Background

The Women of the Mountains conference responds to:

• The resolution reached during the United Nations-sponsored “Bishkek Mountain Global Summit 2002” (the final global event of the U.N. International Year of the Mountains [IYM]);

• The decisions and Declaration of the "Celebrating Mountain Women" Conference in Thimphu, Bhutan (2002);

• The UN General Assembly Resolution A/60/488/Adde.5 on Sustainable Development: sustainable development in mountainous regions and assistance to poor mountainous countries in socio-economic and ecological areas (adopted December 13, 2005);

The Women of the Mountains conference will:

• Serve as a preliminary event for the Second Global Mountain Summit;

• Develop direct ties between the U.S. mountain states and other mountainous countries around the world.

United Nations Secretary General About Women of the Mountains Conference in 2007 (page 12)

Objectives

The intended outcome of the conference is to raise awareness, to mobilize support from institutions within the U.S. mountain states and global mountain entities, and to assist in the sustainable development of the mountain communities of the world, particularly as it applies to women and children.

The recommendations and the report from the conference will constitute a major section of the United Nations’ Second Global Mountain Summit in Kyrgyzstan, “Bishkek+5,” in October 2007. This web site is hosted on UVSC servers to propagate information and stimulate dialogue.

The conference in the U.S. on odd-numbered years and abroad on even-numbered years will address critical issues impacting women and children. It is expected that the conference will lay the cornerstone for the “Rocky Mountains Regional Educational and Informational Network ” which will work with mountain institutes world-wide in seeking sustainable development.