Iowa State will be a location for the national satellite teleconference, “America’s Commitment: The United Nations Women’s Conference One Year Later,” on Saturday, Sept. 28.

“There will be over 400 sites that will be participating in the conference via satellite,” said Celia Naylor-Ojurongbe, director of the Sloss Women’s Center.

The event is sponsored by the President’s Interagency Council on Women, a government body composed of representatives from several federal agencies.

They will be focusing the teleconference on the one-year anniversary of the U.N. Women’s Conference that took place in Beijing. “The council is in charge with policy development and public outreach to implement the ‘Platform of Action’ adopted by Beijing,” said Naylor-Ojurongbe.

The national satellite teleconference, along with a local program, will be held in the Gallery of the Memorial Union from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. This event is open to the public.

The teleconference will commence with local programming. Both Theresa McCormick, professor of curriculum and instruction, and Bao Thao, Minority Student Affairs program assistant, will share their experiences at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. “Theresa will also be showing slides,” Naylor-Ojurongbe said.

First Lady Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala are both expected to participate in the actual satellite broadcast from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Shalala is the council chair and Clinton is the honorary chair of the council.

Naylor-Ojurongbe said that the national broadcast’s Platform of Action also includes 12 other areas: poverty, education, health, violence, armed conflicts, economic disparity, power sharing, institutions, human rights, mass media, environment and the girl child.

A promoted follow-up discussion will be held at ISU from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. “The follow-up will focus on where we can go from here, and what can we do in Iowa to make changes,” Naylor-Ojurongbe said.

The teleconference is sponsored by the Margaret Sloss Women’s Center, University Committee on Women, Carrie Chapman Catt for Women and Politics and YWCA of Ames/ISU.

“Sponsors have given their time and resources to the conference,” said Dianne Bystrom, director of Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics.

Refreshments will be provided and lunches will be available for purchase in the Memorial Union.

Bystrom said, “We really hope people will come out to watch, even though it will be a busy weekend with Homecoming.”