The UN General Assembly Special Session for Beijing Plus Five is not a World Conference but it does mark an important watershed. If this Special Session is to put in place concrete and meaningful measures to accelerate the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Women at all levels, then giving visibility and importance at the national level to the Beijing Plus Five review process is of the utmost importance. Central to this effort is to ensure that your country is represented at the Special Session by high-level dignitaries-a visible indicator that your country takes women's issues seriously.

We suggest that you begin now to make Beijing Plus Five an event in your country. It will require action on several different fronts, so start with a strategy that draws upon the collective strength of different individuals, organizations and institutions. Use several of the new resources available both on-line and in print (for a beginning list of these resources, see p. 24).

The following are a few suggestions for next steps:

1. Substantive input to the review process.
   NGOs working in the different areas of critical concern can bring fresh perspectives and new insights to the work of government agencies. Your work can often complement that of government because you usually have easier access to opportunities (meetings, conferences, etc) and information (resource centres, research finding, etc.).

   In recent years, NGOs have taken on a much more active and defining role regarding policy review and assessment. For instance, the experience of preparing shadow reports for the Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) served to equip many NGOs with the "how-to's" of preparing alternative country reports for this Beijing Plus Five review process.

   Following a strong recommendation among NGOs meeting at the 1999 March PrepCom for the Special Session, some NGOs, working collectively at national and regional levels, have prepared comprehensive country and regional reports. The CONGO Coordinating Committee is seriously considering the preparation of a Global Alternative Report for presentation at the Special Session. If you have prepared a country report, please send a copy immediately to CONGO.

2. Work with your Government
   Remember that the entire UN system, including all its country offices, has been called to support this Special Session. Because of their working relationships with different government officials and ministries and their access to resources, they could prove to be useful allies in your strategizing. Advocate to have an NGO representative on your government's delegation to the UN meetings. Be part of briefings and dialogues with country delegates. And press for high level representation at the June Special Session!

3. Support your country's NGO representative at the March PrepCom and June Special Session
   Stress the importance of sending a representative who can be present for the entire March CSW and PrepCom (February 28 to March 17, 2000). It is during this time that the Beijing Plus Five documents will be negotiated and agreed upon. At the June Special Session there may be some final negotiations, but essentially, governments will give their "seal of approval" at this time.

4. Put Beijing Plus Five onto your country's media's agenda.
   The media can be a particularly powerful tool in advocating for women's rights. Encourage journalists supportive of women's issues to write about the review process. Contact professional associations of women working in the media to enlist their support. The PFA critical area of concern on media (Section J) has several proposed actions of immediate relevance to the professional careers of media personnel. The Beijing Plus Five review process is everyone's concern and belongs on the front pages of mainstream media. Ensure coverage of the review process in the follow-up as well as at the actual event. Support your local journalists by feeding them newsworthy information that you have access to through your various sources. Identify an individual or organisation that is willing to regularly scan, download and re-disseminate relevant information to key information points-journalists, government officials, and activists in different organizations.

   The media is important in creating public awareness and in giving visibility and importance to the issues and the occasion.

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