Date: Mon, 1 Aug 1994 14:11:14 -0700 From: International Gay Lesbian Human Rights Commission In response to the various questions that have been raised about lesbian participation in the Fourth UN World Conference on Women . . . . HOW TO GET INVOLVED IN LESBIAN ORGANIZING FOR BEIJING Lesbian activists from many different countries are already working on increasing lesbian visibility at the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, September 1995). Several meetings took place in New York last month among lesbian activists in town for SW25 and the ILGA conference, and committees have been set up to deal with events, publications, and fundraising. To get involved or get yourself on the mailing list, please contact iglhrc@igc.apc.org. If possible, give us an address and fax number as well as your e-mail address -- most of the people involved are not on the internet. There are actually TWO conferences taking place in Beijing. To attend the World Conference on Women (4-15 September 1995) you must be a member of an official delegation or a representative of a non-governmental organization that has either permanent consultative status with the UN or accreditation for the conference. Most lesbian activists will be attending the NGO Forum on Women (30 August-8 September), which will be held in a separate facility several miles away from the official conference. There will be a space set up at the Forum for lesbian meetings and events. Admission to the NGO forum is open to everyone who registers by April, 1995; the registration fee is $50. The registration forms were supposed to be available by Aug. 1 but they're running late. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission has started collecting a mailing list of lesbians interested in Beijing, and we will be mailing out the forms (electronically or otherwise) when they are available. A lot of the important decisions will take place before anyone actually gets to Beijing. There are local, national and regional meetings taking place within the next several months (including 10 in the US sponsored by the Women's Bureau of the Dept. of Labor) and it is important that lesbian issues are raised at all of them. The schedule is too extensive to include here. Contact me for more specific info or contact the NGO Forum office at ngoforum95@igc.apc.org. Rachel Rosenbloom