Engage, Empower, Enact: Investing in Adolescents and Young People's Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

Organized by: Population Foundation of India

The session will witness a conversation among policy makers from India to identify a roadmap for securing collective political commitment for sexual and reproductive health and well-being of adolescents and youth in the country.

Women Together. Conquer Stigma. Perinatal Substance Use.

Organized by: BC Women's Health Foundation

Women Together. Conquer Stigma. Perinatal Substance Use. will call attention to perinatal substance use and the foundational principles of Indigenous cultural safety, women-centered, trauma-informed practice and harm reduction that allow us to engage women, and ensure women are empowered by choice, connection and communication. Women with lived and living experience will share their unique perspectives and journeys to conquer stigma.

Key Changemakers: Women Driving Change

Organized by: UNICEF Canada

Join us for an inspiring discussion with UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angélique Kidjo, and other women and youth who are working to drive change, through the empowerment of themselves and others. Hearing personal stories from different perspectives, we will examine the shift that happens when we collaborate for change, and the ripple effect that is created across the globe. We each have the opportunity to use our voice, power and influence to make a difference. In this session, we will explore and celebrate the ways in which we can each contribute to driving global change that will lead to a better future for everyone.

Social Enterprise Pitch: Day One

A live competition featuring outstanding social entrepreneurs, held over the course of two days. Each contestant will have 10 minutes to convince a panel of experts that their product or idea has potential to transform the lives of girls and women. Three winners will receive a cash prize that can be used to scale up their mission-driven business.

1) Katherine McGerald, SurvJustice
Sexual assault on college campuses is a common problem that often goes unreported. Many survivors feel alone and unsure of what to do next. SurvJust provides a variety of legal assistance that holds accountable both perpetrators and enablers of sexual violence in campus, criminal, and civil systems.

2) Jelece Morris, CòBARE
Beyond menstruation, millions of women experience situations that are overlooked or viewed as taboo topics, including irregular spotting, weakened pelvic floors, and incontinence. CòBARE is designing the next generation of feminine care solutions that do more than manage women’s monthly flow.

3) Alyssa Newlon, Milaan Foundation
For too many girls in India, the journey to adulthood is marred by child marriage, gender-based violence, discrimination, and limited access to education and health information and services. The Milaan Foundation shares their efforts to build a movement of girl leaders who will in turn drive intergenerational and systemic change, particularly in underserved communities.

4) Ibrahim Mohedas, SubQ Assist
There are too few trained healthcare providers to meet the demand for long-term contraception among Ethiopian women. Moreover, for women in rural areas, the time and cost of travel often presents a barrier to visiting a health clinic. SubQ Assist has a solution that could dramatically expand who can administer subcutaneous contraceptive implants, especially in rural areas.

5) Doreen Kessy, Ubongo Learning
In many areas of Africa, schools are overcrowded, teachers are undertrained, and students lack access to educational resources. Performance is especially low in math and science, particularly among girls. Ubongo leverages the power of entertainment, the reach of mass media, and the connectivity of mobile devices to deliver effective, localized learning at low cost and massive scale.

Moderated by: Janna Oberdorf, Vice President, Communications, Echoing Green

Welcome and Introductions by: Valérie Meunier, International Program Director, Fondation CHANEL

Changemakers in Action: Youth Leadership to Harness Digital Innovation for UHC2030

Organized by: Fondation Botnar

Fondation Botnar’s lunch session at the WD2019 conference will highlight the Women Deliver Young Leaders Program and explore best practices of youth leadership in action, particularly as it relates to young people as changemakers to accelerate the application of digital technology, including artificial intelligence for universal health coverage by 2030.

Redressing Power Imbalances: Using Research to Transform Gender Relations

Organized by: International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

This event features IDRC’s rich history of participatory and boundary pushing gender transformative research by sharing core principles and best practices that are highlighted in an analytical and reflective paper. Through case studies and practical examples, this session focuses on how gender transformative research supported by IDRC continues to combine critical elements such as root cause analysis, systemic partnerships, intersectionality, and strengthening capacities and processes for sustained change.

Accelerating Knowledge: Social Entrepreneurs and Family Planning

Organized by: Bayer AG

What role does social entrepreneurship play in accelerating positive change in family planning education and awareness? With a special focus on enabling youth voices, this session will feature social entrepreneurs sharing their experience and innovative approaches to overcoming the barriers they face in accessing education and increasing awareness of family planning. Join us for a fruitful exchange of knowledge, expertise and novel approaches to help support youth-led innovation.

Young Women at Work: Our Commitment to a World Where Young Women Prosper

Organized by: Mastercard Foundation

Join us for an interactive lunchtime event that brings together young leaders and decision-makers, and contests notions of ‘expert’ by creating a space for youth delegates to lead a series of mini-roundtables on how to achieve gender equity at scale. Lindsay Wallace, Director of Strategy and Learning, will close the session by discussing the Mastercard Foundation’s commitment to creating a world where all young women in Africa can pursue the employment opportunities they aspire to.

Round-table discussions will be facilitated by youth facilitators: Joan Nalubega, Alpha Ngwenya, Goodness Adesokan, Tasha Brooks, Fainess Mwakisimba, Mercy Wanalo, Tamara Lottering, Blooming Soyinka and Tracy Keza.

Shaping an Empowering Narrative for Financing for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: The Role of the Private Sector

Organized by: Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)

Despite of signs of progress, investments that are critical to achieving the SDG’s remain underfunded, while significantly more and better public and private investments will be required to achieve gender equality and empower women and girls. While Official Development Assistance remain an essential source of financing for gender equality and women’s empowerment, especially in the Least Developed Countries, a new way of thinking about financing for sustainable development is needed. But are investments making a transformative and lasting change in the lives of women and girls? Does private and blended finance catalyze investments for gender equality? How do we ensure that no one is left behind and that our approach is rights-based? What are the innovative approaches that can inspire us to scale up?

The Under-Recognized Power of Women in the Health Workforce

Organized by: Johnson & Johnson

Are women health workers under recognized? If so, WHY? Is it because they are women? Is it because society under value "care giving"? This session brings together health workers and health workforce leaders to uncover the answers to these questions. It is part of the "Power of We" series from Johnson & Johnson.

Face to Face with Peter Sands

Gender and the face of HIV

Host: Shahira Amin, Independent Journalist
With Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Child Welfare in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside: The Intergenerational and Lifelong Trauma of Child Apprehension

Organized by: Downtown Eastside Women's Network

The apprehension of children by government agencies disproportionately impacts First Nations, Metis and Inuit mothers and families where deep, far-reaching harm is overwhelmingly on women.  Although less than 7% of the population, First Nations, Metis and Inuit children represent more than 48% of apprehended children in Canada. Panel members include women with lived expertise, pushing for system-wide change. Attendees are invited to uncover local and global grassroots feminist strategies that keep women and their children together.

The Work is Never Done: Lessons in Being an Institutional Ally

Organized by: Vancouver Foundation

Good isn’t good enough. In this session, Canada’s leading community foundation will share what it’s doing well to be an ally to women and girls. But in a world of rampant inequality, organizations and institutions need to be accountable for doing so much more. Vancouver Foundation is committed to “learning in plain sight” and we’d like you to be part of it. Join us for a provocative conversation with guests who will hold our feet to the fire and tell us what we need to do differently — and better — to ensure our actions match our aspirations.

Meet the Filmmakers

An exclusive opportunity to meet the filmmakers and commissioning organizations for the films featured in the Women Deliver 2019 Conference Film Festival.

Time's Up: Ending Harassment in the Global Health Workplace

Organized by: Women in Global Health

Gender equality is everyone’s business and should be everyone’s reality. This session will focus on the paradigm shifted needed to achieve lasting and substantive change to create enabling environments for all genders, such that everyone can live free from all forms of harassment, as part of their Decent Work rights in the health sector. Tune in with #TimesUpGH and #WomeninGH.

Candid Conversation

What is the role of gender equality in climate justice?

Host: Shahira Amin, Independent Journalist
- Farwiza Farhan, Forest, Nature & Environment Aceh (HAkA)
- Fleur Newman, Gender Affairs Officer, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Harnessing the Power of Data for Gender Equality: Presenting EM2030 2019 SDG Gender Index

Launch of the EM2030 2019 SDG Gender Index and Plan International’s Taking the Lead Report

Film Screenings: Mental Health

Not Carol (15:00)
> On the afternoon of May 20, 2014, cries of terror shattered the quiet of West 223rd Street in Torrance, CA, when Rudy Coronado entered his bedroom to find that his bloodied wife had just stabbed their three daughters - Sophia, (2 1⁄2 years), Yazmine (1 1⁄2 years) and Xenia (10 weeks) - killing them all. Thirty-year old Carol Coronado, a beautiful young mother, committed the most unspeakable crime that afternoon, and her acts – although despicable – represent the extreme result of undiagnosed postpartum psychosis. NOT CAROL examines the scourge of postpartum psychosis through the tragic prism of the Carol Coronado murder case. In a judicial system riddled with archaic laws and chronic misunderstanding, Carol’s story shines a light on a public health epidemic that is enormous in scale and no one is talking about. Director(s): Eamon Harrington and John Watkin

Doubts (3:14)
> "Don't believe everything you think." DOUBTS, a poem by Julie Flanders with animation by Phoebe Cavise, is both a light and serious reminder to believe in something better than your uncertainties. Conveyed with love and whimsy this short film is meant to shift and elevate the spirit of the viewer. A seamless marriage of word and image, DOUBTS is a philosophical amuse-bouche designed to please the mind and delight the senses.

Vicarious Resilience Trailer (2:48)
> The documentary follows three Hudson Valley residents over the course of a 10-week TMI Project storytelling workshop presented at The Mental Health Association in Ulster County (MHA). Along the way, the participants experience the transformative power of true storytelling; they face mental illness, childhood neglect and addiction head-on; and, ultimately, share deeply personal stories about love, loss and triumph. Director(s): Eva Tenuto

God Knows Where I Am Trailer (2:16)
> The body of a homeless woman is found in an abandoned farmhouse, and a diary documenting a journey of starvation and the loss of sanity lies next to the body. For nearly four months, Linda Bishop, a prisoner of her own mind, survived on apples and rain water during one of the coldest winters on record. As her story unfolds from different perspectives, we learn about our systemic failure to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Director(s): Todd Wider and Jeb Wider

Hope Trailer (1:00)
> Based on a true story. When a widow with mental illness attempts suicide, she survives only to find herself homeless and unable to reconnect with her son. After a year of living in a shelter with no hope of overcoming her situation, she has a chance encounter that changes her life. Director(s): Katie Damien

Take a Deep Breathe (4:27)
> This is a short animation about a day of a woman who lives alone. In this day she wakes up in the morning and goes to kitchen for making breakfast. After hearing bad news about a girl (who has died because of violation) in radio, she remembers her bad experiences about the rape of her privacy. She remembers how some men look at her just sexually. She is afraid to go out but finally changes her mind and decides to go out again and be brave. Director(s): Zahra Safdari Shadloo

Film Screenings: Gender Violence

Hinge (22:50)
> When a mentally unstable man stops taking his antipsychotic medication his new neighbors, a lesbian couple with an idyllic life, become the target of his fixation. Director(s): Lisa Ann Mayo

Unsafe in the City (1:29)
> This film was produced to support the launch of Plan International's new report, Unsafe in the City, which was based on more than 21,000 online reports from girls and young women living in Delhi, Kampala, Lima, Madrid and Sydney. Keeping all girls identities anonymous the idea was to use a serene piece of classical music to calm your senses and then use the horrific quotes to illustrate the lived realities of girls. Director(s): Rachael Chilton

Youth Zone