The 2010 OSCE Kazakhstan Chairmanship: Carrot Devoured, Results Missing. EUCAM Policy Brief No. 15, April 2011

This brief looks at Kazakhstan’s chairmanship through the prism of the EU’s relations with Central Asian states and examines what lessons the EU can draw from the Kazakhstan chairmanship. The OSCE Chairmanship and the agreement to hold the 2010 OSCE Summit in Astana, despite it not having a Summit-like agenda were significant ‘carrots’ given to Kazakhstan. Did these carrots bring any results, and is there any reason to offer more such carrots to Kazakhstan or to other Central Asian states?

40 años de agenda regional de género

Hace casi 40 años, se celebró la primera Conferencia Regional sobre la Integración de la Mujer al Desarrollo Económico y Social de América Latina (La Habana, 1977), que abrió un espacio de intercambio regional después de la Conferencia Mundial del Año Internacional de la Mujer (Ciudad de México, 1975), un espacio que apostaba a que las demandas sociales en favor de los derechos de las mujeres y la igualdad de género que empezaban a cruzar los países se convirtieran en compromisos gubernamentales. En aquella oportunidad se acordó el Plan de Acción Regional para la Integración de la Mujer en el Desarrollo Económico y Social de América Latina, que fue la primera hoja de ruta que tuvo la región para avanzar hacia el reconocimiento del aporte de las mujeres a la sociedad y los obstáculos que enfrentan para mejorar su situación. También en esa oportunidad, los Gobiernos le dieron a la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) el mandato de convocar con carácter permanente y regular, con una frecuencia no superior a tres años, una Conferencia Regional sobre la Mujer. A lo largo de las siguientes cuatro décadas, en cumplimiento de este mandato, la CEPAL, a través primero de la Unidad Mujer y Desarrollo, y posteriormente de la División de Asuntos de Género, ha organizado 12 Conferencias sobre la mujer. Esta articulación intergubernamental, con la presencia activa del movimiento feminista y de mujeres y el apoyo de todo el sistema de las Naciones Unidas, se ha convertido en el principal foro de negociación de una agenda regional para la igualdad de género amplia, profunda y comprehensiva, en que la autonomía y los derechos de las mujeres están en el centro, y en cuyas reuniones siempre ha ocupado un lugar protagónico la preocupación por las políticas de desarrollo y de superación de la pobreza. En la presente publicación se recopilan todos los acuerdos adoptados por los Gobiernos en las conferencias regionales, de modo que constituya una herramienta para la consulta, pero sobre todo para la acción y la construcción de un futuro basado en la memoria colectiva de las mujeres de América Latina y el Caribe.

40 years of the regional gender agenda

The first Regional Conference on the Integration of Women into the Economic and Social Development of Latin America and the Caribbean was held almost 40 years ago (Havana, 1977). It provided a regional forum for exchange after the World Conference of the International Women’s Year in Mexico City in 1975, where participants supported the idea of social demands for women’s rights and gender equality (which were starting to spread from country to country) being converted into government commitments. On that occasion they adopted the Regional Plan of Action for the Integration of Women into Latin American Economic and Social Development, the region’s first road map for progress towards the recognition of women’s contribution to society and the obstacles that they face in improving their situation. At that same conference, the Governments gave the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) a mandate to convene periodically, at intervals of no more than three years, a Regional Conference on Women. In fulfilment of this mandate, over the next four decades ECLAC organized 12 Regional Conferences on Women, first through its Women and Development Unit, then its Division for Gender Affairs. This interaction between governments, with the active participation of the women’s and feminist movement and the support of the entire United Nations system, has become the main forum for the negotiation of a broad, profound and comprehensive regional agenda on gender equality, in which women’s autonomy and rights are front and centre. Policies for development and overcoming poverty have always been a key focus at these meetings. This publication is a compilation of all the agreements adopted by the Governments at the regional conferences and will serve not only as a tool for reference, but above all as a tool for action and for building a future based on the collective memory of the women of Latin America and the Caribbean.

A participatory design agenda for ubiquitous computing and multimodal interaction: A case study of dental practice

This paper reflects upon our attempts to bring a participatory design approach to design research into interfaces that better support dental practice. The project brought together design researchers, general and specialist dental practitioners, the CEO of a dental software company and, to a limited extent, dental patients. We explored the potential for deployment of speech and gesture technologies in the challenging and authentic context of dental practices. The paper describes the various motivations behind the project, the negotiation of access and the development of the participant relationships as seen from the researchers' perspectives. Conducting participatory design sessions with busy professionals demands preparation, improvisation, and clarity of purpose. The paper describes how we identified what went well and when to shift tactics. The contribution of the paper is in its description of what we learned in bringing participatory design principles to a project that spanned technical research interests, commercial objectives and placing demands upon the time of skilled professionals. Copyright © 2010 ACM, Inc

A radical agenda for local government

If we want to rebuild Labour's councillor base, we will need to repoliticise the role of local government.