GWI UPDATE – 28 August 2024

— Graduate Women International (GWI) News —GWI invites contributions to the 105-Year Heritage Fundraising Wall
On 1 July, GWI unveiled the virtual Heritage Fundraising Wall to commemorate its 105thanniversary. The wall features blocks representing various donation amounts, each uniquely
personalised with the donor's name. Contributions to this fundraiser are instrumental inadvancing girls' education and supporting GWI's mission. Since its launch, the Heritage
Fundraising Wall has received around 8,000 Swiss francs. GWI expresses immense gratitudeto those who have contributed and eagerly anticipates further support. GWI applauds Vice
President Education Shirley Gillett for her dedicated efforts in creating and overseeing thewall. Click HERE to make your donation to the GWI Heritage Fundraising Wall.
GWI Young Member Network (YMN) launches 4-part mentorship series
On 12 August, commemorating International Youth Day, GWI YMN successfully launched thefirst session of its 4-part mentoring series. The webinar, under the theme, Empowering Young
Women for Careers in the 21st Century, featured famed BBC Executive Producer, ProjectDirector and Hybrid Learning Events Director, Chair BBC Women in Stem, Lalita Taylor FRSA.
The Vimeo recording of this webinar where Taylor offers young women career advice, can befound HERE. GWI encourages young members to join future session of this series. The next
webinar is on International Day of Peace, 21 September, focusing on careers in thehumanitarian sector, where members will gain insights into different career paths andexperiences within this field. Additionally, Save the Date for the final two sessions of the series
on 24 October, focusing on youth engagement in United Nations processes, and 25 November
kicking off the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, addressing e-learning andgender studies. All GWI young members and guests are encouraged to join and benefit fromthis initiative hosted by the GWI YMN. A certificate of attendance will be provided for eachsession. More information will be sent in the coming days for members who wish to register.
Registration details will be announced soon. Please see flyer at the end of this newsletterfor further information.

— GWI Member News —GWI Resolution Committee to host a webinar on advocacy training
After the highly successful webinar hosted by the Resolution Committee on PolicyResolutions, which offered valuable insights into creating impactful policy resolutions, GWI isencouraging interested members to take part in the upcoming advocacy training webinar on4 September. This exclusive webinar is specifically designed for GWI members and aims toprovide a comprehensive overview of the GWI Policy Resolution Triennial Advocacy Cycle.
Participants will gain valuable knowledge on effective advocacy strategies to enact changeand enhance the impact of their National Federation and Association’s (NFAs) Policy
Resolutions. The session will also offer practical tips and tools for successful Policy Resolution
advocacy, using the 2022 Education Policy Resolution as an example. To facilitate maximum
participation, the webinar will be offered twice. The first session will be held from 7:00-8:00
a.m. Central European Summer Time (CEST), and the second from 5:00-6:00 p.m. CEST. GWI
members are invited to register for the 7:00 a.m. CEST session HERE. To register for the 5:00
p.m. CEST session, GWI members can click HERE. Please see the flyer at the bottom of thisnewsletter for more information.
Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) to organise peace assembly
To mark International Day of Peace, CFUW has collected hundreds of peace panels that will
be displayed during an International Day of Peace Assembly at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. GWI
encourages members who will be in Ottawa on 21 September to join this historic event, whereCFUW members and their families will share messages of peace through art and conversation.
For more details, please contact Deborah Dimitruck at deborah.dimitruck@gmail.com orJoan Conrod at naoj39@icloud.com.

— GWI at the United Nations —GWI
participatesinthe2024
High-Level
PoliticalForum(HLPF)
From 9-18 July, the HLPF took place at the United Nations, New York under the auspices ofthe United Nations Economic and Social Council. The HLPF reviews progress towards theSustainable Development Goals (SDGs). GWI United Nations Representative, New York, Dr
Maureen Byrne, represented GWI at the HLPF Ministerial Declaration session. The adopted
Ministerial Declaration highlights the urgency of addressing challenges such as poverty,
inequality, and climate change. It underscores the importance of multilateral cooperation andpartnerships. It calls for increased financial and technological support for developing
countries, advocates for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls andstresses the need for resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The declaration
reiterates the commitment of member states to uphold international law and the principlesof the United Nations Charter. GWI thanks Dr Byrne for representing GWI at the session. To
read Dr Byrne’s comprehensive coverage of the session, click HERE.
Additionally, Women-Graduates -USA United Nations Representative, New York and former
GWI Vice President Advocacy and Education, Louise McLeod, offers a comprehensive report

of the HLPF session. The session stressed the crucial role education and gender equality playin achieving the SDGs. Moreover, the session emphasised the importance of quality
education, lifelong learning, and access to technology for women and girls, which are essential
for empowering them and closing the gender gap. The session called for stronger
collaboration between governments, civil society, and the private sector to address issues
such as gender-based violence, discrimination, and underrepresentation in decision-makingroles. GWI thanks McLeod for her comprehensive report that also contains valuableresources. To access the report click HERE.

GWI participates in the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
From 13-17 May, GWI United Nations Representative, Vienna, Elisabeth Francis, participatedin the 33rd session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) heldat the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime in Vienna, Austria. The 33rd CCPCJ session
focused on advancing international cooperation in combating corruption, terrorism, andorganised crime. Over 1,400 participants from 128 member states and 75 NGOs attended,engaging in discussions on cybercrime, environmental crime, human trafficking, andcorruption. Four critical resolutions were adopted, including countering human trafficking
and preventing violence against children by criminal and terrorist groups. Francis also
represented GWI at events on topics such as crimes against older persons and corporate
sustainability. The session emphasised the need for cross-border cooperation, youth
involvement in decision-making, and intensified efforts towards achieving SDG 16. Moreover,the session stressed the importance of quality education, lifelong learning, and access totechnology for women and girls, which are essential for empowering them and closing thegender gap. The session called for more vital collaboration between governments, civilsociety, and the private sector to address issues such as gender-based violence,
discrimination,andunderrepresentationindecision-making
roles.
GWI thanks Francis for participating and invites reading and sharing her interesting,comprehensive report of the session HERE.
Additionally, GWI cosponsored and attended several side events during the CCPCJ. The side
event summary highlights various side events cosponsored by GWI and attended by Elisabeth.
These events addressed critical crime-related issues, including the growing threat of crimes
against older persons via advanced communication tools and corporate sustainability
directives' role in promoting fair working conditions and engaging youth in crime prevention.
Discussions also focused on decarbonizing organised crime, the importance of family inpreventing youth crime, and the legal challenges related to environmental crimes and nuclear
disasters. These events emphasised the need for multi-stakeholder approaches, awarenesscampaigns, and policy changes to address these global concerns effectively. To read andshare the comprehensive side event report, click HERE.
Reflecting on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) and looking ahead
Although the CSW68 concluded in March, its impact remains relevant as GWI looks forward
to CSW69 in March 2025. GWI United Nations Representative, New York, Maryella Hannum,
is one of GWI main CSW representatives and organisers of the annual GWI CSW events. In
this CSW68 summary, she details GWI's active participation in the CSW68. The summary

stresses that the CSW68 priority theme provided a unique opportunity to evaluate andreassess the systemic structures that perpetuate poverty among women and seek actions toleverage public institutions and gender-sensitive financing mechanisms to build a more
equitable future. In this regard, gendered responsive economic and social policies are central
to addressing poverty among women. The report expresses that gendered poverty is deeplyentrenched politically, socially, and economically, causing and leading to ingrained
discriminatory systemic structures, laws, and social norms. Additionally, points of contention
pertaining to the Agreed Conclusions negotiations were around the use of "genderresponsive" and "gender-based violence," resulting in the elimination of these phrases, which
is anticipated to carry over to CSW69 and the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration andPlatform for Action. GWI warmly thanks Hannum for her annual CSW participation andorganisation. Readers are invited to read, reflect and share her report HERE.

— Give the Gift of Membership —The GWI Independent Member network is growing, with many new members joining fromaround the world over the past few months. A thoughtful gift for the graduate woman in yourlife is a GWI membership. There are many benefits of being a member of GWI, including
belonging to an influential international non-governmental organisation composed ofgraduate women influencing policy and legislation on women’s issues at the international
level and gaining an international perspective on women’s issues through networking
activities. Click HERE to find out how to join GWI.

— Did you know? —GWI extends heartfelt thanks to interns Xinyang Sun andOndine Déruaz-Scheiblin for their invaluable contributions
GWI is grateful to interns Xinyang Sun and Ondine DéruazScheiblin for their contributions to GWI’s communications andadvocacy efforts. Sun dedicated six months to GWI,
significantly enhancing various initiatives and supporting ourmembership base. Her noteworthy contributions include
drafting a report for the Teachers for Rural Futures project for
the City of Geneva, a major project contributor. Additionally, she developed multiple
infographics, communication and social media campaigns, and contributed significantly to theUpdate newsletter production, all of which have been vital in raising awareness about criticalissuesaffecting
women'sandgirls’
educationworldwide.
Déruaz-Scheiblin also made significant contributions during her six-month internship, using
her experience in fundraising and video production to further GWI’s mission. Her experienceenriched GWI’s media content and contributed to fundraising initiatives. She played a key rolein various communication campaigns by creating infographics, drafting press releases, andmanaging social media platforms, while simultaneously contributing to the production of theUpdate newsletter. “I offer my thanks to Ondine and Xinyang for their hard work, dedication,and the fresh perspectives they brought to the GWI team. GWI is pleased to have offeredthem practical experience at an international NGO,” says Stacy Dry Lara, GWI ExecutiveDirector.
The GWI internship program, alongside the YMN, remains a cornerstone of GWI’scommitment to developing future leaders through education, mentorship, and practicalexperience. At GWI, we take pride in offering enriching internship opportunities to young
women passionate about advocating for the right to education and addressing the barriers
faced in accessing education.

— Dates and events —31 August
08 September
21 September
5 October
11 October
15 October
10 - 13 Sept 2025

Swiss National Federation Centenary, Bern, Switzerland
International Literacy Day
International Day of Peace
World Teachers Day
International Day of the Girl
International Day of Rural WomenGWI 35th General Assembly and Conference, Location: TBD
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