Sparking Conversations About Gender Equality through Dance

To celebrate One Year Out from WD2019, Nargis Shirazi, a Women Deliver Young Leader, organizes a surprise performance at Kampala’s biggest shopping center to spark conversations on barriers to gender equality. The 20-minute flash mob features salsa, hip hop, and breakdancing.

Ignite WD2019 Youth Extravaganza

To celebrate One Year Out from WD2019, Maureen Oduor, a member of the first class of Women Deliver Young Leaders, hosts a one day theater performance event where youth presenters use song, dance, storytelling, and drama to talk about education, gender based violence, and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Breaking Down Gender Stereotypes with Inter-generational Dialogue

To celebrate One Year Out from WD2019, Women Deliver Young Leader Emman Babatunde Ajidagba hosts a panel event where young people, female parliamentarians, and traditional leaders discuss how to break down gender stereotypes and empower girls and women across the country.

Attendees participate in three intergenerational panels — the first on female entrepreneurship and economic empowerment, the second on women’s political participation and decision-making, and a third on putting a gender lens on universal health coverage.

Assessing Barriers to Gender Equality with a Multi-Sector Approach

Muhammad Shahzad Khan is a Women Deliver Young Leader hosting a panel discussion and networking event for women leaders to discuss gender equality in Pakistan in celebration of One Year Out from WD2019. The event brings together 50 women leaders — including political leaders, elected officials, entrepreneurs, and human rights advocates to highlight their contributions to advancing gender equality.

Highlighting the Power of Female Entrepreneurs

To celebrate One Year Out from WD2019, Women Deliver Young Leader Gvantsa Khizanishvili organizes a panel to highlight the achievements of female entrepreneurs in Georgia and spark conversations on women’s economic empowerment.

The event features speakers from the region, including Natalia Jaliashvili, the Head of the Human Rights Secretariat with the Government of Georgia, and Erika Kvapilova, UN Women’s Country Representative in Georgia.

In addition, five female entrepreneurs and business owners discuss challenges they have faced in their respective fields and propose solutions for driving change.

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The event consisted in a two weeks training to four young students (two of high school and two of Psychology). They were recruited to take action against gender violence and pursuing inclusion of sexual diversity. With elements acquired in Women Deliver 2019, the workshop assessed on empowerment and strategies to reduce gender violence. They were trained into techniques to develop powerful messages that supported reflection on alternative behaviors. The young people themselves elaborated the dynamics to work with. The target audience were adolescents (age of 12 to 15 yea+G211rs). They went to two secondary schools where 160 young people attendance a two hours workshop. At the end of the workshop, the experience obtained by the students was evaluated through narrative techniques. In one schools, many concerns were generated about the violence in the courtship; they were interested in having more knowledge about non-violent relationships that is a reality observed in their daily lives. Especially women are victims on a physical level, but the female partners on a psychological level also victimized men. In the other secondary school, there was more inclination to know why other violence behaviors occurred in their community; especially they reviewed alternatives for sexual violence and the perception of unsafe environments when they walk from home to their school.

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

IRFI traveled to Kpaduma Village to seek permission to build lavatories and construct boreholes, with the goal of eliminating the practice of open defecation and preventing contamination of top soil and water bodies, thereby preventing gastrointestinal diseases and outbreaks of cholera and worm infestations. The visit also included the donation of food, non-food items, and essential medicines. Since the visit, the lavatories have been constructed! Not only has this contributed to potable water, and with it a drastic reduction in the incidences of worm infestation and outbreaks of diarrheal diseases, in the community, but women now have a private and safe place to engage in menstrual hygiene management.

Fostering an Enabling Environment for Gender Equality and Girls’ Rights

Girls in the Southwest region of Burkina Faso have formed community groups to struggle against gender based violence and abuse. Twelve such groups of about 12 members each monitor happenings in the region, listen, watching and seeking information about cases of FGM, sexual abuse, beatings, and threats against girls and children, and alert the proper authorities to hold perpetrators accountable. They also closely follow up on each case to help provide care, redress, and any appropriate measure to assist victims.

FemParl 4 – Beirut and Cairo

From February 3-7, the Embassies of Canada to Egypt and to Lebanon co-hosted an event that brought together a group of 11 women parliamentarians and leaders from the Middle East and North African region for interactive, capacity-building, leadership training‎, networking, social media advocacy and knowledge sharing.Throughout the four-day program, delegates interacted with Ministers, representatives from international organizations, academia, media, local civil society organisations and the private sector.‎ Delegates came from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Occupied Territories, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Yemen.‎ In Cairo (Feb 4-5), the focus of the program was‎ on governance, communications and economic growth, and in Beirut (Feb 6-7), on gender equality, women’s empowerment and Women, Peace and Security.

High Level Launch of the Interagency Field Manual on Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings

This session, hosted by the Permanent Mission of Canada to the UN, marks the Geneva launch of the 2018 Inter-Agency Field Manual on Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings (IAFM). It generated high level institutional buy-in for sexual reproductive health as a core pillar of humanitarian response and raised awareness about the manual in the broader humanitarian community.

Expert Roundtable on the Launch of the Interagency Field Manual on Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings

Hosted by the Permanent Mission of Canada to the UN, the Roundtable session marks the Geneva launch of the 2018 Inter-Agency Field Manual on Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings (IAFM). The discussion centered on building awareness of the IAFM and its opportunities among donor and humanitarian partners, overcoming barriers to implementation, and identifying further action needed.

Leadership training, capacity building, and networking for young women leaders in the South and South-East Asian region

FemParl was created by Canadian missions in South Asia to support advocacy efforts of young women leaders in the region by providing them a platform to engage with each other and other influential women leaders and by building their capacity to advocate for greater gender equality in their countries and the region.

The fourth iteration of FemParl will be hosted by the High Commission of Canada, New Delhi between February 20 and 22, 2019 in Delhi. The program will focus on leadership training, capacity building and networking for young women leaders in the South and South-East Asian region.

Education and Gender Equality

Ten years have passed since the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative was launched in Iraqi Kurdistan, focusing on the principle of gender equality in education. The United Nations initiative, launched in April 2000, seeks to narrow the gender gap in primary, secondary, and higher education, and to ensure that all children complete primary education by 2015, with girls and boys receiving free and quality education on an equal footing. In light of this initiative, we conducted a monitoring and evaluation process on this subject under the title ‘Education between Complexities and Unresolved Problems). This part of the initiative has been devoted to the issue of education and gender equality. We then held a conference in Erbil, which was attended by the Minister of Education, the Minister of Higher Education, and NGOs.

Learning & Exchange Program for Sustainable Self-Development Communities

Plan International Thailand organizes community management projects (CMP), which include a learning and exchange program focused on the implementation of community enterprise projects and features 25 women from 11 communities in Chaingmai and Chiangrai. The aim was for leaders to learn about sustainable self-management, product design, marketing, and new technologies from successful community enterprises such as Chiwavithi (herbal cosmetics), Jogo Learning Center (a savings group for community welfare and sustainable self-management), Phaew Weaving Group (focused on innovations in clothing and textile design) and Bann Ya San Homestay (travel management), and to then apply this knowledge to develop their own projects. This female and youth-led CMP project works to promote the economic and social potential of women to participate in thinking, making decisions, solving community problems, poverty and gender inequality.

Government of Canada launches National Committee

On March 4, the Government of Canada launched a national committee to engage Canadians in taking action on gender equality as part of the lead up to the Women Deliver 2019 Conference, which Canada will host in Vancouver. The committee will work to increase awareness and encourage discussions on gender equality, diversity and inclusion by taking part in activities and engaging with Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

#ÉlporEllaRD (#HeforSheDR) Campaign Award Ceremony

On March 5, the Canadian Embassy in the Dominican Republic relaunched the #ÉlporEllaRD (#HeforSheDR) with the support of UN Women, the Ministry of Women, and the Vice Presidency of the Dominican Republic. The winner of the Gender Equality Champion Award, Elaine Féliz, was recognized for her long career of educating young people and families on gender equality in the Dominican Republic. The event was attended by the Minister of Women, Janet Camilo, the OAS representative in the DR, Araceli Azuara, the UN Women representative, Catalina Gutiérrez, and representatives such Doctor Luís Vergés. The host of the event, Ambassador of Canada Shauna Hemingway, thanked the attendees for their presence and spoke about the importance of Canada’s feminist foreign policy, the importance of equity and the support that men can provide to women and girls to develop its full potential.

Promote Gender Equality to Inspire Love

47 primary schools in the Ha Giang, Lai Chau, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Kon Tum provinces of Vietnam have launched a series of communication events for the Girls Get Equal campaign. This event series is organized by Plan International Vietnam’s Gender Responsive Schools Project, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Training and the Department of Education and Training. Since the end of February 2019, thousands of students, teachers, and parents across Vietnam have come together to learn about gender equality and about gender-based violence in schools, including physical violence, mental violence, and sexual violence, and to discuss how to create a safe, friendly and equal school environment for all students.

Young Activists Advocate for Better Learning and Security Conditions with Alice Albright

Eight young feminists from Burkina Faso met with the CEO for the Global Partnership for Education to discuss girls’ education in the country and to plead for better learning and security conditions, as schools have been especially hard hit by the prevailing insecurity crisis. This problem compounds the gender-based violence that is already affecting the lives of young girls and women, particularly in the rural areas.

Safety for Girls = Safety for Everyone

This event kicked off Plan International Vietnam’s journey for the Girls Get Equal campaign. It launched the ‘Year of Action for Women and Children’s Safety’ led by the Vietnam Central Women’s Union, and actively voiced important messages for gender quality with ‘Safety for girls = Safety for everyone.’ Participants included Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and other senior Vietnamese leaders, as well as representatives organizations working in the area of women’s and children’s rights.

Menstrual Hygiene Management: Empowering Women Through Sustainable Pads

This 2-day event, hosted by the IRFI (Intensive Rescue Foundation International), took place in Kano State, Nigeria on the 6th and 7th of March, 2019. Day-1: The official Launch of the MHM seminar, during which speakers highlighted the importance of sustainable menstrual materials, hygiene, infrastructure, and disposal units in the life of menstruating girls and women. The event introduced the women in attendance to washable reusable menstrual pads, and 300 young girls and women were gifted with the high quality washable and reusable menstrual pads. Day-2: 22 young girls and women were taught how to make high quality washable reusable Menstrual pads.

Women in Science, Health, and Innovation: Leadership Looking to the Future

As part of the celebration of the International Women’s Day around the world, the Consulates General of France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, as well as the University of British Columbia are organizing a panel discussion on “Women in Science, Health and Innovation: Leadership Looking to the Future.” Various researchers and speakers will discuss the greatest changes in North America and Europe for women in health, science and innovation, historical and incentives barriers in engineering and physical sciences, the agenda for the coming years in terms of gender, medical research and innovation and how women in the past have set the path for women today in academia and entrepreneurship.

Hostility to Hope: Gender Based Violence at Home and Abroad

This interactive art exhibit walks visitors through stories of GBV (Gender Based Violence) and the women who persevere and thrive in spite of it. The exhibit begins by showcasing struggles and hardships like female genital mutilation, domestic violence, sexual assault, and child marriages. As the visitor continues to move from one piece to another, the tone and mood will change. You will observe women surviving, becoming empowered, and in turn helping their own community and other women. In addition to showcasing powerful pieces of art from artists such as Paul Bettings and Ella Baron, this event will also include short videos and speeches from people who have seen the effect of gender-based violence in various countries.

PAROBiz Hunstville Conference & Awards

This motivational event includes educational workshops, inspiring keynote speakers, and speed mentoring & business development activity sessions. It also includes a one of a kind tradeshow featuring local businesses and entrepreneurs, engaging networking opportunities, and a luncheon awards ceremony honoring women in Northeastern, Eastern, South Eastern, and Central Ontario (excluding the Greater Toronto Area) who have made positive contributions in their community.

Turn it Up and Disrupt

A festival celebrating gender equity, creative mobilization, and the art of positive change!

Queens on Queen

Join us at the new Queen St. Fare to celebrate International Women’s Day, an important milestone in the lead up to the Women Deliver 2019 Conference. The event is hosted by Crestview Strategy, alongside Sun Life Financial, Lyft Ottawa, Equal Voice, UN Women and The Women’s Empowerment.

2019 Girls Festival in Celebration of International Women’s Day in Kampala

Reach a Hand Uganda (RAHU) will hold a full day Girls Festival in Kampala in celebration of International Women’s Day. Together with like-minded organizations that champion women’s and girls’ empowerment, they will use this platform to: empower and inspire young girls and women to speak up about the issues affecting them; challenge contemporary attitudes towards schooling, employment and sanitation; and educate on topics such as Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and sexual and reproductive health.

Girls Who Know Jamaica Presents: Knowing Together: Balance for Better

Girls Who Know Jamaica is a youth-led initiative that strives to raise awareness about the sexual and reproductive health rights of adolescent girls. In light of the International Women’s Day, the forum will facilitate this raising of awareness. The aim of the forum is to bring both male and female counterparts together in an effort to build a better Jamaica. We hope to empower youths to take the lead in learning about their own health and rights and to encourage comfortable dialogue between all participating parties. Our guests will be able to engage in dialogue with health professionals and a variety of experts about their experiences.

Pro Mujer Empowerment Workshops for Women on International Women’s Day in Guatemala

In celebration of International Women’s Day and our partnership with Wakami, Pro Mujer will deliver workshops for up to 40 women from rural and indigenous communities. The workshops will equip women with information, tools, and tactics to feel more empowered in their daily lives.

Rising Strong’s 2nd Annual International Women’s Day event

Rising Strong’s second annual International Women’s Day event features guest speakers, performances, dancing, and a silent auction. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre.

International Women’s Day – Plan International Thailand

Plan International Thailand, together with the Mae Fah Luang Women’s Network, the Thad-Thai Sub district Administrative Organization and Mae Fah Luang District, Chiang Rai province, organized an event on International Women’s Day around the topic “Power for Woman starts with Power for Girls.” The event consisted of activities such as a panel discussion on “The path to leadership,” a special talk on “Anti-Child Marriage,” a lecture on the Women’s Role Development Fund, and International Women’s Day awards and performances from various groups. It also included an exhibition on Plan International Thailand’s work on supporting women via the Community Management Project, Youth Entrepreneurship Development Project, etc., all focused on the importance of working to eliminate bias, violence and discrimination on the basis of gender. Overall, the event reinforced the importance of leadership development for young women and girls so that they can overcome obstacles in life, become self-reliant, and grow to be important leaders in the community.

Women of Gold – for the Women You Always Wanted to Be

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Sagar Hospitals is organizing a panel discussion on gender parity followed by a series of cultural events.

At work, in Transit, Online: Solutions to Address Gender-based Violence

Join us on International Women’s Day for an engaging panel on challenging the barriers to gender equality.

Women’s Economic Empowerment and Equal Opportunity: Barriers and Drivers

As part of the International Women’s Day celebration and in honor of the Women Deliver 2019 Conference, Simon Fraser University presents a mobilization event to unpack the factors that impede and promote gender equality. Women from various sectors will join the panel to share their personal and professional experiences in the context of broader inequalities as well as factors that influenced their lives and careers.

Empowering Women Entrepreneurs: A Panel Event in Celebration of International Women’s Day

The SFU Beedie School of Business’s is proud to cultivate innovative and socially responsible leaders. In celebration of International Women’s Day, it is excited to host a panel event on empowering women entrepreneurs.

‘Championing Choice & Safety: A Woman’s World in Three Parts’

International Women’s Day Event ‘Championing Choice & Safety: A Woman’s World in Three Parts’. Options for Sexual Health and Battered Women Support Services are pleased to partner to present the world premiere of ‘Her Story (In Three Parts),’ a short film anthology by local writer/director/actor Camille Hollett-French. These films explore issues of abortion, incarceration and sexual violence through the eyes of three young women in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, and dialogue panels after each film will allow for challenging conversations elevated by subject-matter experts and individuals with lived experiences.

Women in the World Conference

Campus clubs across the University of Ottawa have come together to present a series of speakers, workshops, and networking sessions focused on women’s empowerment and how individuals can make a difference!

‘Empower Me’ Women’s Day Brunch

This brunch, hosted by the Southern Africa Embrace Foundation, features a morning of inspirational talks from female experts in different fields on a variety of topics that are relevant to the modern-day woman and her health. Topics will include gender equality (SDG5), women’s empowerment, youth empowerment, women’s health, leadership and much more.

Project VIVE: Sales, and the Prevention of Violence Against Women

This workshop is specifically focused on women in vulnerable conditions in Mexico, and it seeks to empower them through training in sales, seeking promotions, customer service, and life skills. Proyecto VIVE is implemented by Red de Asociaciones y Fundaciones Empresariales and The Trust for the Americas, a non-profit organization affiliated with the Organization of American States (OAS), in partnership with the ManpowerGroup Foundation.

Las Kory Warmis: Healing from Violence through Performance

Las Kory Warmis features bold and compelling performances that explore women’s stories of abuse and survival. This grassroots troupe breaks the silence on the different forms of violence women face in Bolivia, and around the world, every day. Gender-based violence directly threatens women’s empowerment everywhere. It erodes quality of life, destroys families and impairs the potential of our communities. According to UN statistics, one in three women worldwide have experienced violence at some point in their lives. In Latin America, Bolivia poses a stark challenge. It holds the highest rates of violence against women in the region, with 9 out of 10 Bolivian women falling victim to violence and 34 percent of girls suffering sexual abuse before age 18. In this context, the performance troupe Las Kory Warmis, or “Women of Gold,” emerged and succeeded in creating a space where survivors feel empowered to share their personal stories in hope that their voices will help others.

Young Girls Mentored by Women Leaders

Girls in the process of completing their higher education were offered an opportunity to choose mentors among female professors, physicians, bankers, NGO leaders, and others, all in leadership positions. This =initiative was part of a campaign which aimed at boosting female leadership in Burkina Faso. Out of 200 candidates, 42 were in turn chosen by women holding high positions who agreed to mentor them.

Young Women Leaders Summit DR

This is the first-ever Summit for Young Women Leaders in the Dominican Republic (DR), inspired by Canada’s Y7 Summit in 2018 and by the Canadian-born “G(irls)20” initiative. Following a two-day program featuring key influencers, policymakers, and youth leaders in the DR, the delegates will produce a short communiqué presenting their vision for the future of women’s empowerment in the DR and identifying the leadership tools and opportunities that young women need to pursue goals in areas such as education, entrepreneurship, development, rights and good governance. The Summit will provide the local tools and network to empower women and girls in the DR to aspire to leadership positions. Summit broadcasts and materials will be made available to thousands of young Dominicans across the country.

Women’s Engineering Day at UBC

Girls in grades 10 – 12 explore why engineering is an amazing career for women who want to change the world, to improve the environment around us and the lives of others, and who like teamwork and problem-solving. These girls will experience what it is like to solve real engineering challenges, learn about different types of engineering, talk to current students, hear from recent alumni, and tour the UBC campus.

Proper Vision for Women’s Empowerment

Vision problems negatively impact productivity – especially among working rural women seeking to fight gender inequality and achieve economic self-sufficiency in highly vulnerable “batey” communities in the Dominican Republic. Many of these women are financially unable to afford a pair of eye glasses or preventive eye care. From March 30 – April 4, the Batey Relief Alliance, in partnership with Canadian multinational GILDAN and the Lions Club Santo Domingo Piantini, is hosting a “Blindness Prevention Mission Trip” with 27 optometry specialists, faculty, and students from the New England College of Optometry to deliver free vision consults, prescriptions eyeglasses, sunglasses, and eye drops to more than 800 women and their families living in the impoverished community of Guerra, Santo Domingo. The purpose is to prevent blindness and blindness-related diseases among the female population. To complement their optometry treatments, each patient also receives free nutrition, micronutrients and preventive health education around water, sanitation and hygiene.

Gender Inequality, Do the Math: 1-1=0

The Batey Relief Alliance (BRA) is hosting the Embassy of Canada in the Dominican Republic’s art exhibit, “Caminos en Tiempo de Mujer,” created with Dominican artist Eddaviel. This exhibit showcases images of women who have used their talents and accomplishments to fight injustice and exclusion. The event is expected to attract more than 1,000 people, including women, school children, teachers, local leaders, and activists living in the country’s highly vulnerable sugarcane plantations and rural communities (composed primarily of Haitian immigrants) known as “bateyes.” The batey populations, particularly women and girls, suffer inordinately from gender inequality, economic isolation, and extreme poverty, often perpetuating a circle of poverty.

Creating Safe Spaces for Women to Thrive

As part of the WD2019 global dialogue, Wonderful Women Network Foundation held a community discussion with 500 attendees on what we can do together to promote opportunities that strengthen women’s rights and bridge the inequality gap. Attendees also talked about sexual and gender based violence and sex trafficking, under the guidance of a lead panelist who was herself a survivor of domestic violence. The core objectives of the event were to address gender-based violence by providing safe spaces for survivors or at risk victims, reporting confirmed cases to appropriate authorities, to encourage speaking out, and to provide mentoring, rehabilitation, counseling, and therapy. Attendees made up a diverse group of people across different age groups and socio-economic and cultural affiliations, and had the opportunity to voice their own experiences. Common themes emerged around the many reasons such abuse goes un- or under reported, and productive discussions were had on addressing the root causes of GBV, ending the ‘blame game’ against women and removing cultural and misogynistic barriers that tend to undermine women’s voices, and on providing safe spaces where individuals’ voices can be heard.

Empowering Women to be Resourceful Independent of Marriage

Jacqui Iwu is hosting a workshop focused on empowering African women to escape poverty through means other than marriage. Her workshop will focus on strategies for financial independence.

Digital Connectivity Workshop for Girls in Gautemala

Pro Mujer in Guatemala is addressing the digital gender divide by leveraging local partnerships with Sheva and SERES to provide mobile training opportunities in digital literacy and connectivity for girls in 2019. Through Sheva’s “Connected Training,” designed for use by women and girls, we will celebrate International Girls Day in ITC and our participation in the EQUALS Global Partnership and train up to 40 girls (ages 14 -17) in Tecpán, Guatemala over two sessions in April of 2019. By leveraging alignment, resources, and expertise, this partnership will equip girls in Guatemala with new digital abilities and broaden their mastery of smartphones and mobile apps to help them grow as young women and leaders in their communities.

Promoting Financial Inclusion and Healthy Habits among Women in Bolivia

Pro Mujer, a leading women’s empowerment organization in Latin America, is holding a month-long series of trainings for its 123,000 women beneficiaries across Bolivia. The series of events will take place across 9 cities with the aim of promoting positive financial habits, a healthy lifestyle, and above all, celebrating women’s solidarity. Pro Mujer beneficiaries will be recognized for their positive contributions to the organization and to their communities. Cities include: Oruro, La Paz, Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando, Tarija, Sucre, Potosí and Cochabamba.

Prevention of Violence against Women at Pro Mujer Nicaragua

In collaboration with local and international partners, Pro Mujer in Nicaragua is providing two sessions of workshops and resources to women at the Pro Mujer Center in León on Friday, April 5th at 9:00 am and 2:00 pm. The workshops are designed to support and educate women on this sensitive topic. Attendees will be provided with resources, including legal counsel and psychological services.

The Power of Partnerships

Watch the livestream on Twitter or Facebook

In the lead up to the Women Deliver 2019 Conference in Vancouver, Canada House will welcome Women Deliver CEO/President Katja Iversen, UK Secretary of State for International Development and Minister for Women and Equalities Penny Mordaunt, Women Deliver Young Leader Olaoluwa Abagun andHead of Donor Government Relations at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Europe Joe Cerrell, for a conversation on the Power of Partnerships to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. The discussion will be moderated by Alison Holder, Director of Equal Measures 2030.

Women & Food: Culture, Identity & Globalization

At Salem College, the first women’s college in the United States, powerful women have been breaking, making, and consuming bread together for 250 years. In celebration of Women Deliver, we are hosting an evening of conversation, inspiration, and delicious eats around the idea that food, gender, and culture have always been interwoven. During this event, Salem women will share a delicious Indian meal with a leading local chef, learn more about global women chefs, celebrate the role of food in driving Power, Progress and Change, and discuss the realities of food as a lens for globalization and gender equality.

Health for All: The Journey to Empower Every Woman and Child to Thrive

To highlight World Health Day, and as part of the Women Deliver 2019 Mobilization Canada, Canada’s global health community is hosting “Health for All: The Journey to Empower Every Woman and Child to Thrive”. Immerse yourself in the lives of women and children around the world through a curated art exhibit showcasing the health and nutrition initiatives being delivered by Canadian organizations and learn more about our bold vision for a world where every woman and every child has the opportunity to thrive. Through the photo exhibit and supplementary multimedia, available throughout the night, you’ll have the opportunity to see Canadian contributions at every stage of a woman’s life, from the first 1,000 days to her years as a community leader and elder. You’ll also see the important contributions of Canadian-led advocacy and multilateral initiatives, which are foundational to improvements in global health and nutrition.

West and Central Regional Africa Youth Forum 2019

The Youth Forum, organized by Plan International, is an opportunity to create an open space for young activists and leaders from various countries in the West and Central Africa region to meet, learn, share, and network for positive, transformative change around gender throughout the region. It brings together representatives of the Children and Youth Advisory Boards from 12 WACA Hub countries, as well as representatives from Regional Youth movements, including the West African Network of Young Female Leaders (ROAJELF), the African Movement of Working Children and Youth (AMWCY), the Social Change Factory (SCF), and numerous other young activists from various countries.

Empowering Rural Women using the BornFyne Mobile App: A Community Dialogue in Cameroon

The first in a series of three Satellite Events, this community dialogue will be hosted in Bali, Cameroon. Local women and other community members will come together to share their experiences using the BornFyne mobile app, an app which provides pregnant women with quicker access to doctors and medical care. The discussion will focus on how power hinders or drives progress and change.

Dialogue with Delegates of the National Assembly and Children

On April 7th, 2019, at the National Assembly office in Quang Tri province, the event, this dialogue took place for the first time, in practice with article 77 of the Children Law of 2016. This activity was a part of the cooperative program between the National Assembly Delegation of Quang Tri Province and Plan International Vietnam, which promotes children’s participation in building and planning policies that affect them, especially children in ethnic minorities and remote areas. This event was a component of the 247 Journey for the Girls Get Equal campaign.

Inter-generational Dialogue on the Future of the Women’s Movement in Senegal

The Embassy of Canada in Senegal is organizing a meeting to encourage intergenerational dialogue on the future of women’s movement in Senegal. This event, which will be hosted by‎ Canadian Ambassador to Senegal ‎Lise Filiatrault, will bring together Senegalese women, some of whom are long-standing advocates and others from the new generation. These discussions will allow cross-fertilization between generations of women participants, on the progress, obstacles, and opportunities for gender equality and empowerment of girls and women in Senegal.

Take Back the Streets – Walking to End Street Harassment of Women and Girls

UN Women Papua New Guinea and the Active Cities Development Program (ACDP) join with the leaders of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea to reclaim the streets of the city for women and girls. Led by Governor Powes Parkop; UN Women Country Head Susan Ferguson; and Active Cities Development Program Director Fazilah Bazari, Behavioral Change Youth Coordinators, and thousands of men and boys and women and girls will stand together “sanap wantaim” against street harassment. A five mile walk with inspiring messages and drama and performances against harassment and violence.

Webinar: Gender Equality in Agriculture: Leveraging voluntary sustainability standards for women’s empowerment

Gender equality in agriculture remains a challenge. Unequal power structures in rural households mean women often have difficulty accessing food for themselves, even though they are usually the ones responsible for preparing food for their families. This problem persists and has created significant challenges for women’s nutrition, food security and health in developing countries. Women have also historically faced challenges having the same access to productive agricultural resources as men. Unequal property rights and poor working conditions have also been major challenges for women working in this sector. These challenges are the focus of the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s (IISD) report, Leveraging Voluntary Sustainability Standards for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture: A Guide for Development Organizations Based on the Sustainable Development Goals. During the April 17 webinar, experts Kathleen Sexsmith, author of the report and Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology at Pennsylvania State University, and Cristina Larrea, Sustainability Standards Workstream Lead at IISD, will highlight some of these concerns and explore how leveraging voluntary sustainability standards can support gender equality and women’s empowerment in agriculture.

A Conversation about Gender Equality and the Women Deliver 2019 Conference and Mobilization with Senator Nancy J. Hartling

The Hon. Senator Nancy J. Hartling with the Social Justice Committee of St. Paul’s United Church host a strategy dialogue around community mobilization, gender equality, and the Women Deliver 2019 Mobilization and Conference.

Tunis Forum on Gender Equality

In partnership with the Government of Tunisia and the Swedish International Development Agency, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) organized the Tunis Forum on Gender Equality that took place April 24-26 2019. The Tunis Forum took place one year before the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, as well as one year before the 20th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 which set the standard for women, peace and security. The Tunis Forum also took place before the first Global Sustainable Development Report, which will be presented to the autumn summit on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and was an opportunity to integrate and connect the key elements of these processes and highlight the important role that civil society can play. The Tunis Forum explored the role of women participating in local government, working towards more sustainable and inclusive cities. The Forum also explored the role of innovation and technology in encouraging women’s economic empowerment. The Tunis Forum was a follow up to the Stockholm Forum held in April 2018. The agenda for the Forum has been built in a similar spirit of co-creation, as a result of an open online discussion. The results of these discussions can be found on the Forum website.

#GirlsGetEqual Campaign Launch in Zimbabwe

Plan International Zimbabwe is officially launching the #GirlsGetEqual campaign on the 25th of April 2019. The launch will be officiated by the First Lady of Zimbabwe at the National Art Gallery and will include the kickoff of a weeklong art exhibition featuring photos, drawings, and paintings by girls, young women, and men. Each piece of art will express the themes of #GirlsGetEqual: Power, Freedom & Representation. Influential individuals accepted as Girls Get Equal champions will attend the event, where they will make pledges of action to help Zimbabwean girls achieve equality.

Bridge the Gap – A Dialogue on Women’s Rights in the Maldives

This panel discussion is organised by Uthema Maldives with funding from the European Union Delegation to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Its objective is to have an open and honest discussion on the challenges women face in order to be active in public life, using available evidence and the lived realities of women. These discussions informed a position paper on the issues highlighted in the panel discussion and policy recommendations. We invite you to read this paper on women’s participation in public life in the Maldives here.

In the Maldives, women’s representation in parliament is currently at only 5.8%, women’s labor force participation is at just 42.2%, and women make up the bulk of the informal work sector. The Household Income and Expenditure Survey (2016) found that women spend double the time in caring roles (6 hours by women and 3 hours by men) and have a 20% gender pay gap in their main job. The Maldives now has a new government under the leadership of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who, during his 2018 presidential campaign, pledged to increase women’s participation in all decision-making positions in the government. Notably, President Solih’s cabinet of 22 consists of 7 women, which brings women’s inclusion in the cabinet to 33%. Currently, the Maldives is gearing up for the parliamentary elections in April 2019. Despite progressive legislation, including the Gender Equality Act (2016), challenges remain for women who wish to become elected officials. Despite all the pledges, women contesting for parliament has not increased.

Fit for Future Project Launch

As part of International Girls in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Day, Plan International Vietnam, working with REACH, FPT Polytechnic College launched the “Fit For Future” project on April 25th, 2019. This project aims to encourage and support girls and women as they study and build careers in the ICT field.

Celebrating Girls and Women in ICT: Expand Horizons, Change Attitudes

Representatives of Pro Mujer, ITU, UNICC, UNICEF, the NYC Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, and WITNY come together at Cornell Tech in honor of International Girls in ICT (Information and Communications Technology) Day at Cornell Tech in New York City. This event matched middle school aged girls from a low-income neighborhoods in NYC with women in tech to work together on a design thinking activity, and then incorporated college-aged women in tech into the groups. All three “generations” then worked together in mixed groups. The goal was to expose young girls at a critical age for their interest in STEM studies and careers to amazing women in tech in a variety of types of organizations and roles.

Who Run the World, Girls!!!

This event, organized by Public Health Ambassadors Uganda, aims to increase knowledge, awareness, and understanding around gender equality, girls’ bodily rights, HIV prevention, and school related Gender Based Violence towards young women and girls. It will also create a platform where young women and girls can speak confidently about issues related to bodily rights and different forms of violence focusing on school related GBV. Activities will include: Peer-to-peer sessions via student led Focused Group Discussions (FGDS); a viewing of “The SASA,” a documentary film that explores the connections between violence, HIV and power in the lives of women and girls and presents a powerful call to action to prevention this violence and prevent HIV; a plenary discussion that will engage students, teachers, opinion leaders and more; “edutainment” sessions using spoken word poetry, short skits, musical performances, and inspirations talks. “The SASA” is a creative collaboration by Raising Voices and the People’s Picture Company, and it is included in the SASA! Activist Kit for Preventing Violence against Women and HIV.

Youth Encounter: “What’s Up with your Rights?” (¿Qué onda con tus derechos?)

This event aims to establish a sexual and reproductive rights youth network. It is organized by Plan International Honduras, Go Joven, Coiproden and the platform Right Here, Right Now.

It’s Never Too Late to Go Back to School

This workshop, organized by Innocent Grant, affiliated with Volunteer Services Overseas, will bring together women and girls from Dar es Salaam. It will raise awareness on adult education, reflect on its challenges and opportunities, and share inspiring success stories of women who went back to school as adults. The event will also include deeper discussions around the barriers that girls confront in completing their education in a timely manner, including early or unintended pregnancy, and with it, difficulty finding a job and poverty. It will also address Tanzania’s continuing struggles to achieve its goals for increasing adult female literacy rates.

G Day

G Day is an event series that celebrates the transition between childhood and adolescence in tween girls ages 10 to 12 and includes parents and other supportive adults in girls’ lives. G Days are day-long social-emotional learning experiences that support the development of positive self-esteem and healthy peer and family relationships in a community context. Girls participate in diverse fun, creative, interactive activities that encourage connection, compassion and confidence. Adults connect with professional educators in workshops focused on supporting girls at this critical life stage. Together, we share stories and experiences, build community and collectively become “the village” that it takes to raise a child. The final phase of the day is where the girls are welcomed by the adults in their symbolic new state. Depending on the space being used, we craft a unique celebratory song or activity, followed by dancing and dessert!

Vancouver School Screening of ‘In The Name Of Your Daughter,’ a documentary celebrating the world’s bravest girls

Spearheaded and championed by a group of Collingwood High School Students in Vancouver, this is a screening of the heartwarming documentary ‘In the Name Of Your Daughter, celebrating the brave Tanzanian girls who risk their lives to defy their destiny and follow their dreams. The documentary that audiences world-wide have called ‘Powerful,’ ‘Moving,’ and even ‘Life-Changing,’ tells the story of girls who have to make the most difficult choice of their young lives: submit to female genital mutilation and child marriage, or run away from home. And it’s also the story of Rhobi Samwelly, herself an FGM survivor, who risks her own life to protect the girls in her Safe House and, ultimately, reconcile them with their families. The film’s director, Giselle Portenier, will be on hand for a Question and Answer session.

Women: Our Grassroots Experience

Learn how health care providers overcome gender biases in their workplaces in this interactive event, which seeks to shed light on the negative gender dynamics in rural health centers. Through a series of short, TED-style talks from providers and trainers, the audience will learn how female health workers deal with gender bias. After the presentations, Dr. Amina Aminu Dorayi, the SHOPS Plus project family planning technical director and gender specialist, will lead a discussion to encourage female health workers to participate in social dialogue and to try operational practices that have succeeded in other settings. Participants include representatives from USAID, other RH/FP implementing partners, Federal Ministry of Health, Plateau State Ministry of Health, FCT Health and Human Services Department, Plateau State PHC Board, and FCT Primary Healthcare Board. This event is by invitation only.

Salon Breakfast Discussion on Women in Investment

The Consulate General of Canada in Los Angeles, in partnership with HSBC, BlackRock, and the CVCA, will be hosting a Salon Breakfast Discussion on Women in Investment. This event will feature executives from HSBC and BlackRock as well as an audience of family offices, investment professionals from across the California and Canada to discuss initiatives, trends, and resources that are available to support women entrepreneurs and women in the investment sector.

Regional Conference and Workshops on Innovative Gender-based Policy-making

This conference will focus on sharing best practices and challenges around gender equality in policy-making in Panama and the region. Participants will include Panama’s Vice-President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Isabel de Saint Malo, and experts from Global Affairs Canada (Deirdre Kent, DG for International Assistance Policy, and Nell Stewart, DG for Gender Equality), as well as officials from Central America and the Caribbean on Gender Based Analysis (Plus) Policy-Making. The event is provided by the Canadian Foreign Service Institute (CFSI).

End of Taboo. Period.

Hosted by HER Pakistan, the film screening of Oscar-winning documentary Period. End of Sentence. will serve as a conversation starter around menstruation and associated taboos in Pakistan. The event will provide a platform to break the silence and start a public conversation about menstruation in Pakistan. HER Pakistan is a women-led organization striving to empower and educate Pakistani girls and women about menstruation and ensure access to appropriate information and facilities through service, education and advocacy.

Digital Connectivity Workshop for Girls in Guatemala- Part II

Pro Mujer in Guatemala is addressing the digital gender divide by leveraging local partnerships with Sheva and SERES to provide mobile training opportunities in digital literacy and connectivity for girls in 2019. Through Sheva’s “Connected Training,” designed for use by women and girls, we will celebrate International Girls Day in ITC and our participation in the EQUALS Global Partnership and train up to 35 girls (ages 14 -17) in Tecpán, Guatemala over two sessions. By leveraging alignment, resources, and expertise, this partnership will equip girls in Guatemala with new digital abilities and broaden their mastery of smartphones and mobile apps to help them grow as young women and leaders in their communities.

Breakfast with the Canadian Ambassador to mark the launch of the Deliver for Good campaign in Senegal

Following the official launch of the Deliver for Good campaign in Senegal, the Embassy of Canada in Senegal gathered Women Deliver’s partners to discuss about their perspectives on this national mobilisation for the year to come as well as about potential synergies, challenges and expected impact.

Consultative Dialogue on Domestic Child Labor

The Kafka Welfare Organization is organizing a consultative dialogue on the too often unsung issue of domestic child labor in Pakistan. In partnership with Women Deliver, it is a continuation of the Child Maids campaign that aims to end violence against child maids employed in Pakistan.

WorkHerDream Walk for Equitable, Quality, and Safe education

The Work Her Dream Organization will have its 2nd annual walk in Eldoret, Kenya to raise awareness on the importance of ensuring that all girls, including teen mothers, have access to quality education – and safe education as well. Work Her Dream plans to equip the guidance and counseling departments of schools within Uasin Gishu County to be child friendly, creating a safe environment for learning and promoting mental health. Part of the proceeds received from donations and registration fees will also go to pay school fees for the 130 girls that the organization supports. It will also create awareness about Work Her Dream’s “safe space,” located in the Kamukunji slum in Eldoret, where the organization trains young girls on ASRH (Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health) and MHM (Menstrual Hygiene Management) issues as well as in technical and soft skills training. The “safe space” includes boys from the community who join the cause and who make a pledge to protect girls and women and to stop gender based violence in their community. The walk will bring other stakeholders together to engage in a dialogue around improving girls’ access to education and on encouraging citizen participation in ensuring no child is left behind.

International Women’s Day Speed-Mentoring Event

The Canadian embassy in Jakarta brought together two generations of female professionals to participate in a “speed mentoring” session followed by food and stand-up comedy. It was a fun, informal afternoon of networking, as well as an opportunity to help forge strong professional ties and share stories of success between the women leaders of today and tomorrow.

Women Deliver from Copenhagen to Vancouver

To celebrate the passing of the torch of the Women Deliver conference from Copenhagen to Vancouver, Canada’s Ambassador to Denmark, H.E. Ms. Emi Furuya and Denmark’s Minister for International Development, H.E. Ms. Ulla Tørnæs, are pleased to host a discussion on gender equality and women’s empowerment with H.R.H. The Crown Princess (Kingdom of Denmark). The event will include speeches from Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess, Development Minister Tørnæs, Anna Cecilia Frellsen (Maternity Foundation), Bjarne B. Christensen (Sex og Samfund) and Laveza Khan (a Canadian Women Deliver Young Leader). Ambassador Furuya will conclude the discussion, receiving the Women Deliver torch from Denmark, outlining Canada’s priorities to advance women’s and girl’s rights and empowerment and welcoming Danish delegates to Canada the following month. A discussion and reception will follow.

Inter-generational Dialogue on the Role of Individual Power in Promoting Gender Equality in Nimule, South Sudan

The event power brings holders together around an oval table discussion. Attendees will include the commissioner of Pageri County, Executive Director of the county, The Head chief of Nimule, local counsel representatives, traditional leaders, and young women. The goal is that, by the end of the discussion, power holders will be able to commit to change – specifically, to provide a platform to promote gender equality in Nimule and to understand the roles they play as the custodians of culture and traditions in shaping the future of the various women and young people in the society.

Project Inspire!

Under the Stories of Advocacy project, the Paradigm Youth Network launched a new Artificial Intelligence app to offer sexual and reproductive health information to young people. In preparation for pitching and displaying this app, LucyBot, at WD2019’s Appy Hour in Vancouver, the Network is organizing a one day stakeholders workshop for 50 health professionals and 150 beneficiaries in Kenya. During the workshop, individuals will be able to interact with the Bot and provide feedback on its content and information, evaluate and verify its key findings and learnings, and contribute to successful implementation and project closure. These interactions will give the app’s creators new insights and valuable feedback which they will then utilize to make LucyBot even more user friendly and to incorporate into its final presentation in Vancouver! The WD2019 Satellite Event will also spark stakeholders’ interest and spread the themes of WD2019.

Feminist Buka Puasa

This event will bring 30 feminists together to break their fasts, common in Indonesia during Ramadan and attended by people of all faiths. Those included will be development partners of the Canadian embassy and others, and they will discuss contemporary feminism in Indonesia, its challenges and opportunities for change‎ and progress, and what governments like Canada can do to support progress.

Intergenerational Dialogue: Girl Power in Driving Change

The Intergenerational Dialogue is a national event which will be conducted on International Family Day, bringing together 100 different stakeholders, including youth, development partners, government leaders, media, and CSO representatives to discuss challenges and opportunities for girls to drive change and to offer a platform to make commitments based on youth recommendations. This event will be conducted by Plan International and will be officiated by the young female District Commissioner, the Hon. Jokate Mwegeleo.

Dialogue on Accessing Safe Abortion Services for Women of Reproductive Age in Georgia

Association HERA-XXI Georgia conducted research on the “Barriers to Accessing Safe Abortion Services for Women of Reproductive Age in Georgia.” 91 women from 7 regions of Georgia were interviewed. This research is unprecedented, providing information based on the life stories and personal experiences of these women. Analyzing their stories gave researchers a unique opportunity to identify socioeconomic, emotional and psychological difficulties in the context of barriers to accessing safe abortion services.
Access to safe abortion service and contraception is essential to ensuring women’s rights. Barriers to the availability and provision of safe abortion services violate a woman’s right to health, the inviolability of her private life, as well as the right not to be subjected to discrimination. Today more than ever, we must focus on women’s stories to empower each other and overcome existing barriers and stigma. This report shares the photos and messages from this campaign and calls for the realization of women’s sexual and reproductive rights and their empowerment. The research is available here.

Men Championing an End to FGM

More than 50 men gathered on 16th May 2019, for a community dialogue in Kajiado West. The interactive sessions gave men the safe space to express themselves on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), child marriage, and teenage pregnancy; all cultural issues not openly discussed at homes or in public meetings by men. 70 year old Ole Mapi said, “My first girl is not circumcised and this is a decision I made as a parent not to subject my girl to FGM. She has never dropped out of school to get married, since I continuously encourage her to study.” This led to open discussions where men understood their role in ending FGM and child marriages. At the end of the intergenerational dialogue, men resolved to work with their daughters in a bid to end FGM and child marriages while at the same time encouraging their daughters to pursue their goals. Plan International’s Girl Get Equal campaign engages men and boys to be allies to bring about changes in their communities with gender equality as the focus.

El Poder de Decidir – #ThePowerOf Deciding

The Department of Protection of University Rights (Defensoría de los Derechos Universitarios), the Cooperation of Canada in Bolivia, and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), are pleased to organize this roundtable with key actors on sexual rights and reproductive rights. This will be a space for dialogue with students at the public university UMSA in La Paz.

The Power to Decide

“The Power to Decide” included the participation of the Ambassador of Canada to Bolivia, as well as institutions such as the Ministry of Health, the Vice Ministry of Equal Opportunities, UNFPA, CIDES, OXFAM, and was developed jointly between the aforementioned institutions and the UMSA through the Office of the Ombudsman for University Rights. The conference focused on the voices of experts in health, gender and feminism, speaking about sexuality and the heavy burden of motherhood for increasingly young Bolivian girls and women. The event also highlighted the importance of responsible fatherhood.

Radio Interview on Women and Girls

The interview included the Canadian HOM (Head of Mission) and three Guyanese participants from Women Deliver. The HOM shared the contribution/support of GoC to the empowerment of Women and Girls in Guyana. The participants spoke about the Women Deliver 2019 conference, their expectations for the conference, and their plans on return to Guyana. This conversation was hosted on Radio station Maad 97.5.

WD Kenyan Participants Reception

This reception will be hosted by the Canadian High Commissioner for Kenya, and will feature Kenyan participants at the Women Deliver conference in Vancouver. It will be held at the Official Residence, and it will bring together all delegates from Kenya who have received acceptance to participate at the conference.

Burnaby: Optimizing Your Natural Fertility & Coping With The Stress of Trying to Conceive

Dr. Caitlin Dunne will talk about fertility and dispel common fertility myths. Our goal is to support women through knowledge by providing them with accurate medical information so they can make well informed decisions about their bodies & reproductive health. Chandra Sen, Registered Clinical Counselor, will talk about ways of coping with stress when trying to conceive.

Edmonton: Optimizing Your Natural Fertility & Coping With The Stress of Trying to Conceive

Dr. Dianne Ahn will talk about fertility and dispel common fertility myths. The goal is to support women through knowledge by providing them with accurate medical information so they can make well informed decisions about their bodies & reproductive health. Caroline Anderson, Registered Clinical Counsellor, will ways of coping with stress when trying to conceive.

Partnership for Impact: Sexual and Reproductive Health Campaign in Guatemala

Expert partners, Pro Mujer, Wakami, and ALAS, have united to promote and provide several sexual and reproductive health campaigns, focusing on education and services, to women and men in areas of rural Guatemala. On May 22nd, the first services campaign will be held at the Health Center in Patulul, Guatemala. The campaign will allow participants to receive comprehensive information and contraceptive methods that promote their reproductive rights.

Empower a Girl, Empower the World

When girls are empowered, they can change the world. This community dialogue will be held with girls and their parents, and will provide space for an informal dialogue, questions, and answers in regards to girls’ education and health. It will help create awareness about girls’ education and the right to go to school, which is often neglected in Pakistan. If a girl receives an education, the result is societal progress and a generation of empowered women, with far-reaching implications for health, climate change, early marriages, and livelihoods. The event will shine a light on these issues and address obstacles to girls’ education. The discussion will also center on the responsibility of parents to help their girl child to attend school and in breaking down cultural barriers, and will feature success stories about Pakistani girls like Malala Yousafzai who are working hard to promote girls’ education across the globe. It will also address the vital role mothers can play to change their girls’ lives.

LinkedInLocal Vancouver – Theme: #genderequality

#LinkedInLocal events aim to provide a human connection behind the social media profile. This particular event, sponsored by Mobilization Canada, is inspired by the world’s largest conference on gender equality, Women Deliver 2019, which will take place in Vancouver on June 3 – 6. Speakers include:
Carling Jackson, a humanitarian, educator, and portrait artist for professional athletes who aims to “paint the change I wish to see in the world.” A self-taught artist, she uses her artwork to fight injustice around the world.
Ben Baker, who has worked with clients for 25 years to help them tell effective stories that engage the right audiences. Ben also has a weekly podcast and is the author of “Powerful Personal Brands.”

“Tanzania’s Industrialization – Leaving no Woman Behind”

The High Commission of Canada in Tanzania is pleased to launch women empowerment projects in Tanzania in partnership with Ndoto Hub, the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme, and Women Fund Tanzania in the context of the global #WomenDeliver conference in Canada this year. This launch will be followed by interactive discussions with an array of practitioners and experts and a debate on how to ensure women fully contribute to and benefit from Tanzania’s industrialization.

Unleashing the Potential of Women’s Entrepreneurship

This panel discussion is organized by We Connect International, and will focus on innovative ways to work together across sectors to implement policies and programs that help women start and grow businesses. It will also address how to build an ecosystem of support for women-owned businesses that can deliver innovation, jobs, wealth and strong communities. The Canadian High Commissioner will deliver opening remarks.

Addis-based Engagement on Women Deliver 2019 by the Embassies of Canada and Denmark

In advance of the 3-6 June Women Deliver 2019 Conference in Vancouver, the Embassies of Canada and Denmark combine efforts to boost interest and engagement around the conference’s themes through an interactive social media campaign and through a Satellite Event on 23 May around Ethiopia’s participation in Women Deliver 2019. The 23 May Satellite Event will also feature photo submissions received in response to the social media campaign.

Empowering Resilient Young Girls using the Arts and Health Menstruation Management; Conversations for Happy and Well-Grounded Leaders

In Zimbabwe and around the world, traditional gender imbalances have led to systems that restrict the access of young women and girls to the resources and power enjoyed by their male counterparts. That is why Nduna Girls is hosting a W2019 Satellite Event focused on empowering resilient young girls by using the arts to spark important conversations, including around healthy menstruation management. This community dialogue will feature training to enhance the dignity and quality of life of marginalized and disadvantaged young people, while providing techniques for personal development. Training provided will focus on helping young women stand up for their rights and against domestic violence, and work to help them prevent early and forced marriage. The goal is a generation of young women who can marry when they want, produce children when they wish, and to in turn educate their children and support their families themselves rather than being forced to depend on those who exploit them. This day-long event will feature presentations and experience sharing, group discussions, and the use of theater, music, and team building exercises as icebreakers.

#GenderEqualityMatters – a Roundtable with Western India Delegates to Women Deliver 2019

The Consulate General of Canada in Mumbai, in partnership with DASRA, is hosting a high-tea format roundtable meeting with delegates who will be attending WD2019. This event will aim to discuss their objectives, action plan and follow up to WD2019 participation.

Working Lunch with Women Deliver Young Leaders and Women Leaders from the Private Sector and CSOs

The High Commissioner of Canada on gender equality and women’s empowerment in Sri Lanka met with Women Deliver Young Leaders who will attend the WD 2019 Conference in Vancouver and with private sector and civil society stakeholders.

#BodyShameIsAShame

#BodyShameIsAShame will be an online event with the aim of establishing an International Awareness Day against Body Shaming. The values of the campaign include the fight against body shaming and the highlighting of body positivity. The scourge of body shaming represents an assault on people’s physical and mental health, particularly women, who are the more prone to these attacks and to the stigma of society’s constructions around physical image. The goal will be to make constructive noise by using social media to provide a space conducive to sharing everyone’s experiences with this issue and feelings towards a change of mindset. After a period of outreach, on May the 24th social media will come alive with pictures and comments inspiring the change, showing the flaws that make our bodies real and perfect, the flaws that make us proud and loud. Argentina will lead the way and people from all over the world will be invited to join as we all celebrate our bodies and celebrate Women Deliver.

Leadership et Estime de Soi

This event will be a four hour training on leadership, feminism and self-esteem. At the end of the training the participants will be able to: 1. Define leader/leadership/feminism 2. Explore the qualities and flaws of a leader 3. Analyze different leadership styles 4. List and describe intrinsic leadership skills 5. Know and evaluate self-esteem levels 6. Self-worth around what could be considered imperfections 7. Identify the main barriers faced by women around the world and in Africa.

Safe Abortion Advocates Training

Members of civil society groups – women-led, youth-led, SRHR champions – will be engaged to implement an awareness and advocacy plan around safe abortions. While abortion is legal in Guyana, access remains an issue, and many women and girls are unaware that the service is legal and that they have a right to demand its availability in health centres. The event will train 25 persons to use their networks and platforms to raise awareness about abortion and encourage a human-rights-based discourse that helps to reduce abortion stigma.

Girls Get Equal National Leadership Workshop

Girls and young women from different areas across the Philippines come together to form a national core group trained to lead the #GirlsGetEqual campaign in the country. This well-versed, established, and experienced advocacy group will tackle freedom, power, and representation among different campaign focus areas — safe spaces, sexual and reproductive health rights, and girls in crisis situations. The Workshop also aims to build capacities of girl leaders for effective and sustainable girl and youth-led campaigning. By the end of the workshop, the group will have created a general plan of action that lays out the key campaign plans, succeeding trainings, and support needed to attain the goals of the #GirlsGetEqual campaign in the Philippines.

Symposium on the Role of Women in Algeria

With goals of supporting Canada’s feminist policy, highlighting Algerian participants at the Women Deliver Conference, and discussing ways to strengthen gender equality in Algeria, this symposium is organized into two panels. The first features Algerian women from the Women Deliver Young Leaders program, and Ikram Laimeche is presenting her work in Algeria to strengthen gender equality, as well as Women Deliver and the conference taking place from June 3 – 6. During the second panel, lawyer and activist Nadia Ait Zaï presents issues related to human rights and acitivism, and Amel Belaid, founder of APOTHOEX, Business Services, and a leader in female economic inclusion, addresses the place of women in Algerian society. Following these presentations, the audience engages in a frank discussion with the goal of generating a deep debate on the role of Algerian women in society.

LBQTI and Gender Equality at Women Deliver. A Webinar for Funders and Policy Makers.

In advance of the June 2019 Women Deliver global conference, Global Philanthropy Project (GPP), Philanthropy Advancing Women’s Human Rights (PAWHR), and Women Deliver are hosting a webinar for funders and policymakers interested in exploring Lesbian, Bisexual, Queer, Trans, and Intersex (LBQTI) movements and their intersections with movements for gender equality. Funders and Policymakers are invited to learn about opportunities to build bridges, share tools and data, and develop a community of mutual learning and support to achieve gender equality of all people regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics. Speakers include J. Bob Alotta, Executive Director of Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, Wendy Drukier, Director General for Global Affairs Canada, and Katja Iversen, President/CEO of Women Deliver.

Girl Power in Ending Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy

Creating awareness on how to end child marriage and teen pregnancy through a theatre performance demonstrated to more than 110 teen girls aged 14 – 19 years from secondary schools in Tanzania.

Launch of the Women’s Voice and Leadership Project – and Celebrating the Women Deliver Movement

This event celebrates the launch of the Women’s Voice and Leadership Project: South Africa. WVL’s goal is to help women’s rights organizations improve management, performance and sustainability practices, and the project will run from 2019 to 2023. In South Africa, the WVL project will be implemented by Gender Links, a local women’s rights organization. This event will also celebrate the Women Deliver movement all over the world. Three Young Leaders will attend the launch, including Nsovo Mayimele, who will give some remarks.

Women Deliver Pre-departure Networking with the High Commission of Canada, New Delhi

H.E. Nadir Patel, High Commissioner of Canada to India, hosts a pre-departure networking event to meet and interact with WD delegates from Delhi and North India. The event will provide an opportunity for the delegates to interact with each other, share about the work they are doing as well as their goals in advance of the WD conference.

Community on Women and NCDs – Webinar: Integrating Non-communicable Disease (NCD) Care with Pre-conception and Maternal Health Services

The George Institute for Global Health at the University of Oxford and the WHO’s Global Coordination Mechanism on NCDs (non-communicable disease) facilitate a virtual ‘Community on Women and NCDs,’ to promote best practices in implementing a life-course approach. In line with the WD2019 theme ‘Power. Progress. Change.,’ this webinar will focus on how those with power – governments, multilaterals, NGOs and individual activists – can make progress towards Universal Health Coverage by integrating NCD care within existing pre-conception and maternal health services, in order to improve health across the life course for women in low-resource contexts.
Webinar objectives
• To raise awareness about how integrating NCD care with pre-conception and maternal services can impact health across the life course;
• To learn from different contexts in the Global South about the practical challenges of integrating these services, and how they can be overcome;
• To understand where more evidence on cost-effective strategies for integration is needed.

Walk a Mile in My Shoes – Raising Awareness of Gender-Based Violence and Human Trafficking in Toronto Through Art

An experiential learning event to raise awareness of gender-based violence and human trafficking in Toronto through art, music and food. This free event will raise awareness of the root causes of gender-based violence and human trafficking and honor survivors and their family members. The event will explore how marginalized communities in Toronto (women and girls; Indigenous, Black and LGBTQ2S youth; disabled youth, Newcomers, etc.) are more vulnerable to sexual violence and exploitation and how communities can empower each other to break the cycle. Guests will also learn how Aura Freedom’s Peer Prevention Project is addressing these issues. The interactive event will use art and music to communicate powerful messages to attendees and will be run by Aura’s youth team, who have various lived experiences. Survivors of sexual exploitation/human trafficking will be honored at the event by their peers, raising awareness of just how prevalent exploitation is and creating community solidarity. Attendees will also learn what services are available to them in Toronto through Aura’s community partners and where/how they can safely seek help for situations of sexual violence/exploitation.
What to expect:
– Art, music, food & wine
– Gender equality and social justice
– Inspiring Torontonians making a difference

The Annual BC Nurses’ Union’s Rally: Over 500 nurses speaking up for the health, rights, and wellbeing of women in B.C.

Standing up for health care. The BC Nurses’ Union annually champions for our members, the professional voice of nursing and for publicly funded health care. Nurses have long been strong activists in speaking up and out for changes that support the health, rights, and wellbeing of women. Join us in a rally that calls for change.

Mainstreaming Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights including HIV and AIDS and Gender Equality among young people and key-affected population in the Philippines

In many parts of the Philippines, discussion of human sexuality and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) has often been considered as a “taboo”. It is not talked about mainly because it is too socially and politically sensitive or sometimes too personal for public debate. Many young people including young LGBTIQ are also denied access to information and support that would enable them to protect their own sexual and reproductive health. Twenty-nine percent of married adolescents had an unmet need for contraception, meaning that they wanted to avoid pregnancy but were not using any contraceptive method; this proportion is much higher than that among married women of any other age-group (15–22%). There is a need for a massive education and awareness campaign on basic sexual and reproductive health rights and gender equality. Establishment of youth-friendly health services and advocate for equal and unbiased access to SRHR services. This is important to address the increasing HIV incidence as well as the increasing prevalence of teenage pregnancy in the country.

Sungkai Conversation: Women & Digital Change

This event invites up to 20 women leaders, influencers and gender equality advocates to break fast with the High Commission of Canada, during the month of Ramadan – celebrating diversity and inclusion through iftar, and engaging in dialogue about women and digital change.

Networking Cocktail & Panel Discussion with Dr. Joanne Liu, Doctors Without Borders International President

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominated Caroline Codsi to sit on a committee chaired by the Honorable Maryam Monsef, Minister of International Development and Minister of Women and Gender Equality. This committee brings together 16 community leaders committed to gender equality in Canada, in order to encourage Canadians to take action on this issue. Women in Governance is proud to present this event on the sidelines of the Women Deliver 2019 conference, organized by the National Committee on Gender Equality, which is to be held in Vancouver from June 3 to 6, 2019. Join Caroline Codsi as she hosts a panel welcoming Dr. Joanne Liu, International President of Doctors Without Borders, Dr. Jacques Corcos, Professor of Surgery (Urology) at McGill University, and President of the Fondation Mères du monde en santé, as well as the Honorable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health of Canada. This networking cocktail event will be followed by a panel discussion that will be broadcasted via various social media platforms and streamed live across the country!

Women Produce – A Gathering of Film Producers and Directors

Mutual Productions is hosting a Satellite Event in anticipation of the Women Deliver 2019 Conference. During this multi-faceted, team endeavor, women film producers and directors gather to present short segments of their work and to learn about different leadership processes they have each developed to engage others. The event will also “entertain” the question of ‘how do we, as filmmakers, support the right to power over one’s self and one’s future through innovative approaches to film production and distribution within movements for social change?

En route to Women Deliver: Empowering Women and Girls in their Local Communities

A new development partner from Global Affairs Canada’s Senegal program, Tostan International, is coming to town, on its way to the Women Deliver Conference! On May 30th, come join us to find out how Tostan is empowering women and girls in their local communities through a human-rights based education program in West Africa and in Senegal. Learn more about what Tostan seeks to achieve in Senegal with their new GAC-funded project entitled When She Leads, Everyone Succeeds!

Women Deliver: A Panel Discussion on Cross-Cutting Gender Issues

On May 30, the Embassy of Canada to Russia will organize “Women Deliver: A Panel Discussion on Cross-Cutting Gender Issues.” The conversation will focus on various gender equality issues and challenges that women face today in Russia and internationally, as well as the empowerment of girls and women. Stéphane Jobin, Chargé d’affaires a.i. of Canada in the Russian Federation, and Annick Goulet, Chargée d’affaires a.i. of Canada in Armenia and Uzbekistan, will give opening remarks. Other guest speakers will include: Alena Popova, lawyer and co-founder of Project W – women’s mutual aid network; Victoria Stetsko representing Oxfam in Russia; Anastasia Krasilnikova, author of the Telegram channel “The Robber’s Daughter;” Veronica Antimonik representing the SafeHouse Foundation, as well as others.

The Longhouse Dialogues

From May 31st to June 5th, 2019, the Longhouse Dialogues will be organized by The British Columbia Council for International Cooperation (BCCIC), the Pacific Peoples’ Partnership (PPP), and Women Deliver 2019 Mobilization Canada. It will provide a grassroots community accessible space for dialogue about issues pertinent to women and girls across Canada. Four nonpermanent, traditional Longhouses will be erected as the venue. The spirit of the Longhouses is to celebrate Indigenous ways of communicating, and to create a reciprocal relationship with one another on the unceded and traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. The Longhouses are being raised in honour of women and bring a spiritual element to the issues that women face today. The sessions are carefully planned around dialogues on missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW), climate change, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the social ingredients of health for young women, gender equality, and many more important and timely topics. Programs take place daily from 8 am to 9 pm, many are open to the public and are free of charge.

Breaking Down Barriers: Building Parity on the Council

Women make up half of Canada’s population, but represent less than 30 percent of municipal elected officials. FCM’s Toward Parity in Municipal Politics initiative is working to change that. Join us to hear about the initiative’s national action plan—developed from consultations across the country—to encourage more women to run and stay in municipal office. You’ll explore concrete actions you can take and learn from two initiatives that are building better diversity on local councils.

Launching #NotTheCost Campaign: Stopping Violence Against Women in Politics (Cali, Colombia)

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Canadian Embassy in Colombia will be launching the #NotTheCost Stopping Violence Against Women in Politics Campaign (#NoEsElCosto) in Colombia and hosting regional launchings, the first of them in Cali Colombia, on May 31, 2019. The agenda of the event will have two panels to address the problem. It will be attended by local women congressmen, institutions, and civil society organizations.

Women’s Leadership in the Workplace Luncheon

The Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai hosts a luncheon discussion among key business, media, and academic stakeholders who are active in seeking to advance gender equality in China. Attendees will discuss the key challenges that they have encountered and possible actions that can be taken for women’s empowerment in the workplace.

Personal Hygiene and Safe Menstrual Cycles for Girls in Secondary School

The cost of monthly sanitary pads for girls is not affordable for the average Nigerian girl child, who nevertheless don’t have a choice in regards their monthly menstrual cycle. This class will help guide them in relation to menstruation and health, as well as help develop strategies to provide free or very affordable menstrual pads to every teenager. Pads should be free, and menstruation isn’t an option. We will share ideas around this topic and also talk about the Women Deliver 2019 Conference.

Fitness Boot Camp/Political Talk

This event targets fitness as an avenue to discuss politics. It will begin with a fitness boot camp, which would comprise of beginners, intermediate and advanced classes by a well-known female instructor. Organic fruits and vegetables, smoothies and fresh juices will be served. Attendees will share tips on healthy eating and positive lifestyle choices and receive healthy recipes. They will then hold discussion on the recently concluded elections in Nigeria and how women fared, and encourage women to participate in the next election by guiding them on how to join political parties and position themselves early ahead of 2023 General elections.

Championing the end of Female Genital Mutilation with a screening of the documentary ‘In The Name Of Your Daughter’

On the eve of the Women Deliver conference, this Vancouver screening of the award-winning documentary “In The Name Of Your Daughter,’ celebrates some of the world’s bravest girls, Tanzanian girls who risk their lives to defy their destiny and follow their dreams. The documentary that audiences world-wide have called ‘Powerful,’ ‘Moving,’ and even ‘Life-Changing,’ tells the story of girls who have to make the most difficult choice of their young lives: submit to female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage, or run away from home. And it’s also the story of Rhobi Samwelly, herself an FGM survivor and one of Africa’s most charismatic human rights champions who risks her own life to protect the girls in her Safe House and, ultimately, reconcile them with their families. The film will be followed by a panel discussion with some of the world’s leading anti-FGM champions and the film’s director, Giselle Portenier.

“The Forbidden Fruit”: Freemuse and IMMART’s Live-streamed Discussion on the Scrutiny Women Artists and Women-centric Themed Art Face

Freemuse’s ‘Creativity Wrong’ report finds indecency and religion as the main rationales cited for silencing women’s artistic voices. “The Forbidden Fruit” is a Copenhagen-based discussion focusing on the scrutiny women artists and women-centric themed art face. Prompted by The National Museum of Warsaw’s removal of the 19 March 2019 video, “Consumer Art,” which showcases a young woman eating a banana with great pleasure, Freemuse and IMMART will host artists and advocates in a vibrant discussion about creating art today and constructing a safe environment for all people to express their human right to artistic freedom. The event will be live streamed on 3 June at 9AM PST/6PM CET on Facebook and Twitter at @Freemuse98. Discussion guests include: Jupiter Child – Performer, Artist, Free Writer, Actor, Storyteller Sacramento Rosello, PhD – IMMART, Writer, Lecturer, Teacher and Researcher Paige Collings – Freemuse, Programme Officer for Advocacy, Activism and Artist Relations

Women Empowering Women: Advancing Women in Leadership and Harnessing the Power Within

HERS Institute is providing an intensive training specifically tailored to strengthen the knowledge and skills of women and to help enable them to compete for institutional leadership roles. The goal of the HERS-EA is to raise the proportion of women in leadership and management positions in higher education institutions in East/West Africa to at least 50%. The Specific Objectives of HERS-EA /WA are: 1.To develop women leaders in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Eastern Africa,/ Western Africa and 2. To empower women at multi-tiers of leadership and to change systems.

WDLive Watch Party from Dakar

The Embassy of Canada in Senegal will virtually join the Women Deliver Conference! Employees from the political, trade, immigration, and development sections will be gathering and watching WD2019 by having a WDLive Watch Party during the Conference week.

Progress and Change: The role of NGOs and Business in Advancing Gender Equality in Korea

This conference will be hosted by the Embassy of Canada to Korea on June 3 to mark the launch of the Women Deliver conference in Vancouver. This conference will be an opportunity to look at the progress that has been made in Korea, and allow for discussion on what can be done to further bring about progress and change, and to advance the empowerment of women and girls. Specifically, attendees will look at the role that civil society organizations play to push for progress, and will then examine the changes taking place in Korea for women in business.

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting – Myths, Stories, Action

A dynamic discussion on global perspectives and efforts to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM/C).
SafeHands for Mothers and Islamic Relief are delighted to host a Satellite Event during Women Deliver at the Canada Pavilion in association with the Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH). Please join us and hear survivor stories; religious and cultural reasons used to justify FGM/C, and local and grassroots efforts to tackle misconceptions that perpetuate FGM/C. Julia Lalla-Maharajh OBE, Orchid Project, will moderate a dynamic discussion with speakers on the vital need of a concerted global movement to end this harmful practice. Join us for a discussion with: Hibo Wardere, Anti-FGM Campaigner Reyhana Patel, Islamic Relief Nancy Durrell McKenna, SafeHands for Mothers Faith Mwangi-Powell, Girl Generation Sokhna Fall Ba, Equilibres & Population. Interactive discussion to follow.

Voices from Female Entrepreneurs

This event features an interview with a women entrepreneur who participated in the project, ‘Learning from Failure: Strengthening Women-led Microenterprises in Mexico.’ She will discuss her journey as entrepreneur and the lessons learned from this program with Pro Mujer.

Al Jazeera’s The Stream at Women Deliver

A live international TV discussion focusing on women and leadership. The Stream’s Malika Bilal will be joined by Women Deliver delegates Winnie Byanyima, Julia Gillard and Melinda Gates. Want advice or inspiration from three global leaders? Join the conversation, online via Twitter and tweet them! Be part of the the virtual Women Deliver Conference via The Stream on June 4, 1930GMT.

Al Jazeera English TV, online via the Al Jazeera English Live YouTube Channel and at www.aljazeera.com/live/

Amref Health Africa in Canada – Toronto Watch Party of WD2019

The Amref staff come together in support of Women Deliver.

Integrating Gender Equality in Climate Adaptation – Roundtable on Key Gaps and Opportunities from Local to Global

The global narrative on climate adaptation is shifting to include a more holistic representation of risk and pathways to resilience, including acknowledgment of the roles that health and social equity play. Gender is one of the key factors that determine vulnerability, response options, and resilience among populations facing interlinked global challenges, such as the increasing devastation caused by natural hazards, food insecurity, migration, and climate change. This event will bring together gender and adaptation experts from Canada and abroad to discuss and unpack key gaps and opportunities for integrating gender equality into the process of adapting to global challenges and increasing community resilience. A reception will follow, and light refreshments will be served. Speakers are from Canada, the Netherlands, The Consulate of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Canada’s International Development Research Centre, and ACT (the Adaptation to Climate Change Team), and faculty of Environment, Simon Fraser University.

Workshop on Early Pregnancy in a Girl or Woman’s Life

An interactive discussion around the issue of early pregnancy, composed of young people between 15 and 18 years old and representatives of different communities.

Transforming Stereotypes through Sport

This program challenges stereotypes and traditional gender norms through football in rural communities by bringing girls and boys together to share soccer practice spaces and to engage in friendly games of mixed teams composed of both girls and boys. The players are guided by coaches and volunteer trainers who have received gender equality and gender-transformative training from Plan International. More than 300 girls and boys are demonstrating to their communities that it is possible share spaces free of violence by coexisting based on respect and a belief in equality between women and men. The first phase of the initiative will culminate in June with a great Departmental Encounter, during which mixed soccer teams will represent their municipalities in tournaments in important stadiums of Guaira and Paraguari.

Feminist Human Library: Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

Twenty high-profile individuals who identify as feminists and have something to say about world issues will be invited to hold space at a designated booth and connect with members of the international cooperation community and members of the public. These ‘books’ could be politicians, CEO’s of non-profits, grassroots organizers, youth leaders, or celebrities making a positive difference. There will be four rounds of readings of 10 minutes each which will allow participants to ask the “books” some questions or hear their thoughts on a specific topic. The ‘book’ covers will be displayed at the event for participants to choose from. Picks will be on a first come, first served basis. When participants are not speaking to one of the ‘books,’ participants will have opportunities to network and participate in activities related to the Women Deliver conference.

TAWC + Women Deliver 2019

Join us at the Timmins & Area Women in Crisis centre to participate in the Women Deliver conference 2019 livestream!

Women Deliver 2019 Satellite Sessions at the Vancouver Public Library

The City of Vancouver is proud to present Satellite Events at the Vancouver Public Library Central Branch. From June 3-6, spaces at the library will be utilized for workshops, panel discussions, and livestreaming of the Women Deliver Conference. The Women Deliver 2019 Satellite Sessions aim to provide another way for Vancouver residents to participate in the topic of women’s equity in a local context. The most up-to-date information can be found at vancouver.ca/womendeliver

Investing in Women and Girls

The Women Deliver 2019 Conference in Vancouver will be the world’s largest conference on gender equality and the health, rights, and wellbeing of girls and women. Oikocredit Canada, OCIC, and Cuso International are pleased to invite you to ‘Investing in Women and Girls,’ a Women Deliver 2019 Satellite event in Toronto. The event will include an interactive storytelling session on maternal and neonatal health work in Africa and a live-streamed panel from the Conference on “The Power of Money: Driving equitable economic growth by investing in women,” followed by a discussion and a networking session. Full details on all sessions here.

Designing, Delivering, and Demonstrating Impact: Girl-centered Approaches to Sexual and Reproductive Health Education

In celebration of the 2019 Women Deliver conference, BRAC will host an offsite event to share best practices for adolescent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education. This event will feature a strong and multi-sectoral panel of experts highlighting youth-friendly, empowerment-oriented and evidence-based programs. A cocktail reception will follow. This event is being sponsored by Johnson & Johnson with panelists from UNFPA, International Planned Parenthood Federation, and the Population Council. Panelists will discuss some of the following elements in their field-based learnings: Showcasing best practices for comprehensive SRH education curriculum; Discussing empowerment and/or livelihood training to complement traditional SRH offerings; Highlighting incorporation of advocacy and leadership ‘soft skills’ into adolescent SRH education; Examining how male involvement affects adolescent SRH education.

Women’s Empowerment, from Local to Global. Powered by Pecha Kucha.

Around the world, ONE fights for justice and dignity for those living in extreme poverty. 2019 is filled with key opportunities for Canada to lead on gender equality. Join ONE and leaders at the front lines of this fight with an engaging series of presentations and Q&A using the fast-paced Pecha Kucha presentation style that uses 20 slides that auto-advance every 20-seconds.
Confirmed speakers include: Dr. Priya Bala-Miller, Canadian International Resources and Development Institute (located within UBC’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs); Junie Désil, Haitian-Canadian poet; Loyce Maturu, Global Fund Advocates Network; Leslie Varley, MBA, Executive Director, BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres; and Françoise Kpeglo Moudouthe, Founder of the feminist blog Eyala More. The moderator will be News Anchor, Coleen Christie.
This event is co-hosted by:
– ONE is a global movement campaigning to end extreme poverty and preventable disease by 2030 so that everyone, everywhere can lead a life of dignity and opportunity.
– The Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH) is a proud membership of more than 100 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academic institutions, health professional associations and individuals partnering to improve health outcomes for women and children in more than 1,000 communities worldwide.
– Women Deliver 2019 Mobilization Canada is seizing upon the global spotlight and momentum that the Women Deliver Conference provides. We engage with average citizens across Canada to improve our country’s leadership on gender equality and to generate increased investment in the health, rights and well-being of women and girls.

Centennial College’s Live-stream of the Women Deliver Conference

This event will be for students at Centennial College to view the conference in real time. This event will also feature social media activities to promote Women Deliver and participate in the conversations. The event will be hosted by the International Development Student Society.

Women Deliver: Women Change Makers

Around the world, women are leaning in, lifting up, and giving who they are to change the lives of others. Meet three remarkable women and hear their stories. Dr. Lois Nahirney, President and CEO, dnaPower, will host a fireside chat with Fazilah Bazari, founder of the Active Cities program in Papua New Guinea which has transformed what was once touted as the most dangerous city in the world for women and girls; Kerrie Sayer, an interior designer who, along with her husband, was moved by a chance moment during their honeymoon in Kenya to sponsor a women’s village and dramatically change the lives of its citizens through a simple act of kindness; and Genesa Greening, President and CEO of BC Women’s Hospital Foundation and a Certified Fund Raising Executive, whose two decades of work in Canada, Africa, and the United States have seen her advise more than twenty charitable causes in fundraising over $300 million. The Vancouver Club is proud to host this speaker event as a Satellite Event of the Women Deliver 2019 Global Conference in Vancouver.
5:30 p.m. Reception in the Ballroom
6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Fireside Chat and Q&A
$35. per person – includes a welcome glass of bubbly & canapés. Chit bar available. Open to Vancouver Club Members and Guests.
Dress: Business Casual (no denim / no athletic wear)

WDLive Film Viewing

Ladies’ hangout and movie time: This event at the Nero Film House will bring women together to join the viewing platforms available for the Women Deliver conference and to discuss the various topics and share ideas.

Social Media for Women Entrepreneurs: Using the Power of Networks to Strengthen your Business

On Facebook, everything and everyone is in competition. That means that a post from your business is competing with publications from friends, family, Shakira, fan-pages, videos, brands, organizations, etc. So, how do you stand out and get noticed on social media? Participants will work in pairs to address six topics: business objectives, differentiating yourself from competitors, value propositions, client profiles, and interests. These inputs will be used to design their business Facebook pages.

Women-Centered Design: The Future of Innovation & Investment

Join a group of raucous changemakers for brunch and big ideas. Featuring some of the sharpest minds in femtech, this event brings together entrepreneurs, VCs, market NGOs and innovators of all stripes to consider what the world would look like if it was designed with women in mind.

Women and the Private Sector: Building Opportunities to Improve Nutrition and Healthy Diets

The 2030 Agenda commits to eradicating all forms of malnutrition by 2030. Unfortunately, the pace of progress is slow and we are still far from reaching our SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) nutrition targets. At the same time, a growing body of evidence is showing how food security, nutrition, gender equality and women’s empowerment are intimately linked and inter-dependent. Research shows positive associations between increases in women’s empowerment and improved nutrition outcomes. Women are on the front line of nutrition as caregivers in the family — producing, storing, cleaning, and cooking food for consumption – and ensuring that food, when available, reaches children first. Yet, in too many contexts, women are still those who eat last and the least. Investing in women is pivotal not only for achieving zero hunger by 2030, but for sustainable development more broadly, and the opportunities for improving nutrition linked to women’s employment and empowerment by the private sector are extensive. Over the next two decades, an estimated one billion women will enter the global workforce, and approximately 94 percent of them will be in emerging and developing economies. Businesses can use their reach, resources, and expertise, build on entry points across the food system, and improve access to healthier diets. These opportunities have the potential to help millions of women and their families improve their lives, wellbeing, and nutritional status. This event will provide participants with the opportunity to reflect on the role of private sector to strengthen opportunities for women to increase their consumption of healthy diets and improve their nutrition. The panel will provide an opportunity for speakers to: 1) Feature examples of the private sector’s positive inputs across food systems that improve nutrition, enable healthy diets, and contribute to women’s empowerment; 2) Exchange views around opportunities and challenges around private sector engagement; 3) Lay the groundwork for replicating positive models and partnerships.

Empowering Rural Women using the BornFyne Mobile App: Vancouver Workshop

The second in a series of three BornFyne Satellite Events will be a workshop in Vancouver focused on demonstrating the features of the mobile application and how it works. The workshop will also address how mobile phones and e-vouchers empower rural women, how literacy gaps can be bridged using graphics and audio messages, and how illiteracy and financial status take power away from women. It will also highlight findings from the formative study used to build the BornFyne mobile app, including keys interviews, focus group discussions, and stakeholder meetings. The BornFyne app is a mobile application that provides pregnant women in Cameroon with quicker access to their doctors and medical care.

Organization: WHO Collaborating Center University of Ottawa/Effective Basic Services(eBASE) Africa, Cameroon
Location: Wine Room, CanWach Pavilion

From the “Bairro” to Work: Good Practices that Enable Young Women to Access Remunerated Work in Sub-Saharan Africa

This learning event will bring together public sector, private sector, and civil society stakeholders to exchange ideas on how to enable more young and vulnerable women to access income earning opportunities and on how to measure the impact of such interventions. The event will focus on the additional impact soft and transferrable skills have in helping vulnerable youth, particularly young women, access remunerated work.

The Power of Art to Create Social Change

Join artists and arts organizations to share strategies, tips, and tactics for tapping into creativity to fuel the fight for gender equality in the U.S.

Co-organized by FUNKY BROWN CHICK, Inc. and Busboys and Poets, the panel includes artists from Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), Hollywood Bureau and other organizations directly involved in creating, developing or administering premier arts programs that have examined gender.

About the organizers: FUNKY BROWN CHICK, Inc. brings the joy of digital media & entertainment to the masses to create a better world. We do this by producing our founder’s artistic projects and by providing digital marketing services to fellow artists, nonprofits, and small business owners. Busboys and Poets is a community gathering place founded by owner Andy Shallal, an artist, activist and restaurateur. The name Busboys and Poets refers to American poet Langston Hughes, who worked as a busboy at the Wardman Park Hotel in the 1920s, prior to gaining recognition as a poet.

Girls Analyzing the Implementation of SDG 5 in Communities

20 girls from different communities around El Salvador, who participate in Plan International projects, will discuss the implementation of SDG 5 “Gender Equality” in front of members of national institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Education, with the goal of finding solutions to implement that goal in the field. At the same time, they will talk about the Campaign Girls Get Equal, which focuses on girls around the world and how they can influence decisions that affect them and make a real difference.

Women Delivering: How Women are Championing Global Change

Aga Khan Foundation Canada and the Ismaili Council for British Columbia are pleased to host an evening celebrating leaders who are contributing to women’s empowerment, the improved health of women and girls, and global development. A panel of global experts will share their perspectives on how women are leading the charge in Canada and overseas. Speakers will also discuss highlights from the Women Deliver 2019 conference. The event will include a moderated armchair conversation, short films, and a networking reception.

Social Innovation for Gender Equity, Youth & Representation: Bridge for Health Symposium 2019

An evening of talks and networking to generate discussions surrounding social innovation, gender equity & representation, and youth development within communities, in alignment with Bridge for Health’s Youth Engagement initiative and as a proud supporter of Women Deliver 2019 — the world’s largest conference on gender equality and the health, rights, and wellbeing of girls and women in the 21st century. What does social innovation look like beyond Vancouver? How can we think global, but act local to support our own community? As we move towards progress and changemaking, how can we simultaneously promote gender equity & representation to reflect our diverse communities?
ABOUT BRIDGE FOR HEALTH: Bridge for Health is an international cooperative of changemakers. By shifting dialogue and practices about health, from absence of illness to wellbeing, we can mobilize the change towards a safe, sustainable, and healthy future for all.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Patrick Mwesigye (Team Lead of the Uganda Youth & Adolescents Health Forum) will be presenting his talk, “Young People at the Periphery of Universal Health Coverage – A case of Uganda Youth and Adolescents Health Forum”
PECHA KUCHA TALKS: Each presenter will share personal presentations about their work. The theme is “Social Innovation, Gender Equity & Representation, and Youth & Community Development.”
Click ‘attending’ on the event to stay updated on our speaker announcements! Please email Larissa (larissa@bridgeforhealth.org) for accessibility requests or more information. www.facebook.com/bridge4health/

Make Work Great: Unlearning for a Better Future

Young people are natural social intrapreneurs – people who make positive social change from within an organization. They want purpose in their work and are motivated by this above anything else. According to the Millennial Impact Report Retrospective, Five Years of Trends, millennials’ primary motivator is an intrinsic passion for a cause and they want to use and develop their skills through cause engagement. Youth are most interested in making a valuable, and valued, contribution toward improving their world and want to shape their work experiences to align with their values. To do this, an intrapreneur requires a new skillset; they need to unlearn what work has been, to be able to find, or create, their place in this new world of work. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore unlearning as an approach to creating a better future of work and learn how social intrapreneurs are changing systems from within.
Specifically, we will look at what we need to unlearn about the current state of work, in particular, with respect to women, and identify actions that can be taken to help create a gender equal world (and add trillions of dollars to the global GD[). The activities will focus on personal unlearning (looking at what deeply-held beliefs and assumptions we individually have that keep us from reaching our full potential and changing the status quo), interpersonal unlearning (what do we need to start questioning about our relationships at work, power inbalances, etc. to develop new mental models about how we work towards empowerment for all, and what do we need to unlearn at a systems level as well.

#SHETalksSRHR

#SHETalks is a conversation platform, hosted by the Every Girl in School Alliance (EGISA), and designed to break the silence and create safe spaces for conversations that matter to women and girls. #SHETalksSRHR is the 5th monthly convening and will bring together women, girls, men, and boys from diverse backgrounds to discuss issues the subtheme: “She Decides – her body, her choice!” Topics covered will include safe abortion, contraception, decision making, sexual reproductive health rights and much more.

Tackling Gender Norms through Media – Public Event and Livestream

The power of the media to influence gender norms in society, be it building greater equality or reinforcing discriminatory attitudes and behavior, has long been recognized. Through the representation of men and women on television shows, news, social media and advertising, gender norms are demonstrated, negotiated and challenged. Public policymakers and donors support the potential of mass media to educate and change attitudes and behaviors, investing particularly in edutainment (soap operas) and interactive media such as phone-ins and chat shows. This panel debate critically analyses the power of media as a space for positive change to gender norms, exploring the merits and limitations of different types of mass media, focusing on:
– Whether one form of media is more powerful than others for challenging harmful gender norms
– Examples of media influencing campaigns aimed at gender equality back-firing
– Whether a cross-media approach is always best to tackle the complexity of gender norms
– Who the power for norm change lies with
– How norm change through media influence can be monitored

Chair: Caroline Harper – Principal Research Fellow and Head of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Programme, ODI
Speakers: Poonam Muttreja – Executive Director, Population Foundation of India; Caroline Sugg – Director for Strategy & Partnerships; BBC Media Action Lindsey Evans – Gender Manager, Girl Effect and Springster

Photo credit and caption – Morning radio show at the Joy FM studio in Accra, Ghana. © Jonathan Ernst

Improving Maternal Health for All

Madhawi Ramdin discussed her experiences at the Women Deliver 2019 conference with the UNFPA Regional Representative, Country Team, as well as the Youth Advisory Group (YAG), with a total of 23 participants. She discussed Women Deliver as an organization, and elaborated on a number of specific sessions. Participants were engaged and excited, and expressed interest in attending another event. The proposed follow up event will be a viewing of a video on maternal health and pregnancy complications followed by a panel discussion.

Launching the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub in Eastern Ontario

To celebrate the launch of the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) in Eastern Ontario, Impact Hub Ottawa is partnering with WEKH Regional Hub Carleton University to host a kick-off event on Wednesday, June 12th from 5-9pm. Inclusive and participatory, this event will open with a panel discussion featuring local women entrepreneurs and ecosystem supporters. A series of breakout sessions and lightning talks will explore gaps and opportunities to support inclusive entrepreneurship in our region and the event will end with a networking reception. It’s an opportunity for participants to chat about inclusive entrepreneurship with entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, researchers, service providers, and diversity and inclusion champions from across sectors; to share experiences, hear about others’, and leave with a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities in making entrepreneurship more inclusive in their workplace and community.

Ciclo de Cine por la Visibilización LGBTIQ+

This activity is framed within the lines of work of the gender equality unit of the University of Valparaíso, San Felipe campus. Its main purpose is to make visible the reality that affects LGBTIQ + people in the university community. Through the presentation of audiovisual material, discussion topics were proposed and progress was made in proposing ideas to facilitate the real inclusion of LGBTIQ + people in our institution. The films shown were chosen by the LGBTIQ + community of the University and disseminated through the formal channels of the institution: email, website, posters in campus units and in meetings of academics and student centers. Based on the discussion generated among the attendees at these exhibitions, work lines were defined that strengthen this work at the local level: 1. Annual film cycle 2. Seminars and conversations on sexual diversity 3. Inclusion of gender equity issues in subjects taught 4. Inclusion of criteria for teacher evaluation (gender equality).

Documentary screening of ‘In The Name Of Your Daughter’

Following the Women Deliver conference, join the Toronto premiere of the heart-warming and award-winning documentary “In The Name Of Your Daughter,’ celebrating some of the world’s bravest girls: Tanzanian children as young as eight who risk their lives to defy their destiny and follow their dreams. The documentary, that audiences world-wide have called ‘Powerful,’ ‘Moving,’ and even ‘Life-Changing,’ tells the story of girls who have to make the most difficult choice of their young lives: submit to female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage, or run away from home. And it’s also the story of Rhobi Samwelly, herself an FGM survivor and one of Africa’s most charismatic human rights champions who risks her own life to protect the girls in her Safe House and, ultimately, reconcile them with their families. The film will be followed by a Question and Answer session with the director, Giselle Portenier, and a panel discussion. Female Genital Mutilation–A Canadian Issue Too?

“Our Education, Our Future” Report Launch and Photo Exhibition

Plan International is proud to launch two ground-breaking, complementary reports, “Our Education, Our Future” and “Stronger Together.” This special youth-led event will also feature an exhibition of photographs taken and captioned by adolescent girls in the Solomon Islands. These reports, co-authored by Plan International policy experts and Solomon Islands Youth Champions, shine a light on the barriers stopping adolescent girls from accessing and completing secondary education and summarize what change adolescent girls want to see so that all girls can complete a full 13 years of education. Since October 2018, Plan International has been conducting a ‘Photovoice’ project with adolescent girls across three locations in the Solomon Islands. This innovative, youth-led participatory action research has enabled us to hear loud and clear that the biggest individual barrier is school fees, and the greatest cross-cutting issue is gender inequality. It also speaks to the double barriers faced by girls with disabilities. While many of the barriers are familiar, this is an important evidence base that highlights what adolescent girls think and feel about each issue. It also provides unique insight into the interlinking nature of the barriers, painting a full picture of girls’ lives and the challenges they face to stay in school. It makes a compelling case for why we need to consider adolescent girls’ needs specifically, and why we need to act now. Read these reports here.

Use of Mobile Technology in Maternal Care – An Innovative Approach

Rapid development of mobile health technology has shifted the paradigm of health care access and coverage. The Aga Khan Development Network Digital Health Resource Centre organizes an open session to highlight the potential of mobile health technologies to improve health outcomes in underserved regions. The event highlights the successful implementation of Nighedaasht, an mHealth application, the challenges and lessons learned, its impact and how it is improving MNCH outcomes in remote, rural areas of Chitral, Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan. Other highlights include how the fusion of research and technology is helping pave the way for universal health coverage.

Women Deliver Melbourne 2022 Bid Launch

The State Government of Victoria and the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) have partnered to celebrate the launch of Melbourne’s bid to host the Women Deliver conference in 2022. This morning tea, hosted in Melbourne by Victorian Minister for Women, Gabrielle Williams MP, will provide an opportunity to recognise Australian leaders and advocates who have worked tirelessly in their own fields to progress the country’s path to gender equality. It will be an opportunity to network with like-minded leaders from government, the community sector, media, and victim and survivor advocates on how we can work together to progress this work well into the future. The event aims to rally support for Melbourne’s bid and to deep-dive into how hosting a Women Deliver conference would deliver long-lasting legacies for Australia, the Asia-Pacific region and globally.

Tech for Justice: Using an AI Chatbot (MySis Bot)

This Satellite Event was to publicly introduce a new project called MySis bot, an A.I chatbot which provides an effective counseling system for the reduction of domestic violence and which helps victims understand and access the justice system. This social justice project against domestic violence was launched by Police Lieutenant Colonel Peabprom Mekhiyanont.

Men’s Involvement in Building Substantive Equality

This event will feature an interactive dialogue with undergraduate health science students focused on the analysis of the challenges around engaging men to play a part in achieving substantive gender equality. It will be held in at the Interdisciplinary Center of Health Sciences (Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias de la Salud) in the Polytecnic National Institute (Instituto Politécnico Nacional).

Reading Women: Literature and Resistance

This event will be in the form of a seven-week course. It will focus on discussions of literary works produced by women in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, aiming at promoting reflection on gender, race and class issues that affect women in different social groups. Themes such as gender violence, racism, memory, silence, freedom and sexual and reproductive rights will be discussed, while attendees will be encouraged to think about the erasure of women in school curricula, historiography, and other fields of knowledge. Brazilian, Latin, African, and American female authors, such as Maya Angelou, Conceição Evaristo, Carolina Maria de Jesus, Chimamanda Adichie and Jhumpa Lahiri, will be approached. The target audience will be the community in general, including both women and men and both students and teachers.

Voices for Health: Women United for their Community

To empower and educate women in the district of Carabayllo on the role of women in the community and their right to health.

Women Deliver Satellite Event in Santo Domingo

Women with prominent roles in some of the best communications schools in the Dominican Republic are invited to share their experiences and establish specific commitments to advancing gender equality both in the academy and across the communications and advertising profession.

GIRLS DELIVER

Girls between the ages of 10-15 will be empowered with self confidence and about their health and rights. The event will be scheduled to last one hour and the MC and most of the activities will be carried out by the girls themselves. The activities include short speeches, dances, poems, reading and ice breaker activities. Snacks will be provided.

Young Mothers and their Right to Continue their Education

A community discussion about young mothers and how the community can support them in their effort to fulfill their dreams. This discussion will focus on how young women, particularly in rural areas, are pressured to drop out of school while young men continue. It will focus on how can we instead help these young mothers build their future through their education, and why education is actually more important than ever, not only to ameliorate their own lives, but also to contribute to the progress of the society. The discussion will also center on gender equality and why women’s education is as important as men’s education.

Painting my Community with Health

Mothers and young people in the local community will be invited to paint murals that reflect the right of all community members to public health.

Community Health Program with Maternity Hospital for Mother & Child Care

This comprehensive community health program for mothers and children will provide primary health care services to a population of 25 villages in the Thiruparankundram block of Madurai District, Tamil Nadu, India. The project includes traditional Birth Attendants (Dai) and community organizers at the village level, public health supervisors, as well as nutritionists, health educators, and supervisory technical staff providing support to field staff. The focus of the project is on health service family planning, maternal and child health, immunization, low cost nutrition and food preparation, and oral re-hydration. This project will develop an innovation training, reporting, and monitoring system.

Reception and Panel Discussion on the Occasion of the Women Deliver ConferenceAtal

On the occasion of the Women Deliver 2019 Conference, the world’s largest symposium on gender equality and the health, rights, and wellbeing of girls and women, the Consulate General of Canada is hosting a private reception and panel discussion with Jasmine Burton, CEO of Wish for Wash Rachel Ford, Strategic Operations, and Bakkt Sarah Biggers, Founder & CEO, CLOVE + HALLOW, and moderated by Nadia Theodore, Consul General of Canada.

We Women Needs to Stand Together: A Workshop on Girls’ Education, Parenting, Health, and Violence against Women

This workshop/training will be hosted with the close coordination of the Pakistan National Girls Guide Association. The main objective of this event to educate young girls, boys, and women on girl’s education, health, survival, and rights. Understanding gender equality starts at home, so educating boys on gender-based issues will bring a positive change and a more balanced society. The workshop/training will be delivered by gender experts, youth leaders, government officials and NGOs. Representatives from media, government, INGO, and community and religious leaders will also a part of it. Emphasis will be placed on how, in a male dominated society, women deserve to take a step forward and say no, men do not rule us.

Stop Sexual Harassment and Build a Safety Zone

The event will take place at the border between Myanmar and Thailand, an area where more than a million Burmese people live and work, including many who fled to Thailand because of civil war, financial crises and political problems. Among them are children, young girls, and women who have been targeted by human traffickers and forced to work as sex workers, maids, sellers, etc. Other migrant children have been compelled into low wage jobs or become drug sellers and drug users. Too often, Burmese girls are sexually assaulted or harassed without punishment for their abusers. As a consequence, sexual harassment has been normalized. This community dialogue will raise awareness of the problem and work to stop sexual harassment and build a safety zone. Guest speakers will include migrant teachers, migrant workers, and women’s organizations in Myanmar working on migration law, and the targeted audience will be migrant students. Speakers will address their experiences, discuss sexual harassment in the border area, and propose possible solutions to address the problem. At the end of the event, there will be a question and answer section.

Business Model CANVAS

Having a business means more than starting up a new venture; it is also planning, executing and controlling everything that happens when running a company. For that purpose, there are several tools, including the Business Model CANVAS. In this workshop, participants will dive into small groups to work together on one member’s businesses canvas. At the end, each group will present their business model.

Women Deliver Networking Lunch – Satellite Event (Delhi)

The Canadian High Commissioner, Nadir Patel, will host a post-WD debriefing session with the Indian delegates who attended the Women Deliver Conference. The delegates will get an opportunity to share their experiences and ideas for future collaborative initiatives. This will be followed by a networking lunch where other key High Commission contacts will be invited. This will provide the delegates an opportunity to meet with other leading advocates for the empowerment of women and girls in India.

#ThePowerOfEducation

This workshop will raise awareness about girls’ education, and about how girls can be positive influencers on society if they have equal opportunities to be educated. Education is the most powerful force to change the world. It creates knowledge, builds confidence, and breaks down barriers to opportunity. The event will take place in Lyari, which is considered one of the most violent areas of Karachi City, but where houses are filled with the hope and courage of young women. The session will include 50 adolescent girls, who will have an opportunity to discuss the importance of education and the barriers they face to receiving it.

UNIDAS – Advancing the Rights of Girls and Women in Honduras

This panel discussion will feature three women leaders and entrepreneurs, with the aim of bringing valuable insights to advance the rights of girls and women in Honduras. The topics discussed will include access to quality education for girls and young women from indigenous groups, good practices in violence prevention projects in South America and what we can learn from them, and the development of social innovations focused on gender equity. A brief presentation and summary of the Women Deliver 2019 Conference will be shown. At the end of the event, a report will be drafted, which will include relevant discussion points and recommendations, with the aim of utilizing with the Secretariat of Government to address the topics discussed and advocate for the rights of girls and women in Honduras.

Pro Mujer en tus manos: Promoting Digital Literacy in Mexico

This is a two-hour workshop for women to promote digital literacy and economic empowerment. The training focuses on generating awareness about the importance of digital tools (i.e. social networks and e-mail) to promote and strengthen their businesses. During the session, attendees will get to know the app “Pro mujer en tu mano”, while facilitators help women to install it in their mobiles and teach them how to use it to know the status of their credits. In addition, they will present the diabetes risk calculator and how to use this as a prevention tool for them and their families. This event, which will be provided to Pro Mujer clients, will help to close the digitical divide and help attendees take advantage of technological tools for their personal and economic development.

Sagrado Feminino: Reflexões sociais para mulheres contemporâneas (Sacred Feminine: social reflections for contemporary women)

Through the ancestral knowledge of the Sacred Feminine, it is possible to rethink the current scenario of society with a view towards equality between genders, building spaces where cycles and feminine energy are recognized, valued and applied. This event will discuss the historical construction about our bodies, how it can impact our daily perspective about ourselves and how we can give a new place and meaning to our body and to female nature.

Girls’ Conference to break Gender Equality Barriers in Chad

This discussion session will ignite talks with girls, young people, and traditional and religious leaders in Chad around positive ways to get involved in the fight for gender equality. This session will provide alternatives to traditional ways of thinking about girls’ roles in the home and in schooling, and will help ignite girls’ desires to fight for their rights. The event will reach approximately 500 girls and 30 leaders.

Advancing Women’s Economic Empowerment through Digital Tools

Advancing Women’s Economic Empowerment through Digital Tools’ will be a workshop held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to help women from the area to improve their economic lives by learning to use digital tools to promote their projects and businesses. In this workshop, participants will learn how to create a website, blog, podcast, branding, as well as use social media. The workshop will be held by Paola Albornoz and Lucía Mayorga, two Women Deliver’s scholarship recipients.

Coffee Break at Work: Discussion of Child Rape and Sexual Harassment in Myanmar

Child rape is increasing every year and sexual harassment is threatening daily life of Burmese people in Myanmar. At the same time, these are proving that there is no protection and prevention of Violence Against Women Law in Myanmar.

Led by a WD2019 attendee, this event will begin with a reflection on the 2019 Women Deliver Conference and lead into a Q&A about the Conference and how it can be used as momentum to positively impact change.

Screening of “The Judge”:- Gender, Justice, Equality

Uthema in collaboration with the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage is screening the documentary in Maldives. In 2009, Judge Kholoud Al-Faqih made history by becoming the Middle East’s first woman judge in the religious courts. The Judge offers a unique portrait of Judge Kholoud—her brave journey as a lawyer, her tireless fight for justice for women, and her drop-in visits with clients, friends,and family. With unparalleled access to the courts, The Judge presents an unfolding vérité legal drama, with rare insight into both Islamic law and gendered justice.
The primary objective of screening this movie is to advocate for increasing the number of female judges towards ensuring gender justice in The Maldives. Currently, only 8 out of 195 sitting judges/magistrates are women, with gender representation at 4% women and 96% men. Gender bias and other barriers in the law and legal system have allowed inadequacies in implementation of existing laws which effectively fail to protect women, children, poor and other disadvantaged vulnerable people. This is an opportune moment to carry out this conversation as the current government has embarked on judicial reform process. Screening of the movie will contribute to broader conversation on the family law reform and highlight on the prevailing issues in access to justice for women. At the same time it is also a rebuttal  to conservative groups that in other parts of Muslim world there are female Sharia judges who are making a difference in ensuring gender justice.

TERESA DE LA PARRA against official history Dialogue on the texts of “Influence of women in the formation of the American soul”

“Influence of women in the formation of the American soul” insurges against the narratives of the nation, which make up a story constituted by a homogeneous identity originated by an officially masculine tradition. The traditional narrative is incapable of evidencing the multiple differences that cross our societies, whether in terms of social classes, ethnic groups, gender-sex, or others. In this sense, the voice of Teresa de la Parra opens the possibility of thinking about the national culture from the differences and recognizing the set of brands that make up the nation. This work is a document that even today, struggles to break the silence and occupies its rightful place in the field of literature and, in general, contemporary Latin American thought. The reflections he proposes invite us to imitate his interpretative method and question reality from what hegemonic discourse suppresses.

Girls Leadership and Advocacy Workshop

Girls Leadership and Advocacy Workshop Website: Event Description: The Girls of A Feather (GOAF) Leadership Workshop was a 3-day capacity and knowledge building training to GOAF volunteers, GOAF members and youth leadership on how to develop meaningful girl centred projects. The three sessions took place from 9 am to 3 pm where they engaged in a series of panel discussions , group activities and developed skills in project management, public speaking and advocacy. At the end of the training all participants were equipped with the skills to understand what gender based issues affect girls in St. Lucia, how to identify problems in their communities and schools; design girl-centered community based projects based on problem areas identified; and learned how to advocate for these issues. Some of those projects included developing mental health programs for girls at schools; the second team suggested using technology to record and report cases of sexual harassment in schools; another team wanted to create alternative learning spaces for first time teenage mother to complete their education; and the last group suggested providing accessible support and counselling services for girls who had been sexually abused. One team was awarded a grand prize of $500XCD and all participants received a certificate of participation upon completion.

Empowering Rural Women using the BornFyne Mobile App: Engaging Policymakers at the Regional Level

The third in a series of three BornFyne Satellite Events will be hosted in Cameroon. It will engage policymakers at the regional level with community members, and focus on demonstrating how power can hinder or drive change and progress. Specifically, it will touch on the power of mobile phones, vouchers, graphics, audio messages, geo-navigation etc. to drive meaningful change. The BornFyne app is a mobile application that provides pregnant women in Cameroon with quicker access to their doctors and medical care.

Celebrating Women and Their Supporters through Power, Progress, and Change

The event chosen will be a celebratory event to acknowledge speaker Kobe Smith and the other Scholarship recipients of the Women Deliver 2019 Scholarships. The event is will show videos and pictures from the packed 4 Day conference as to give attendees a glimpse of what took place. The celebrated speaker, Women Deliver Youth Leaders and Scholarship recipients will be given the opportunity to have a 5 Minute Power Talk; where they share there views about gender equality and the roles they play and also highlight what they did at the conference. In attendance will be members of Youth Groups around Guyana, who share common interest in gender equality. Snacks and Beverages and handout will be present for attendees.

Touching Lives for Better SRHR with Safety Education

On 10 August 2019, Safety First for Girls is hosting ‘Touching Lives for Better SRHR with Safety Education,’ a Women Deliver Satellite Event! In planning this event, SAFIGI is proud to say that it is joining an essential global dialogue on how to achieve a more gender equal world, a dialogue that includes the Women Deliver 2019 Conference, the world’s largest conference on gender equality and the health, rights, and wellbeing of girls and women. WD2019’s themes of power, progress and change represent SAFIGI’s goal for a safer world in which every girl is empowered, equipped and fulfilled for global development.

The Bathroom Project

A Bathroom restoration and beautification project initiated during Menstrual Health Awareness month. The campaign was launched for students and members of the public to nominate schools they believe were deserving of makeovers, and were in need of refurbishments such as new toilet seats, mirrors and paint jobs. Three Secondary School female washrooms were selected and with the help of lead artist, Naja Simeon, were were able to create uplifting artwork with positive affirmations on the walls and stalls, making them more inviting for girls who typically don’t enjoy using public restrooms especially as personal hygiene and menstrual care is critical for them at a young age.

Workshop for safe and inclusive sport programs for girls

This is a 4-day workshop for professionals from organizations that develop sports activities with adolescents to discuss and learn about best practices for creating safe and inclusive spaces for girls in sports. Through coalition building, capacity strengthening, and more, these professionals will improve their abilities to empower girls and promote self-confidence and leadership skills through sports.

Do You See Me? Do You Hear Me? A Necessary Inter-faith Dialogue among Religious Leaders, on Sexual Violence against Female Children and Adolescents

This event will focus on dialogues with inter-religious leaders around the high rate of sexual violence against children and adolescents in schools, churches and homes. The goal is to bring this problem into the light, and to urge religious leaders to commit to combatting this scourge, which has increased dramatically in Bolivia. This event also aims to forge alliances with various churches to form a platform for the fight against the sexual abuse of female children and adolescents.