Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing 1995

In this step and the following you will watch clips from the documentary Makers: Once and for all with some guiding questions.

This documentary reflects on the Fourth Women’s Conference that was organized in Beijing, organized by the Commission on the Status of Women of the United Nations in 1995. The conference focused on negotiations between delegates of 189 countries over an agenda for women’s empowerment that is known as the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action. During the conferences, delegates and representatives from politics and civil society delivered speeches.

The documentary was made in honor of the 20th anniversary of the conference in 2015. It captures various perspectives and narratives about the conference and the political context in which it was organized.

Watch the first 5 minutes of the documentary that we shared here, and note down your answers to the following questions:

Why is the conference discussed as polarizing? In what way did it mark a broader change in international politics?

References

You can find the full video here:

• Michael Epstein and Dyllan McGee “MAKERS: Once and For All” 2015.