|TOP|More than 100 Anglican women representing 37 provinces of the Anglican Communion are gathered in New York for the current 50th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) meeting, which opened last Friday.

The event, which will run until March 8, was officially opened by a special Eucharist service held in the UN chapel Friday.

The delegates will focus on gender equality and the advancement of women in the fields of education, health, and employment, as well as the increased participation of women and men in decision-making processes at all levels.

"Working together, Anglican women delegates to the UNCSW are raising their voices in support for women's education and development, to combat hunger, poverty, and the spread of AIDS, and to work for equal opportunity," said Margaret Rose, Director for Women's Ministries, Episcopal Church.

"This event provides an opportunity for Episcopal women and men to listen to and learn from the experiences of our Anglican sisters and to strategise together for women's empowerment throughout the Communion."

|AD|An all-day orientation on the opening day of the ceremony was followed by an NGO consultation at New York University School of Medicine on Saturday which explored further this year’s themes as well as advocacy strategies.

Key speakers included Jackie Shapiro, chair of Zonta International and the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, as well as Rachel Mayanja, assistant secretary general and special adviser to the UN secretary general on gender issues and the advancement of women.

March 4 will see a special celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of UNCSW, sponsored by Anglican Women’s Empowerment (AWE), in the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York City.

Participants will be able to hear the hopes and concerns of women from across the Anglican Communion on a discussion panel, as well as the ways in which their faith has called them to action.

The panellists will be led in discussion by Abagail Nelson, vice president of Episcopal Relief and Development.

Special guests will include Angela King, former UN assistant secretary general and special adviser on gender issues, and Jenny Te Paa, UNCSW delegate from the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.

Delegates will attend daily worship, UN briefings, plenary sessions and caucuses throughout the two-week event.

Anglican and Episcopal delegates have attended the annual UNCSW event for the last 3 years under the auspices of the Office on the Anglican Observer to the UN and Women’s Ministries of the Episcopal Church. The 2006 event is the largest yet.