September 19, 1997--
The Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries celebrated on Thursday night the donation of a collection of papers dating back to 1945 on women and the United Nations.
Esther Wanner Hymer, honoree at the evening reception, gave several bookcases of documents to the Walter Van Kirk Library, maintained by the Women’s Division, at the Church Center for the United Nations (CCUN) in New York. "At last I found a home for all the records of what women have done in the United Nations," Ms. Hymer said.
Ms. Hymer stated that her documents are records of women working together for the advancement of women. She hopes the documents will help women "develop and move them to use their full potential."
Various individuals at the reception praised Ms. Hymer for her contribution to the advancement of women that actually predates the United Nations. Mia Adjali, executive secretary for global concerns of the Women’s Division, called Ms. Hymer "a dreamer, who helped bring about the Church Center for the United Nations and who had a dream to build a library that would work with all other resource centers at the CCUN."
Over the years, Ms. Hymer has amassed thousands of papers and documents on the United Nations’ (UN) work for the advancement of women. According to Ms. Adjali, the collection will help develop programming and serve as a resource for women around the world.
"The hope is that this collection will serve as a resource to local women and move them to action in the global arena," says Kay Fraleigh, volunteer and former staff person at the United Methodist Office for the UN.
All the documents deal with women and the United Nations. The collection includes the records of meetings of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW); the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); UN world conferences (and non-governmental organization forums) on women; general UN work affecting women; and books, publications, and pamphlets by the United Nations on the advancement of women. Already, interns, students, non-governmental organizations, and numerous individuals have used the materials to prepare reports, articles, and research.
Family members of Esther Hymer also introduced a supporting trust fund at the evening reception to help further develop this collection in the future.
The Women’s Division, recipient of the collection, represents United Methodist Women, an organization of one million members. The organization’s purpose is to foster spiritual growth, develop leaders, and advocate for social justice. United Methodist Women members raise more than $25 million a year for programs and projects related to women, children, and youth in the United States and in more than 100 countries around the world.