FRIDAY FILE: Almost twenty years after the 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights, the Vienna Policy Dialogue entitled “Advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women: the role of development cooperation”, took place in Vienna, Austria from 13 to14 December 2012[1].

By Anne Schoenstein[2]

FRIDAY FILE: The Global Youth Forum (GYF) held in Bali, Indonesia, from 4-6 December 2012, was a process mandated by the United Nations (UN) as part of the review of the implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action beyond 2014.

FRIDAY FILE - As 2015 and the deadline for the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approaches – with progress limited, narrow and uneven – and on the heels of a disappointing Rio +20 Conference on Sustainable Development, the UN is advancing a process to define a new global development agend

FRIDAY FILE - With the upsurge in the criminalization of civil society, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders’ 2012 report discusses how States use legislation to regulate the activities of human rights defenders (HRDs).

FRIDAY FILE - As the 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approaches, the United Nations, Member States and civil society have started consultations on a new development framework that will succeed the MDGs. AWID spoke to UN Women’s Laura Turquet to help us better understand the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda and related processes. In the coming weeks we will share another Friday File presenting a critical analysis of the process so far and key information on how feminists and women’s rights groups are engaging with this process.

FRIDAY FILE - The 2012 London Olympics was a remarkable moment for women in sports, chronicling the achievements of female athletes, while highlighting their continued struggle against sexism and stereotypes.

Maria Bobenrieth, Executive Director of Women Win, an organisation that uses sports as a tool to advance women’s rights globally, spoke to AWID about what women’s participation in the London Olympics and sports in general means for women’s rights and development.

By Amanda Shaw

FRIDAY FILE: From 5-6 July 2012, AWID, together with other civil society organizations (CSOs), participated in the 2012 United Nations Development Cooperation Forum (DCF). The DCF is one of the new functions of a strengthened Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and a component of ECOSOC’s High-level Segment, which focuses on a range of issues relevant to the implementation of the internationally agreed development goals (IADG), including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

FRIDAY FILE: As first-time participants, AWID and FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund share reflections on the recent Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) and ask readers to reflect with us on engaging in global agenda-setting spaces like CGI.

By Angelika Arutyunova, Lydia Alpizar and Amina Doherty

FRIDAY FILE: As the dust settles on the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), it is important to look at what was agreed on paper and to ask: what do the conference outcomes mean for the future of the planet and for women’s rights in particular? In this extended Friday File, AWID offers a women’s rights analysis of the most important Rio+20 outcomes and how they are shaping discussions in key development policy processes, including the post-2015 development agenda.

FRIDAY FILE: This October 11, United Nation Member States, international organisations, and civil society celebrated the very first International Day of the Girl Child.