health, environment, poverty, armed conflict and human security, violence against women, science and technology, arts and culture, race and ethnicity, media and information, and the girl child. With the whirlwind of activities, participants in the NGO Forum barely had time to make use of the Œquiet space¹ tent which was available for persons who needed breathing space and time to relax. Tired as we were at the end of each day, most of us did make time for the cultural exposés which featured outstanding performances from cultural groups across the globe.
By the time the Forum ended, participants were happy and optimistic. The focus was now on the official UN conference, where we actively lobbied to have our concerns embodied in the Platform for Action, the blueprint for women¹s advancement in the next decade.
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