Carolyn's Big Adventures

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2023 Today, was joyful!  We started by taking an Uber to visit the only Urban Native American church in the city of Phoenix. Enroute, we struck up a conversation with the young Native American driver who was especially curious after we told her that our destination was a native church. Why was this group of old white ladies was going there?  It sparked something in her and she  opened up to us- revealing that she had just found her birth brother earlier this month and discovered that she was Navajo.  Her mother put her up for adoption and no one knew about her.  She had found her cousin living in his car in Wyoming and has brought him to live with her.  Her name- pronounced "Hey-hey" means "woman rising" in Navajo.  We celebrated with her that things were looking up and she is living into her name!  The church service was all that we could have asked for. I was thrilled to see the pastor, Martha Sadongei, whom I have known for ...

 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2023 Photo credit: Martin Perry Just before starting our lesson this morning, everything stopped. We went outside to observe the Solar Eclipse. Inside afterward, as we sat on  Tohono O'odham Nation land (now known as Scottsdale, Arizona), we heard about the Native people's story to explain the story behind a solar eclipse. According to Paul Begay, of the Navajo Nation (in Northern Arizona), the sun was considered a father figure in early times.  An eclipse was seen as a disturbance, or death of the sun, and out of respect, all activity in the community would stop.  Even today on the Navajo reservation, all municipal offices and some businesses closed in order to pay respect.  Nature gave us quite an intro for our lesson on honoring our Native American predecessors! The presenters then engaged us in an exercise that visually explained the systemic drive by the European colonizers (with the Pope's blessing) to remove  indigenous   ...

  FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2023 Like one of her iconic heroes, Pee Wee Herman, Carolyn McBurney is off on another Big Adventure! Perhaps you followed me on my spring adventures when I was a delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women 67 at the U.N. in New York.  This March, 17,000 women and myself converged on NYC- another 53,000 online to delve into how technology is (and is not) including women.  Now I am lucky enough to be part of a group of 20+ women who are journeying to the Arizona-Mexico border to experience first-hand the ongoing saga of those who cross the border moving northward.  Who are they? Where are they coming from and why? Who do they meet along the way- and are they friend or foe? I lived 4 hours north of the border for 34 years. During my time in Arizona, the symbiotic relationship between the U.S. and Mexico- where workers came north to work and went home after the growing season  disintegrated. 9/11 put the final nail in the coffin as Ameri...

  As things wrap up here in New York, I have so much to process. My last session was jarring, as we discussed female genital mutilation. What a way to go out, huh.? It is unbelievable that this practice still exists even after some countries have banned it. The survivors spoke openly about the trauma it has caused in their lives and their work to educate young girls and boys about it as there is a lot of ignorance about it.  They called on religious leaders to speak out to lend credence to the fact that it is really not a part of the Muslim doctrine, but instead an ancient practice to control the lives of women. One of the survivors uses art to illustrate community practices as many in Somalia are illiterate. Others are acting as mentors to young women. This practice is in humane and must be stopped. That’s the kind of two weeks I’ve had. I’ve seen brilliant young women taking a stand for improving their future by working for climate change. I’ve seen men who are working to ch...

 What a couple of weeks it has been! My brain is full and my body decided to rebel for a couple of days. Came down with a head cold, so I’ve stayed holed up in the hotel and rearranged my schedule to attend workshops that I could log into digitally. Which prompts me to ponder the pros and cons of doing business online versus in-person. I was comparing notes with a woman from Switzerland last week while I was still out and about and we both agreed that in-person, though expensive, is better. She is a veteran of CSW, coming every year and was very happy to back after a three year suspension due to COVID. We both agreed that the personal contacts are far better in person. It’s easier to have side conversations and to network. Ask any classroom teacher coming out of the pandemic- kids do better in the classroom as well! But there are definitely positives for on-line. I’m very comfortable with a computer and my first two years after moving to Wyoming I continued a modified position with...

This could very well been the title of every session I have attended. It was the actual title of one I was a part of today- not surprisingly about the role of technology in today's voting systems around the world. We heard from the National Director of voting systems, who gave an overview of the various types of electronic voting in the US and abroad. He reminded us that their prime objective is to proved Free and Fair elections for all. Then we learned from an expert about the requirements to ensure free and for those with disabilities. Transparency is everything and everything now has backup for tracking every vote. Lastly, we were told that getting trained election officials was increasingly difficult. In the last 10 years, the average age of election officials has gone from 50 to 75 and are 80% women.   The next session was on ableism and ageism led by a panel with a variety of examples of differing abilities. Technology is both friend and foe, but they talked about grea...

Woke up today and it was raining and getting colder, so I decided to make it an online day. I settled in for the first of five 1 1/2 hour sessions from the comfort of my hotel room. First, I learned about a foundation helping to save billions of dollars in India with updated technical infrastructure and by establishing mini science centers for girls to learn STEM trades; a group in Indonesia providing training-- even electric scooters so that girls can venture out of their homes for delivery jobs, thereby cementing their place in the family as (quite often) the main breadwinner in the family. While this is a major step, ther are still plenty of social barriers to break down before women can enjoy real equality.   Next session we heard from a variety of experts warning of the hazards women and girls face when entering the digital landscape. 33% fewer women and girls use internet than men and boys 33% of Women and girls vs 11% of males. Sexual harassment is under reported To...