Linda Barry – Women Deliver
2020

Linda Barry

  • Age: 27
  •    |   She/her/hers

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Meaningful engagement of young people, and girls and young women in particular, is part and parcel of achieving gender equality and a more just and equitable world.

- Linda Barry

Bio

Linda Barry was born in Guinea and raised in the Netherlands. She received a Master of Science in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology from Leiden University. As a Girls’ Rights Programme Officer at Defence for Children-ECPAT, Linda supports the coordination and management of ongoing programs in the area of girls’ rights. She facilitates training on gender equality and meaningful youth engagement, coordinates the Defence for Children-ECPAT Youth Group, helps develop new programs in the field of girls’ rights, and contributes to Defence for Children-ECPAT’s lobby and public campaigns on girls’ rights. Additionally, Linda is a volunteer fundraiser at the Guinean organization Action pour les Droits de L’enfant et la Protection de L’environnement.

What ignited your pursuit for gender equality?

My pursuit for gender equality was ignited in 2013 when I met Congolese human rights lawyer and women’s rights advocate Irène Esambo and another human rights defender during my shelter city internship at Justice and Peace The Netherlands. I was inspired by their incredible work ethic, resilience, and passion for women’s rights.

Please share your biggest wins as an advocate for gender equality.

In 2019, I co-organized and facilitated a global youth meet-up of 23 gender equality youth advocates from Africa and Asia in The Netherlands. The meet-up consisted of a week-long of linking and learning, capacity exchanges, skill-building, and joint strategizing, as well as a public event and a visit to the Dutch Parliament where the youth advocates met with Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Committee, discussed the situation in their countries, and shared their key asks with the committee.

Outside of your gender equality advocacy work, what do you enjoy doing?

Journaling, reading, listening to podcasts, and volunteering.

Languages Spoken:

  • Dutch (Advanced/Native)
  • English (Advanced/Native)
  • Poular/Fulani (Advanced/Native)
  • French (Intermediate)

Speaks On:

  • SGBV
  • meaningful youth engagement
  • HIV/AIDS
  • maternal health

Past Awards, Certifications, or Fellowships:

  • Utrecht University Summer School Reproductive & Maternal Health: A Global Perspective (2019)
  • Winter Course University of Amsterdam: Health & Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspective (2018)
  • International Human Rights Mechanisms & Youth Participation in Geneva (2017)
  • University College Utrecht East Africa Educational Programme (2014-2015)

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