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Women who shaped the UN - a conversation with Rebecca Adami

We invited Dr. Rebecca Adami, Associate Professor, Senior Lecturer at Stockholm University, Award winner of the 2022 Bertha Lutz Prize for highest quality public writing and research on women in diplomacy by the Diplomatic Studies Section (DPLST) of the International Studies Association (ISA), for a conversation around the role non-Western women had in shaping the UN system, from the UN Charter to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In this rich conversation, Dr. Adami shares with us the context of situation post-World War II and tells us the story of how the rights of women were included in the text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She introduces us to several of the prominent non-Western women who were behind the negotiations both at the San Francisco Conference and for the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including Hansa Jivraj Mehta and Lakshmi Menon from India, Minerva Bernardino from the Dominican Republic, and Begum Shaista Ikramullah from Pakistan.
 
Resources
Adami, R and Plesch, D. (2022) Women and the UN: a new history of women's international human rights. London: Routledge
https://www.routledge.com/Women-and-the-UN-A-New-History-of-Womens-International-Human-Rights/Adami-Plesch/p/book/9780367478230#
Adami, R. (2019). Women and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. New York: Routledge
https://www.routledge.com/Women-and-the-Universal-Declaration-of-Human-Rights/Adami/p/book/9781138345355
 
Where to listen to this episode 
Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fslNo-7U9hg
Content   
Speaker: Dr. Rebecca Adami, Associate Professor,
Host: Francesco Pisano, Director, UN Library & Archives
Producer: Amy Smith
Editing & social media: Amy Smith & Nadia Al Droubi
Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva 

Hidden Figures in Women’s International Human Rights, with Ellen Chesler, Fatima Sator and Dan Plesch

This episode brings us on a journey of archaeology. Not the type with shovels and brushes, but rather a restorative archaeology that sheds light on the stories of women who are not well known in the history books.
We speak with Fatima Sator, Ellen Chesler and Dan Plesch, two of the authors and the co-editor of a new book published this year called Women and the UN: A New History of Women’s International Human Rights. It documents the stories of influential women, many from the global south, who dedicated their work to ensuring women’s human rights were recorded in UN conventions,  treaties and documents. Despite this work, there is very little known about them and their contribution.  
Fatima Sator is a communications specialist at International Committee of the Red Cross, author and gender equality researcher at School of Oriental and African Studies University of London, or SOAS. 
Ellen Chesler is an author and Senior Fellow at CUNY's Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies. They both contributed chapters to the book.  
Dan Plesch is a co-editor of this volume, together with Rebecca Adami. He is the Director of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS. 
We talk about why documenting these stories of women in our history matters for our understanding of multilateralism, and consider how we define multilateralism might to evolve to fully comprehend the  contribution of women to key multilateral decisions and documents that exist today. 
Episode Transcript
Access the transcript here.
Open Access Book
“Women and the UN: A New History of Women’s International Human Rights” - Open Access version online: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003036708/women-un-rebecca-adami-dan-plesch  
Book Resources 
Project Page for Women and the UN:  https://www.soas.ac.uk/cisd/research/women-in-diplomacy/women-in-the-un-charter/ 
Open Global Rights article on the book:  https://www.openglobalrights.org/women-and-the-un-a-new-history-of-womens-international-human-rights/?lang=English 
TEDx PlaceDesNations talk with Fatima Sator and Elise Diettrichson - "These women changed your life": These Women Changed Your Life | Elise Luhr Dietrichson & Fatima Sator | TEDxPlaceDesNationsWomen 
"Women founders of the UN" - SOAS conference with Rebecca Adami 
Women and Girls Rising: Progress and resistance around the world, edited by Ellen Chesler and Terry McGovern:  https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781315708379/women-girls-rising-ellen-chesler-terry-mcgovern 
Content
Speakers: Ellen Chesler, Fatima Sator and Dan Plesch
Host: Natalie Alexander
Editor & Producer: Natalie Alexander
Social media designs: Natalie Alexander
Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva  

Women in Tech: why it matters with Doreen Bogdan-Martin

This episode of the #NextPagePod brings you a timely conversation between the Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau, Doreen Bogdan-Martin and our Director Francesco Pisano about women in tech.
As the first woman in ITU’s history to hold a top elected management position, Doreen Bogdan-Martin speaks about her experience as a female leader in the male-dominated tech sector, why the industry can be discouraging for women, why the industry perpetuates gender bias, and tech ethics.
Doreen Bogdan-Martin asserts that putting more emphasis on people-centered technology is key to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and helping people live better lives. She also enlightens us on how the Bureau makes substantial efforts to encourage young people’s participation in the sector, not only as beneficiaries but as creators and changemakers.
Resources: 
Follow Doreen Bogdan-Martin on Twitter at @DoreenBogdan
Or the BDT Director's Twitter​​ here ​@ITUBDTDirector
Find Doreen Bogdan-Martin on Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/doreentbogdan/ 
Find more info about Bogdan-Martin here: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/bdt-director/Pages/Biography.aspx
More about ITU: www.ITU.int  
The EQUALS Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age: https://www.equalsintech.org/ 
The International Gender Champions (IGC): https://genderchampions.com/
Women@theTable : https://www.womenatthetable.net/ 
School connectivity effort (GIGA): https://gigaconnect.org/ 
“Building Smart Villages: A Blueprint”: https://www.itu.int/en/myitu/News/2020/06/12/13/32/Niger-launches-Smart-Village-project 
Generation Connect Initiative: https://www.itu.int/generationconnect 
Transcript: here 
Content: 
Speakers: Doreen Bogdan-Martin & Francesco Pisano
Host: Katrine Lyngso
Editor & Producer: Katrine Lyngso
Social media designs: Katrine Lyngso 
Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva  

Dr. Katharina Rietzler on recovering Women’s Thought in International Relations

In this episode, historian, author and researcher Katharina Rietzler joins Francesco Pisano to talk about her new book called Women's International Thought: A new history. Dr Rietzler co-wrote the book after her research revealed that numerous women in history have researched and published in the field of international public affairs but only a few were present in the documented history of international relations as a disciple and in international thought.  
Although the author pays tribute to otherwise marginalised female thinkers in the book, she also stressed the importance of not predetermining, romanticising and generalising women’s intersectional contributions purely on their gender. 
Tune in to hear this intriguing discussion about rethinking the patriarchal history of international relations by challenging existing paradigms through the recovery of female voices.  
Resources 
Dr. Katharina Rietzler - Profile: https://bit.ly/3s9YGfc  
Follow Katharina Rietzler on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kathistory 
Women's International Thought: A New History: (book) https://bit.ly/3dNPXKc  
Read the book through UN Library Geneva
The Leverhulme Project on Women’s Thought: https://bit.ly/3wQRzf7  
The Leverhulme project publication: https://whit.web.ox.ac.uk/home#/
Transcript 
Available here
Content 
Speaker: Katharina Rietzler & Francesco Pisano 
Host: Natalie Alexander 
Producer/Editor: Katrine Lyngsø 
Image: Fran Monks
Social media designs: Katrine Lyngsø 
Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva 

24: Caroline Kende-Robb on fighting for social justice & supporting women in leadership

Welcome to The Next Page, the podcast of the UN Geneva Library & Archives. Episode 24 brings a conversation on two subjects that are also interconnected: social justice and leadership, especially women in leadership.
We’re joined by Caroline Kende-Robb, who currently serves as a Senior Advisor at the African Center for Economic Transformation. Before that, she held a range of roles including as the Secretary General of CARE International, the Executive Director of the Africa Progress Panel, and roles at the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and in The Gambia in the field of community development.
Caroline has dedicated much of her life to fighting social injustice and to supporting women in leadership. In this conversation, she shares with UN Geneva Library & Archives Director Francesco Pisano her experiences and her knowledge about these ideas, especially as they relate to our changing world. You’ll also hear stories from her time working in these different organisations, as well as how she sees leadership, including women in leadership, as we continue to question, debate and explore the idea of leadership today and in the future.
Resources
To learn more about Caroline and her work, follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarolineKende. 
Find out about Yuvel Noah Harrari's books, mentioned by Caroline: https://www.ynharari.com
To learn more about the African Progress Panel and their reports, visit: http://www.africaprogresspanel.org/ & https://twitter.com/africaprogress
Library Resources
Check out the Library Resource Guide on Women & Gender Equality: https://libraryresources.unog.ch/gender and Women & Global Diplomacy: https://libraryresources.unog.ch/womendiplomacy. 
Content:
Speakers: Caroline-Kende Robb & Francesco Pisano.
Host & Editor/Producer: Natalie Alexander.
Image: Caroline Kende-Robb.
Recorded & produced at the UN Geneva Library & Archives.

16: Women who Shaped Internationalism #LibraryTalk

In this episode of our Library Talk series, Katharina Rietzler and Myriam Piguet share their research and insights into some of the women who shaped internationalism. The discussion, moderated by the UN Library Geneva’s Scientific Advisor, Pierre-Etienne Bourneuf, highlights the contribution of women in the early years of international organizations and how this impacted the development of international affairs and international thought. They also share some of the challenges of conducting research on women in this field.
This Library Talk was part of the Centenary of Multilateralism in Geneva celebration. For more information, you can visit the website or listen to Episode 2, introducing our #Multilateralism100 series.
Katharina Rietzler is a researcher at the University of Sussex. She focuses on internationalism and American history. Stay tuned for a special episode on Florence Wilson, the first Librarian of the League of Nations, in 2020.
Myriam Piguet is a PhD student and researcher at the Global Studies Institute at the University of Geneva. She contributed to the book The League of Nations: Perspectives from the Present, Aarhus, Aarhus University Press, that you can find in our catalogue. She was also part of the 100elles project in Geneva, that renamed 100 streets with names of women who contributed to the historical development of the city and its area.
You can find more resources relating to this topic in the booklist put together for this event here. The UN Library Geneva also has research guides on Women & Gender Equality, Women and Global Diplomacy and Multilateralism available online.
If you are interested in gender related topics, we invite you to take a listen to Episode 10 with Ambassador Nazhat Shameen Khan on women in leadership, and to Episode 11 with Fatima Sator on how gender equality was included in the UN Charter.
Content:
Speakers: Katharina Rietzler & Myriam Piguet.
Moderation: Pierre-Étienne Bourneuf.
Host & Sound Editor: Camille Chambinaud.
Images: UN Library Geneva/Ingrid Louise Mondet.
Recorded and produced at the UN Library Geneva.

11: Fatima Sator on how gender equality was included in the UN Charter, and the women of the global south that made it happen.

In this episode of The Next Page we speak with Fatima Sator, who shares the story of how a small group of women from the global south, together with their supporters, ensured that gender equality and women's rights were included in the Charter of the United Nations.
Who were these women and what did they encounter in 1945 at the the United Nations Conference on International Organization, known as the San Francisco Conference? Fatima, who currently serves as a Communications Specialist at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, shares what she and her fellow researchers found while studying at the University of London. Since then, they've dedicated their time to sharing this story and advocating for the voices and actions of the women of the global south--Bertha Lutz from Brazil and Minerva Bernardino from the Dominican Republic--that made it happen.
To watch their TED talk in 2019 at TEDxPlaceDesNationsWomen, head here: https://bit.ly/2TK0VoE 
To read where gender equality and women's rights are included in the UN Charter, see the Preamble, Article 1 and Article 8.
To read Fatima's recommendations: see Getting Our History Right: How Were the Equal Rights of Women and Men Included in the Charter of the United Nations? by Torild Skard, and Women and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by Rebecca Adami.
And, check out the Library's Research Guide on Women and Global Diplomacy.
Content:
Speakers: Fatima Sator & Natalie Alexander.
Host: Natalie Alexander.
Editor & Sound Editor: Natalie Alexander.
Image: UN Library Geneva.
Recorded and produced at the UN Library Geneva.

10: Fiji's Ambassador Nazhat Shameem Khan on multilateralism, women in leadership, and the nexus of climate change and human rights

Episode 10 of the Next Page brings a conversation with Ambassador Nazhat Shameem Khan, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Fiji to the United Nations in Geneva. Director of the UN Library Geneva, Francesco Pisano, joins her to discuss her story and how she joined the Permanent Mission, the importance of multilateralism for small island developing states and vice versa, her thoughts and experiences on the role of women in leadership, and some of the critical issues concerning climate change and human rights in the Pacific and also globally.  
Ambassador Khan was born in Fiji and has an academic background in law and criminology. During her 16 years as a prosecutor in Fiji, she was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions of Fiji in 1994, and in 1999 was appointed Fiji’s first woman High Court judge. She was appointed Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva in 2014. 
Follow Ambassador Khan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nazhatskhan 
Content:
Speakers: Nazhat Shameem Khan & Francesco Pisano.
Host: Natalie Alexander.
Editor & Sound Editor: Natalie Alexander.
Image: Permanent Mission of the Republic of Fiji to the UN in Geneva.
Recorded and produced at the UN Library Geneva.