UN Women Office for the Americas and the Caribbean announces the new composition of its Regional Civil Society Advisory Group 2020-2022

UN Women Regional Office announces the new composition of its Regional Advisory Group of Civil Society, after a process of renewal and selection that featured 120 nominations of women leaders, activists, and academics of feminist and women's organizations in the region.

The new women members who join the Regional Advisory Group since August 2020 and assume for a period of two years are:

• Andrea Avilez - Fundación Arcoiris  (Mexico)

• Givania Maria Da Silva - Coordenação Nacional de Articulação das Comunidades Negras Rurais Quilombolas (Brazil)

• Marcella Zub - KuñaRóga  (Paraguay)
   

• María José Guerrero - Observatorio contra el Acoso Callejero  (Chile)

• Mariana Solomon - Agendas de Género (Argentina)

• Monica Mendizábal -  Coordinadora de la Mujer (Bolivia)

• Ruth Viola Spencer - The Equality and Justice Alliance andThe Equality Fund (Antigua and Barbuda).

The new members will join forces with Gia Gaspard Taylor – Network of Rural Network Producers (Trinidad and Tobago), Marilyn Ramón Medellín - Centro de Derechos Humanos “Ke’gua Rerichejui” and the Coordinadora Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas de México (CONAMI) (Mexico), Quiteria Franco - Asociación Civil Unión Afirmativa (Venezuela) and Waldistrudis Hurtado de Mendoza - Coalición del Movimiento Afrodescendiente de las Américas and Grupo Nacional del Movimiento Social y Político de Mujeres Negras Afrocolombianas Palenqueras y Raizales (Colombia), who are already part of the Advisory Group.

At the first meeting of the new formation of the Advisory Group on 19 August, the Regional Directorate made a special recognition to the members who ended their period. The Advisory Group begins a new stage that would not have been possible without the input of the outgoing members who participated in this first meeting to contribute with their lessons learned and advice for the prioritization of the joint agenda, they are: Stephanie Leitch - Womantra (Trinidad and Tobago), Ana Carcedo-Centro Feminista de Información y Acción (Costa Rica), Paola Yañez - Red de Mujeres Afrolatinoamericanas, Afrocaribeñas y de la Diáspora (Bolivia), Mónica Novillo - Coordinadora de la Mujer (Bolivia), Denise Dora - THEMIS – Justicia de Género y Derechos Humanos (Brazil), Alma Espino - AsociaciónInternacional de EconomíaFeminista (Uruguay) and Line Bareiro from Coordinación de Mujeres del Paraguay and Centro de Documentación y Estudios (Paraguay).

The concern about the impact that the COVID-19 crisis is having on women in areas such as gender-based violence, job loss and resources, food security, exacerbation of the pre-existing care crisis, lack of access to comprehensive health services, and democratic construction were highlighted at the first meeting by the Regional Director, María Noel Vaeza. 

The Regional Advisory Group thus begins a new cycle that will focus on strengthening:

• the voices, proposals, and demands of women's organizations in programmes and initiatives and especially the response to the UN Women COVID-19 crisis and its regional counterparts; 
• the participation of feminist groups in the region in the different intergovernmental processes as well as the Generation Equality Forum of which various feminist and civil society organizations as well as several governments in the region are already part by, co-leading several of the thematic Coalitions for Action in formation; 
• wider spaces for exchange and debate with more women's and civil society organizations through online meetings convened from the UN Women Regional Directorate;
• contribute to the resource mobilization, both traditional and innovative financing mechanisms, to the service of feminist, women's, and civil society organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean.