International Women’s Day

Two Girlguiding members have travelled to the 56th UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the United Nation’s Headquarters, in New York, as part of a delegation representing the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).

Pippa Gardner and Haley Bell are thrilled to be among the eight delegates representing WAGGGS at the conference. They are participating as event-related support delegates, and their responsibilities include mentoring and guiding attendees.

The conference, which takes places from 27 February to 9 March, coincides with International Women’s Day – taking place today –  which aims to promote gender equality and celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women all around the world.

Countries and organisations have adopted different themes to mark this year’s Day. The United Nation’s theme is ‘Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty’, while many organisations have chosen the theme ‘Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures’.

Haley, 18, from County Antrim in Ulster, is a member of Girlguiding’s youth panel Advocate!, she said, ‘I felt very valued about being accepted and empowered that I can make a change to make the world a safer and fairer place for girls’.

Pippa, 21, from Peterborough, holds guiding positions including Regional Youth Forum Chair and Trustee of Anglia Region, and is also an In4mer (peer educator), she said, ‘I am very excited about being accepted to go to the UN CSW again, and it will be great to use what I learnt last year to mentor the other members of the delegation’.

Pippa gave the Young Women’s Caucus statement to the General Discussion of the Commission and also wrote a piece for the Huffington Post about the conference and the discussions which took place, read the article here.

International Women’s Day began in the early 1900’s, and was first celebrated by the United Nations in 1975. Click here to find out more.

Read the official WAGGGS blog here with contributions from Haley. You can also follow the official Twitter feed and find other posts about the event under the hashtag #csw56.