I can hardly believe that it is that time of year again - the time of year where more than 3000 women representing over 1500 NGOs converge on New York to attend the Commission on the Status of Women.

With the Commission kicking off formally tomorrow, I thought it would be a good time to post some insights into what we can expect of the week ahead.

With the formation of UN Women, there are going to be lots of events about what this new entity means for the NGO sector and how NGOs will be able to play a role in establishing its mandate and programs.  I am very much looking forward to meeting the new Under Secretary General of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet who will be opening tomorrow's NGO training day and also attending the National Committees' meeting on Thursday afternoon.

Within the UN Women Australia delegation, I am going to be focusing on violence against women, women and peace-building and leadership.  I am attending a workshop on Tuesday with 8 Haitan women telling their stories and speaking about strategies to end violence in Haiti.  I will look forward to reporting back to you about this, as I know many of you have supported our fundraising efforts in Haiti.

We are thrilled this year to have our first 'Youth Delegate' - Catriona Stanfield.  Catriona has been running consultations across South Australia prior to attending the Commission and will be blogging and posting videos about her time at the Commission.  She will be attending the Youth Caucus and is hoping to play a leadership role in the advocacy around the agreed conclusions.

I will be updating this blog each day - please don't hesitate to send me questions which you would like to answer, or like me to ask of UN Women while I am here.

Reminder - Don't forget to buy your International Women's Day tickets - they are selling out fast!