Utah Valley State College and the Kyrgyz National Center for Development of Mountain Regions will host a major international conference, “Women of the Mountains,” March 7-10 to address issues facing women in mountainous world regions. The opening session will be held on March 8 at 9 a.m. in UVSC’s Ragan Theater.
“The purpose of the conference is to examine issues critical to women and children in developing mountain nations,” said Rusty Butler, UVSC associate vice president of international affairs and co-organizer for the conference. “Conditions in these regions often provide a breeding ground for ills that disproportionately impact women and their offspring.”
The conference was inspired when the United Nations deemed 2002 International Year of the Mountains and a passed a U.N. General Assembly resolution calling for sustainable development in poor, mountainous regions. During six conference sessions, experts from various national and international institutions will address topics including health and education of women and children, economic, family and gender issues, human trafficking and exploitation for sexual and economic purposes, leadership development and transmission of family values, heritage and culture.
Conference speakers include Elena Bonner (widow of Nobel Peace Laureate Andrei Sakharov), First Lady of Kyrgyzstan Tatyana Bakiyeva, Her Excellency Hussn Banu Ghazanfar (Minister of Women’s Affairs in Afghanistan), Former Utah Governor Olene Walker and former Montana Governor Judy Martz. A student-scholar portion of the conference will include presentations by students from UVSC and other institutions.
“Historically, women of the Rocky Mountain states, especially Utah, have had to deal with many of the same issues that the women of developing nations now face such as isolation, harsh climates, etc.,” said Butler. “We hope to bring our Rocky Mountain states into a partnership that will help foster sustainable growth in support of women and children in those isolated regions of the world.” Conference attendees will prepare recommendations to present to the U.N. during the United Nations Second Global Mountain Summit in Kyrgyzstan in October.
The conference is funded and supported by the United Nations, World Bank, the Andrei Sakharov Foundation, Aga Khan Foundation, the Utah-Russia Institute, UVSC and private donors.
Ismailimail 