Marci Ien

Watch the recording here

Addressing gender gaps requires addressing accountability gaps. Despite numerous commitments to gender equality and women’s rights, implementation and delivery remain challenging, especially for grassroots, women’s rights, youth-led, and feminist organizations. This plenary examines accountability mechanisms to ensure financial resources reach feminist movements, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. It explores whether these mechanisms prioritize civil society, girls, youth, and women. This plenary will provide a space for frankly discussing accountability and a platform for civil society organizations, youth, and grassroots activists to hold leaders accountable, identify gaps, celebrate successes, and generate solutions for a future where gender equality commitments are co-designed and co-accountable.

Opening: Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Co-Founder of the Malala Fund

Moderator and MC: Shahira Amin, Award winning Journalist and Former Deputy Head of Egypt’s Channel Nile TV

Video: Melinda French Gates, Co-chair and Board Member of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Panel:

• Dr. Geeta Rao Gupta, Ambassador-at-Large for the Office of Global Women’s Issues
• Julisa Tambunan, Equal Measures 2030
• Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame, Global Advocacy Manager at Sightsavers
• Louise Holt, Director General of the Social Development Bureau at Global Affairs Canada
• Hon. Lynda Tabuya,  Minister for Women, Child and Poverty Alleviation of Fiji
• Pauline Faith Gartor, Executive Director of the Girls Health Alliance

Lightning Talks

• Wangechi Wachira, Executive Director, Center for Rights Education and Awareness (DfG Kenya)
• Shereen Bhan, Leadership Development & North America Director WomenLift Health
• Anika Dorothy Jenne, Amplify Girls

Closing:

• Asenath Mwithigah, CEO of Orchid Project. Launch of the Africa Network to end FGM/C
• Nabeela Iqbal, Asia Network to End FGM/C, member from Sri Lanka

This side-event co-hosted by the Government of Canada, UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage, and Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage, will provide an opportunity for an intergenerational discussion on the urgent need to accelerate action to end child, early and forced marriage and unions (CEFMU).

As the polycrisis of conflict, climate change, food insecurity and COVID-19 continue to have devastating impacts for women and girls, we must work together to ensure that progress made to reduce the prevalence of CEFMU is not reversed. It will bring together young global leaders, influencers, and key stakeholders driving action to end CEFMU around the world. The event will encourage open dialogue on challenges and effective tools for preventing CEFMU, including through comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) – an empowering tool for changing harmful gender norms and practices that perpetuate child marriage and gender inequalities. Organized by Government of Canada