SVU DECLARATION ON WOMEN'S ISSUES

WHEREAS, women constitute half the population of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and of expatriate Czech and Slovak communities, yet they are underrepresented in government, business, and academia;

WHEREAS, women in the Czech and Slovak republics have witnessed profound changes in the political, economic, social, educational and cultural realms, especially since the collapse of Communism and the latest wave of Accession, under which the Czech Republic and Slovakia will integrate into the European Union;

WHEREAS, the political, socioeconomic, educational and cultural status of Czech and Slovak women and girls is in need of further research, articulation, quantification, funding, public attention, and improvement;

On the occasion of the FIRST Women's Issues Panel for SVU, at the SVU World Congress 2002,

It has been RESOLVED to establish a Women's Issues Working Group for the purpose of introducing a feminine gender component into the international programs of the SVU World Congress.

It has been further RESOLVED, that the Women's Issues Working Group will strive to ensure that women's issues receive sustained, positive, sensitive, equitable and meaningful consideration in all SVU programs.

It has been further RESOLVED, that in renewed commitment to the SVU's mission, the Women's Issues Working Group will reach out to Czech and Slovak women in their homelands and abroad, and work to identify women's issues which unite us, giving primacy to issues that are important in the homelands.

It has been been further RESOLVED, that in their capacity as members of the SVU, the Women's Issues Working Group will endeavor to build bridges of understanding between Czech and Slovak women the world over.

Working constructively, through dialogue, with the SVU to incorporate issues pivotal to Czech and Slovak women into SVU programs, the Women's Issues Working Group will provide leadership to, and serve as a forum for, all Czech and Slovak women, helping to empower them and to improve the quality of their lives.

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