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Webinar - Meet the Women on the Frontline of Change

Webinar – held Sunday, June 6th, 2021. 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm

Women are changing both the United Nations’ and the world’s approach to diplomacy, hunger and food production, the response to the refugee crisis, and much more. They are creating critical policies and partnerships to confront complex and challenging issues.

The Committee on Teaching About the United Nations (CTAUN) presented a webinar featuring dynamic women who have shaped and are shaping a response to global issues.
A recording of this webinar can be viewed HERE

Below is a recap of the webinar:

Chair of CTAUN Anne-Marie Carlson welcomed all to our third webinar, “The Frontline of Change: Women Leaders and the United Nations.” The webinar focused on the impact made by the vision and accomplishments of women from the past and present and includes some leaders whose careers we should follow in the future.  She explained that there would be no lengthy introductions, since more information is available on our website.

Mrs. Carlson then introduced the first of our featured leaders, Gillian Sorensen, former Assistant-Secretary-General. She is currently on the Board of the International Rescue Committee.

Mrs. Sorensen began by outlining her own career starting as New York City Commissioner to the United Nations. Her task was to “build bridges” between the diplomatic community and the people of New York City. When she was appointed to the UN, and she was charged with the planning of the UN’s 50th anniversary, she saw it as an opportunity to inspire and inform many different groups about the work of the UN. 

She said that despite Eleanor Roosevelt’s unique leadership and critical role at the UN, few women had been appointed;  Secretary-General Kofi Annan understood the importance of including women, not for appearance sake but because of what they were capable of accomplishing ; many women were chosen for important posts.  Mrs. Sorensen named many of the women that he chose.

Finally, she appealed to the teachers in the audience to encourage their students to follow current issues, to learn how to speak in public, to consider careers in foreign service or politics, and to learn and be fluent in one foreign language or two.

 CTAUN member, Diane Paravazian, presented the first Spotlight on a woman leader. She chose Audrey Azoulay, the Director General of UNESCO. Ms.Azoulay sees education as the key to solving global challenges and wants to see students, especially girls, relate in new ways to nature, science, the environment, and culture. The second leader in the Spotlight, Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka, oversees UN Women, an organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.  She believes that women must be represented in the heart of all decision-making spaces.

 CTAUN member, Joanna Petritsis, introduced Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy-Secretary-General, who is the second highest international civil servant in the world. Ms. Mohammed was instrumental in creating the Sustainable Development Goals, especially on poverty and climate change.  Then Ms. Petritsis Spotlighted the new United States Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield. As part of her goal to renew  US relationships with other countries,  Ms. Thomas-Greenfield has introduced “Gumbo Diplomacy” what she sees as a way of connecting people and helping them to solve  their differences.

Vice-Chair of CTAUN,  Grace Murphy, presented the video recording of Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, by stating that Ms. Bachelet is an agent of change. Although Ms. Bachelet realizes that the hardest thing is to change culture, she fights for the rights of women – their economic empowerment, their right to be included in decision making on all levels, and their right to be free from violence.

Ms. Bachelet began her video presentation by stating that in all the different phases of her life, she has encountered women who inspired her; she feels there would be more such incidents if women were not looked upon with suspicion born of hostility and stereotyping. Even though girls are sometimes taught to think of themselves as inferior, they are capable of incredible things in all fields.

In conclusion, Ms. Bachelet said that as the world struggles to recover from COVID 19, everyone must stand up for change and support human rights.

Lochie Musso, Secretary of CTAUN, focused on three leaders.  The first, Alaa Murabit, is the UN High Commissioner on Health, Employment and Economic Growth. She is an award-winning medical doctor, global security strategist and women’s rights advocate. Her TED talk,” What My Religion Really Says About Women,” has been viewed nearly 5 million times.

Next, Mrs. Musso chose Meg Gardinier, Secretary General of ChildFund Alliance. Her leadership helps to protect 14 million children, their families and communities in 70 countries.  She is a founding member of the Campaign for US Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Referring to  Virginia Gamba, the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict,  Mrs. Musso said that she advocates for Action Plans that keep “the best interest of the child in mind.” Ms. Gamba encourages governments to change policy and create laws to protect children in war zones and provide for their physical, intellectual, and emotional well-being.

CTAUN member Rose Cardarelli introduced Gillian Triggs, Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Ms. Triggs began her remarks by emphasizing the importance of the International Rule of Law as it affects achieving peace and protecting human rights. She then offered the staggering statistic that there are 82 million displaced persons in the world.

It is the responsibility of the Global Compact for Refugees to help all nations and their citizens understand that everyone must share the responsibility of caring for these refugees. It is a multinational agreement with a mechanism for enforcement, that strives to ease the burden on host countries and increase the self -reliance of the refugees by providing them with opportunities for education and earning a livelihood.

Ms. Cardarelli also introduced Perveen Ali, the organizer of the Global Refugee Forum, an event that will happen every  four years and will focus on the pledges made by governments and stakeholders regarding the plight of the refugees. At the Forum in 2019, member states discussed budgets, policy, material and technical support, best practices, and other realistic aspects of achieving the Global Refugee Compact.

Ms. Ali said that the Forum was a unique moment because of the number of participants, because there were representative refugees at the table who were part of the decision making, and because there is a follow-up mechanism to make sure that the promises made there  become a reality.

CTAUN  Executive Director, Elisabeth Shuman, directed the next Spotlight to Corinne Woods, Director of Communications for the UN World Food Program. Ms Woods works to enhance the visibility and support fundraising for this organization,  winner of the 2020  Nobel Prize. It fights hunger worldwide, feeding  86 million people a year.

 Her next subject was Rosario Pilar De Garavito, Founder of the Millennials Movement,  a social media youth-lead movement which involved hundreds of young people in Peru.  They collected valuable information, encouraging people in their own communities to share their opinions. This information helped to shape the SDGs.

 Her third Spotlight choice was Eunhee Jung, Founder and President of IVECA – International Virtual Schooling. This method encourages students from around the world to study together and socialize using instructional technology – a way for the students to contribute to peace and sustainable development, to develop respectful relationships with others and  to grow as global citizens.

Grace Murphy, CTAUN Vice-Chair, introduced Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications. Ms. Fleming changed things. Faced with the responsibility of reaching millions of people in 60 countries, she decided to use every available media resource to deliver the UN’s message.  We are honored that Ms. Fleming joined us on video and to tell us how she faced this 21st century challenge and how she mobilized for change to accomplish her goals.

Ms. Fleming began by noting that communication is undergoing a change, driven by technology. She said that the challenge to inform people about the state of the world and what the United Nations is doing about it is enormous and so she decided that all information would have to be governed by the 3 W’s – What, Why Care and  What Now. 

The What is accurate content which is why VERIFIED, a UN initiative designed to deliver accurate information, advice and stories about real people, was developed. The Why Care means that all departments should identify and share people-centered stories to make a positive difference. The What Now is to attempt to mobilize individuals and groups to take action.

Ms. Fleming also mentioned her very popular podcast, Awake at Night, on which she interviews UN workers in perilous situations.

CTAUN Vice-Chair Connie Rensink introduced the panel, “No Hunger.” She said that SDG#1 – No Hunger – is complex and requires both systemic change and solutions that meet- current needs.  She introduced the three women who are part of this panel: Ismahane Elouafi, Amy Wu, and Cristal Montanez- Baylor.  She invited them to talk about themselves and the work they do.

Ismahane Elouafi is the Chief Scientist of FAO.  Ms. Elouafi does not believe we will reach the No Hunger goal by 2030 since we are not on track to improve food security, improve nutrition, or promote sustainable agriculture. Changing her focus, she stressed that we need to empower women and girls. They must have opportunities and they must have the freedom to choose their educational path. She spoke about the power of education, mentioning how her own quest increased her love of travel and made her more tolerant, more appreciative of diversity, and more understanding.

Amy Wu is the creator of From Farms to Incubators, a multi-media platform that covers agriculture and technology thru stories of women. Her goal is to increase the presence of women in a traditionally male-dominated field. She believes that STEM education could lead to more interest in farming, especially in small towns where growers face problems caused by climate change and land and water mismanagement. She believes more women should major in agricultural studies.

Cristal Montanez- Baylor is working to help the refugees fleeing  to Colombia because of the humanitarian crisis  in Venezuela. Ms.  Montanez-Baylor and her colleagues responded by distributing meals and supplies needed for protection against COVID. When grant money stopped, she continued her response, but can now only offer soup  and, she wishes, some hope to the refugees.

In response to the question: ”What can an educator do to empower girls in your field?” Ms. Elouafi  cited the need for mentoring to teach girls how to manage their careers, learn leadership skills, and fight for policy and laws that support women.

Ms. Wu agreed that mentoring is invaluable.  She also called for courses in the curriculum that focus on agriculture, presentations at Career Days, competitions and games that have to do with food production.

Ms. Montanez-Baylor called for an emphasis on gender equality and a general need to realize the role of women as leaders.

CTAUN Director-at-Large Peter Brosnan chose three young women for the final set of Spotlight presentations. The first is Jayathma Wickramanayake, The UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth. Chosen in 2019 as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 World Leaders, Jayathma tries  to increase the involvement of young people in the workings of the UN by  giving them a voice,  engaging them, and  offering them  opportunities for involvement.

Tania Rosas founded the El Origen Foundation in her native country of Colombia, home to millions of indigenous people, many of whom are young. She works with educators and indigenous leaders to give at-risk students a second chance by decreasing illiteracy through a hands-on curriculum, adapted to the locale, language and culture of the community.

The third Spotlight shines on Preva Shomy, the founder of Awareness 360.  Preva decided to create an outreach program that would ensure that people in her country had clean water. She delivered WASH talks to vulnerable communities explaining the basic principles of hygiene and the proper technique of hand washing. Awareness 360 seeks to make people aware of the SDGs and other issues. Anne-Marie Carlson thanked the registrants and then the CTAUN Vice-Chairs Connie Rensink and Grace Murphy  for producing the content and the technology experts Elisabeth Shuman and Peter Brosnan for their help with this webcast.  She announced that the United Nations was producing Virtual tours that are one hour in length; more information may be found on the UN website at UNHQ.org

Further information on the Spotlights and all women leaders plus a Resources list can be found on this website.

We heard from:

Michelle Bachelet High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations
A woman of several firsts, Ms. Bachelet was the first woman President of Chile for two terms. She was named the first director of UN Women, an organization advocating for economic empowerment and the end of violence against women and girls. She has a Medical Degree in surgery and has studied military strategy.

Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, United Nations
A media expert, author of a book, A Hope More Powerful than the Sea, and the host of an award- winning podcast, Awake at Night, Ms. Fleming previously served UNHCR as Head of Global Communications. She designed a multimedia news service to distribute and place stories designed to generate empathy for refugees.

Gillian Sorensen, Former United Nations Assistant Secretary General
Currently serving on the Board of the International Rescue Committee, she is also a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She served as Assistant-Secretary-General and was responsible for outreach to all aspects of society. .She has served as NYC Commissioner for the UN and has been a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University.

Gillian Triggs, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
A highly renowned expert in international law who has held a number of eminent appointments in service to human rights and the refugee cause, she oversees UNHCR’s protection work for millions of refugees, internally displaced, stateless and other people of concern. Recent positions included President of the Australian Human Rights Commission and the Vice Chancellor’s Fellow and Emeritus Professor at the University of Melbourne. 

Perveen Ali, Head of the Global Refugee Forum Coordination Team, UN High Commission for Refugees
and Senior Policy Advisor at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva. She has been working in the field of refugee and human rights protection since 1993 in various locations in the Middle East, Africa, and the United States, previously with NGOs and later with UNHCR. She holds a PhD in Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science and is a national of the United States of America.

Ismahane Elouafi, Chief Scientist, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation
Prior to her appointment, Dr Elouafi was Director General at the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture based in the United Arab Emirates. In this role, she spearheaded the development and implementation of the center’s long-term strategy and expanded its mandate to marginal environments, an agroecosystem concept which she helped to mainstream in the global research and development discourse.

Cristal Montanez, Hope for Venezuelan Refugees
Cristal Montañéz Baylor is a humanitarian and philanthropist experienced in citizen diplomacy working in some of the world’s most controversial countries.  Cristal is a member of the Rotary e-Club of Houston and the International Coordinator of the Hope For Venezuelan Refugees, a project created to respond to the food insecurity and hunger affecting thousands of Venezuelan refugees, migrants, and walkers “caminantes” in Cúcuta and Pamplona, Colombia. The project received the Rotary Humanitarian Service Project of the Year Award 2018-2019 .

Amy Wu, Farms to Incubators
Amy is the Creator & Chief Content Director of From Farms to Incubators, a multimedia platform that uses documentary, video, photography and the written word to tell the stories of women leaders and innovators in agtech. It has a mission of highlighting women in food, farming, and farmtech, especially women of color. From Farms to Incubators includes an award-winning documentary short that has been screened at SXSW, and a best-selling book “From Farms to Incubators: Women Revolutionizing How Our Food Is Grown” that was released in May 2021.

SPOTLIGHTS:

Audrey Auzuley, UNESCO
Shomy Hasan Chowdhury, Samsung Global-UNDP G17 Ambassador
Virginia Gamba, UNSG Representative for Children and Armed Conflict
Rosario Pilar de Garavito, The Millennials Movement
Linda Thomas Greenfield, US Ambassador to the UN
Meg Gardinier, Child Fund
Eunhee Jung, IVECA
Phumzile Mlambo-Nguka, UN Women
Amina Mohammed, Deputy-Secretary General
Alaa Murabit, UN High-Level Commissioner on Health, Employment & Economic Growth
Tania Rosas, El Origen Foundation
Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Youth Envoy
Corinne Woods, United Nations World Food Program

RESOURCES

Articles

  • Women who shaped the Universal Declaration | United Nations Eleanor Roosevelt’s leading role as Chairperson of the drafting committee of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been well documented. But other women also played essential parts in shaping the document. Some of them, and their contributions to the inclusion of women’s rights in the Universal Declaration, are featured here.
  • Women Leadership | UN News  – UN News has many articles regarding women in leadership.

Lessons

  • Curriculum & Lesson Plans | USU – These resources provide curriculum and ideas on how to teach content that can strengthen the impact of Utah girls and young women.
  • Female Leaders Worksheets & Teaching Resources | TpT – Lesson ideas, games, etc. from free (very few) to $50 but almost all under $5.
  • From Where I Stand – This project enables you to think about and contribute to encouraging women and girls to have equal opportunities to be heard and to have real opportunities to participate in all political, economic and public spheres.
  • Mission: Gender Equality – Through group discussion and research, students will examine the need for action on SDG 5 Gender Equality.
  • Teach a Girl to Lead Teaching Toolbox   – Whether you’re a teacher, a group leader, or an interested parent or friend, these tools will help you bring women’s political history and leadership into classrooms, youth programs, field trips, and beyond.
  • The World’s Largest Lesson – World’s Largest Lesson promotes use of the Sustainable Development Goals in learning so that children can contribute to a better future for all. A programme from Project Everyone.

Organizations

  • ReflectUS Coalition Members  – “ReflectUS is a national, nonpartisan coalition of the leading women’s representation organizations working to increase the number of women elected and appointed to public office at the local, state and national levels.
  • UN Women – UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.
  • Women Deliver – Women Deliver is a leading global advocate that champions gender equality and the health and rights of girls and women.

Programs

  • EMERGE – Programme for Emerging Women Leaders | Centre for Learning and Multilingualism – The Programme for Emerging Women Leaders, an innovative initiative jointly developed by 11 UN entities – ILO, ITU, OCHA, OHCHR, UNAIDS, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNOG, UNSSC, WHO and WIPO, is part of a renewed and sustainable effort to tap into the leadership potential of female staff members within the UN system.
  • The Generation Equality Forum is a global movement for gender equality, convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the governments of Mexico and France.  The Forum brings together governments, corporations, NGOs, youth-led groups and Foundations to secure concrete, ambitious, and transformative commitments for gender equality.

Videos about women or related issues

  • A Global History of Women’s Rights in 3 minutes – Discover the noteworthy women, grassroots movements and historic milestones that have changed the world for women and girls.
  • Rise for All – “Rise for All” is a new initiative that brings together women leaders to mobilize support for the UN Recovery Trust Fund and the UN roadmap for social and economic recovery, as laid out in the new United Nations Framework for the immediate socio-economic response to COVID-19.
  • UN Women Youtube Channel – Collection of videos related to the United Nations that champion women and girls.
  • What it Takes to Lead – Inclusive and diverse feminist leadership is key to sustained global development as the world continues to confront urgent challenges.

Speaker Resources

Spotlight Women Leaders

Eleanor Roosevelt





CURRENT EVENTS

Due to COVID-19 we are organizing a series of webinars online until it is safe again to hold in-person conferences at UN Headquarters in New York. Our most recent webinar "CLIMATE CHANGE AND GLOBAL HEATING: WHAT WE CAN DO TOGETHER TO RESTORE OUR BROKEN PLANET" took place April 22, 2022. Details and a link to the video are on the CONFERENCE page.

PREVIOUS CONFERENCES

"MULTILINGUALISM - THE NEW GLOBAL COMPETENCE STANDARD: MOTHER LANGUAGE +2" took take place Monday February 21, 2022
Click here for the Conference Program

Our 21st CTAUN Conference at UN Headquarters in New York "WAR NO MORE" honored the 75th anniversary of the United Nations and its purpose as outlined in the Charter.
Click here for information on previous conferences

The CTAUN GLOBAL CITIZEN AWARD was established in 2017 to honor the memory of CTAUN co-founder Barbara Walker. The first recipient was The Right Honorable Gordon Brown in 2018, followed by Richard Curtis in 2019. The 2020 recipient was Cora Weiss.

TEACHER RESOURCES

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are for everyone and everyone needs to know about them and participate in their implementation. Look for inspiration to teach about the SDGs and other UN topics under the Teacher Resources tab.