REPRESENTANTE DE ONG ANTE LA ONU, AUTORA, FEMINISTA

Soon-Young Yoon

Soy antropóloga y defensora global de los derechos de las mujeres. Soy la Representante Principal de la Alianza Internacional de Mujeres ante las Naciones Unidas y Presidenta de la Junta Directiva de WEDO. Anteriormente, presidí el Comité de ONG sobre la Condición Jurídica y Social de la Mujer en Nueva York y ahora codirijo el Proyecto Ciudades para la CEDAW: Historia y Futuro, que promueve la acción local en favor de la igualdad de género. Mi trabajo con UNICEF y la Organización Mundial de la Salud en Asia forjó mi compromiso de toda la vida con el liderazgo de las mujeres en la salud y el desarrollo globales. También soy autora de "Ciudadana del Mundo: Soon-Young y la ONU" y tuve el honor de ser nombrada miembro del Consejo Presidencial de la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas para la Igualdad de Género en 2021.

Ciudadano del mundo

Ciudadana del Mundo narra mi trayectoria desde refugiada hasta defensora global en las Naciones Unidas. A través de ensayos claros y compasivos, exploro por qué ver el mundo a través de los ojos de las mujeres es esencial para la paz, el desarrollo sostenible y los derechos humanos. Desde barrios marginales urbanos hasta las cámaras de la ONU, afronto la violencia contra las mujeres, exijo justicia social y económica, y destaco a las líderes y movimientos de base que forjan nuestro futuro compartido, todo ello mientras reflexiono sobre los desafíos de trabajar como antropóloga feminista tanto dentro como fuera de la ONU. ¡Ya disponible en audiolibro!

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La historia te coloca en momentos cruciales... debes reconocer la responsabilidad... Y no puedes fallar. Eso, para mí, es liderazgo.

Descubre un mundo donde el estilo se encuentra con las puestas de sol, y cada momento en el medio es una expresión artística #galeriadevida #vidainteresante

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Defendiendo la igualdad en el escenario global

Soy líder feminista y defensora de la igualdad de género. Trabajo para conectar el activismo con la diplomacia para que las voces locales influyan en las políticas globales. Como autora y representante de ONG ante las Naciones Unidas, me esfuerzo por hacer realidad los derechos, traduciendo el tratado de la Convención sobre la Eliminación de Todas las Formas de Discriminación contra la Mujer (CEDAW) en cambios cotidianos para las mujeres y las niñas de todo el mundo.

Soon-Young Yoon sonríe frente a los logotipos de APUF8 y ESCAP en Suwon.

Abogado ante la ONU

Soy Representante de la Alianza Internacional de Mujeres ante la ONU y trabajo para amplificar la voz de las mujeres y promover la igualdad de género en todo el mundo. Basándome en mi experiencia previa con UNICEF y la Organización Mundial de la Salud, sigo promoviendo el liderazgo de las mujeres en la política y la diplomacia globales. Más información aquí.

Feminista

Como líder feminista de toda la vida, he trabajado para conectar el activismo de base con la política internacional. Como presidenta del Comité de ONG sobre la Condición Jurídica y Social de la Mujer de Nueva York, ayudé a lanzar la campaña Ciudades por la CEDAW, llevando los principios de la CEDAW a las comunidades locales. Sigo apoyando los movimientos que hacen de los derechos de las mujeres una realidad en todo el mundo. Descubre más aquí.

Portada del libro: Hacer realidad los derechos para las generaciones futuras, por Krishanti y Soon-Young Yoon.

CEDAW

En coautoría con Krishanti Dharmaraj, este manual es una guía práctica para la implementación de la Convención de las Naciones Unidas sobre la Eliminación de Todas las Formas de Discriminación contra la Mujer (CEDAW). Ofrece estrategias concretas para que funcionarios gubernamentales, líderes de la sociedad civil y jóvenes defensores promuevan la igualdad de género y defiendan los derechos de todas las mujeres y niñas. Adquiera el manual aquí.

Soon-Young Yoon en el escenario, con un texto de fondo, dando un discurso.

Charla TED

En mi charla TED, exploro cómo desentrañar los desafíos personales, políticos y globales con valentía, humor y humanidad. Usando la cebolla como metáfora, comparto reflexiones prácticas sobre cómo afrontar la complejidad sin perder la esperanza y cómo pequeños actos de comprensión pueden generar cambios significativos. Escúchala aquí.

Mi historia comienza mucho antes de la ONU, con una niña que aprende cómo las voces más pequeñas pueden resonar en todo el mundo.

Chinese calligraphy of the character 淳 against a white background.

1944 or 1945: Born in Pyongyang

As they say in the Buddhist tradition, I was "reborn" a girl in war-torn Pyongyang, North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea). My grandfather, Song Sang-Chum, named me "Soon-Young." It means "peace forever." My mother, Yoon Kyung-Shyn, couldn't remember if I was born in the Year of the Monkey or the Year of the Chicken. That has puzzled fortune tellers ever since.

Three people on a balcony of a building, Soon-Young Yoon

1946: Fleeing the Russians

My family had to leave our homes that had been filled with joy and music. The Russian army turned our house into its headquarters. My father, Yoon Doo-Sun, fled to avoid conscription and was thrown into prison when he arrived in Seoul. My mother, Song Kyung-Shyn, left to find him. Later, during cold winter nights, I was carried on a stranger’s back while my older siblings walked hundreds of miles from Pyongyang to Seoul. Farmers fed us the most wonderful noodles we have ever tasted.

Family portrait featuring Soon-Young Yoon, parents, and three children posing together.

1947: Arriving in Michigan

My siblings and I were reunited with our parents in Seoul. My aunt’s many connections with army generals and government officials arranged our passage on a US Navy ship from Busan to San Francisco. American immigration officers didn’t believe our visas were real and threw us into jail. My aunt, Grace (Song Pok-Shyn) Line, and her husband, Winfield H. Line, rescued us and took us to our new Michigan home. At night, we cried if windows were left open because we feared many things from the outside world.

Workers unloading grapes near a building with text: Magasin Cooperatif des ROGNES.

1971: French and Anthropology in College

While at the University of Michigan, I earned an AB in French Literature, and a MA and PhD in Anthropology. My dissertation covered the history of French winegrowers’ cooperatives. After living for two years in Rognes, a remote French village, my English got worse. My Provençal French improved. Old men in the village thought that a Vietnamese woman had come to write a novel about them, so they divulged many good tales. It’s not the only time I’ve been involved in a case of mistaken identity.

A decorated scarecrow with flags against a white background, representing harvest festival.

1972: First Trip Back to Korea

After leading a group of exchange students in Japan, I returned to Korea to visit my aunt, Song Do-Shyn, in Seoul. A friend from Ewha Womans University invited me to the school’s retreat in the eastern Sorak Mountains. The students stayed out of the sunshine as much as possible so they wouldn’t tan. I occasionally coaxed them outside the black roofed tent to play on the beach.

Woman walking on a path in front of traditional houses, Soon-Young Yoon.

1976: Teaching in Korea

Dr. Kim Ok-Kill, President of Ewha Womans University, invited me to teach in Seoul in the sociology department as a Fulbright Scholar. My Korean was poor, so most Koreans thought that I was a Japanese tourist. While doing anthropology research on shamanism and traditional medicine, I met Ok Sun Mun, a famous Jeju Island shaman. She was one of the most intelligent women I have ever met.

Young girl kissing a woman's hand, family moment, cultural tradition.

1978: UNICEF

I joined the UNICEF Regional Office in Bangkok, Thailand as a social development officer. I had the amazing chance to put my anthropological theory into practice and learn first-hand about women and children’s issues. My work took me to villages and development projects throughout Southeast Asia and Pakistan, where I met women leaders working to develop their villages and urban slums, feminist activist demonstrating in the streets, labor union leaders organizing peddlers, government officials fighting corruption, and UN defenders of women and children’s human rights. They gave me enough inspiration to last a lifetime.

Buddhist monk blesses a man's forehead with others seated in background.

1978: Married by Nine Buddhist Monks

Nine Thai monks married me and Rick Smith at the Marble Temple in Bangkok, Thailand. I described my husband as my biological and cultural opposite–not a bad formula for an interesting, life-long love affair. The former editor of the international edition of Newsweek, Rick worked in New York. For two years, we had the world’s most expensive commuter marriage.

Colorful buildings line a canal with boats and reflections in Copenhagen, Denmark.

1980: Hoboken Home and UN Consultancies

Rick and I moved to Hoboken, New Jersey, because I wouldn’t live in Manhattan. I told him, “We have dictators in Asia, but our streets are safe. The same can’t be said of New York City.” I learned to rollerblade, but never mastered the art of stopping. Elizabeth Reid from Australia asked me to join the UN Secretariat for the UN World Conference on Women in Copenhagen, where we introduced the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to women ministers from around the world. After the conference, I returned to my research on women’s studies as a visiting researcher at Sarah Lawrence.

Young woman playfully poses among abstract metal sculptures and brick building. Soon-Young Yoon

1982: Research Associate at Sarah Lawrence

I continued my research in women’s studies, women in development, and shamanism and health. My article, “A Legacy Without Heirs: Korean Indigenous Medicine and Primary Health Care”, was published in Social Science and Medicine the next year. I claimed that “…the ancestral shadow of Korean indigenous medicine is alive and kicking.” This is still true many years later.

Two nurses in white uniforms sit at a table in a meeting.

1985: WHO in India

I accepted a job as a social scientist for the World Health Organization Southeast Asia Regional Office in New Delhi, India. The office covered eleven countries, including North Korea. I got a hands-on crash course in a wide range of public health topics, including HIV/AIDS, immunization, sanitation, maternal health, and tropical diseases. I have a large collection of photos from this phase of my life that I call my “statue phase”: I’m usually the only woman in a group of serious-looking men standing in orderly rows. When I wore a sari, locals thought I was from Nepal, the Indian hill tribes, or Tibet.

Beijing skyline with many skyscrapers and a busy highway in China.

1995: The Fourth World Conference on Women

Irene Santiago, Director for the NGO Forum on Women, asked me to be the UN Liaison for the Fourth Conference on Women in Beijing. My job was to coordinate regional networks and work on an NGO Beijing Platform for Action document. Fifty thousand delegates gathered at the largest UN world conference ever. If we had all stomped on the earth together at the same time, we would have knocked the earth out of orbit. On opening day, two angry Americans accused me of being part of a Chinese conspiracy to sabotage the conference.

Earth at night, North America lights up, space background, beautiful view.

1996: The Earth Times

Pranay Gupte, Editor of The Earth Times, asked me to replace Bella Abzug as a columnist on social development issues. I started to wear hats in case there was some Bella magic in them. Through EarthTimes, I covered global conferences: Rio Plus Five (Brazil), Habitat II (Istanbul), the World Economic Forum (Davos) and World Bank meetings. At the Rio Plus Five meeting, I spoke at my first international press conference along with Maurice Strong, UN Secretary-General of the first Earth Summit (1992), and an impressive tribal chief representing the indigenous peoples of the Amazon. They were both very supportive of the feminist agenda.

Pregnant woman's belly with text "It's a woman's right"

1998: WHO and Tobacco

As a consultant for the World Health Organization Tobacco Free Initiative, I headed a team of scientists working on gender, women and tobacco. Dr. Jonathan Samet, Director of the Institute for Global Health at USC, and I edited the WHO report, Gender, Women and the Tobacco Epidemic. We launched the WHO conference on women and tobacco in Kobe, Japan by wearing Japanese jackets and hammering sake barrels. Dr. Gro Brundtland, then Director-General of WHO gave the barrels their hardest blow.

Group photo of people, Soon-Young Yoon, smiling and holding hands, together.

2002: Climate Change Conference in Doha, Qatar

Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, led the way to pass a resolution calling for equal representation of women in treaty negotiations. At a strategy meeting, I sat behind the government delegate from Bangladesh who supported the idea. How does a feminist advocate for women’s freedoms behave in a country that says women must cover up their legs in public? Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, put on a light scarf at the opening ceremonies to abide by local traditions. The next day, I changed from shorts to long pants. Sometimes my anthropological instincts kick in, and I conform to local customs.

Soon-Young Yoon speaks at podium for UN Women for Peace Association.

2015

I spoke at my first New York City Times Square rally as Chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/New York (NGO CSW/NY) for part of our Beijing Plus 20 celebrations. I have always said “As a volunteer at an NGO, I do a happiness check every year. I plan to quit if I stop smiling.” How do we organize more than 4000 NGO representatives every year around the UN Commission on the Status of Women? It is a miracle—and that makes me smile.

Two smiling women posing together, one wearing a scarf, Soon-Young Yoon.

2017: The Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)

The WEDO Board asked me to represent WEDO for UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), where I met women mayors who are making a difference. As Chair of the WEDO Board, I also attended the annual UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties meetings. If women in cities don’t make climate change a priority, we cannot save our planet in time. WEDO is right on target.

Red and yellow Chinese lanterns, with visible text, festive celebration background.

2020: A Year of Anniversaries

The Year of the Rat began a new cycle of 12 zodiac symbols. The year was a foundation for dramatic explosions of expectations that gave hope to some and enraged others. It was one of the busiest times of my life, marking 25 years after I was involved in the NGO Forum and the UN Fourth World Conference on Women. Other anniversaries kept popping up on my calendar: the 20th anniversary of UN Security Council resolution #1325, 100th year celebration of American suffrage, and tenth birthday for UN Women. These anniversaries were more than memories of the past: they inspired change for the future.

Las mujeres salvarán el mundo.

¿Cómo podemos vencer al reloj de la Tierra?

Durante años, los movimientos feministas y de mujeres han defendido esta verdad: si se quiere ampliar y acelerar el progreso en cualquier agenda de desarrollo, es necesario liberar el potencial de las mujeres. Las mujeres rurales e indígenas son especialmente expertas en la protección de la biodiversidad y la lucha contra el cambio climático, ya que practican la selección de semillas, gestionan los bosques y toman decisiones sobre el consumo de energía en el hogar. No se trata solo de principios de derechos humanos. Se trata de aplicar estos principios para obtener resultados prácticos y resolver problemas globales.

¿Te preocupa el futuro de nuestro planeta? ¡Quiero saber de ti!

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El tapiz de la vida

Escribo porque creo que cada vida está entrelazada con las historias más amplias de justicia, identidad y futuro compartido. En este blog, comparto reflexiones personales, lecciones de mi trabajo en las Naciones Unidas y en movimientos de base, y ensayos que invitan a ver el mundo a través de los ojos de las mujeres.

Ciudadano del Mundo es el corazón detrás de gran parte de lo que aparece aquí: es donde mi viaje como refugiada, feminista y defensora se encuentra con las causas por las que sigo luchando.

Aquí encontrarás escritos sobre identidad, violencia, salud, empoderamiento y cambio, con una voz que oscila entre lo personal y lo político. Cada publicación es una invitación a pensar, sentir y actuar.

Bienvenido.