Representatives of NGOs from all over the world arriving at yet another UN conference. This time, it happens to be at Columbia University's capacious Alfred Lerner Hall on Sunday afternoon. It is the kick-off to Beijing Plus Five. The mood is celebratory, up-beat. But there is a determined edge to it.
Delegates greet each other with warm hugs and kisses, recalling when they had last met.
This is what is called bonding. It gives the women's movement a universality that is fast becoming one of its most defining characteristics. It is a language that reassures and encourages, while scaring the daylights out of the fundamentalists who want to keep half the world's population as second-class citizens. There are also ethnic knick-knacks to buy. This correspondent spotted purses made of beads and silver jewellery from Ecuador, along with cotton bags from Thailand.