At United Nations General Assembly Event, Denmark and Canada Celebrate Women Deliver’s Past and Future Conferences

New York, NY, 19 September 2017 – At an event held during the 72nd annual United Nations General
Assembly (UNGA), Denmark symbolically passed the baton to Canada to serve as host country for
the next Women Deliver Conference, the world’s largest conference on gender equality and the
health, rights, and wellbeing of girls and women. The conference will bring over 6,000 world leaders,
influencers, advocates, academics, activists, and journalists from more than 160 countries to
Vancouver from 3-6 June 2019. Women Deliver - a leading, global advocate for girls and women -
has been hosting the Women Deliver Conference every three years, since 2007.

At the UNGA event, Denmark’s Minister of Development Cooperation, Ulla Tørnæs, symbolically
passed the baton – a Women Deliver ceramic arrow – to Canada’s Minister of International
Development and La Francophonie, Marie-Claude Bibeau. The ministers were joined by Gender
Equality Advocate and Deliver for Good Influencer Ms. Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, Women Deliver’s
President/CEO Katja Iversen, and Women Deliver Young Leaders Olaoluwa Abagun and Dakshitha
Wickremarathne.

“Both Canada and Denmark are some of the world's leaders when it comes to investing in and
empowering girls and women,” said Katja Iversen, President/CEO of Women Deliver. “Today doesn’t
just mark the passing of host country duties, but also serves as an important moment to double
down on their commitment to women’s rights, gender equality, and sexual and reproductive health
and rights - at home and in their foreign policy and development assistant.”

The Women Deliver 2019 Conference will come at a time when support for the health, rights, and
wellbeing of girls and women is more critical than ever. The conference will present new knowledge,
promote world class solutions, and serve as a fueling station for action, energy, investment and
policy change. It will continue the momentum generated at the Women Deliver 2016 Conference,
held in Copenhagen, Denmark – one of the first major global conferences following the launch of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). During Women Deliver 2016 – more than 100 solutions were
presented to improve the lives of girls and women, and spur action across the globe.

“Denmark is already looking forward to WD2019 in Vancouver. We will play our part in making it a
success. We will be there to continue the fight for women’s health, rights and wellbeing. We will
continue to deliver!” - Denmark’s Minister of Development Cooperation, Ulla Tørnæs.

The Women Deliver 2019 Conference will engage a broad spectrum of voices, including indigenous
populations, youth, and those impacted by conflict, with an additional 100,000 participants
anticipated to be joining virtually or in satellite events.

"Women Deliver 2019 is not just a one-off conference. It is a movement to empower women and
girls and build a better world. It is an honour and an opportunity for Canada to be the next host!” -
Canada’s Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, Marie-Claude Bibeau.

“Vancouver 2019 will be an amazing opportunity to reunite thousands of advocates from across the
world to speak freely and truthfully about the difficult issues that must be addressed. Together, we
will work to achieve real progress for women everywhere. Because when men and women are
treated equally, everyone wins.” - Gender Equality Advocate and Deliver for Good Influencer, Ms.
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau.

Patrick Robison of Elkhart Lake, WI and Marilyn Windau of Sheboygan Falls, WI collaborated to
design and create the golden ceramic arrow for Women Deliver that the two ministers exchanged.
Robison has over 40 years of teaching experience in ceramics with middle school, college, and adult
students. He creates garden sculptures and owns a gallery and sculpture garden in Elkhart Lake.
Windau taught elementary and middle school art for 25 years, makes books ceramic covers and
other ceramic functional pieces, and is a published poet of three manuscripts, one self-illustrated.
Women Deliver is seeking suggestions on topics to be covered and speakers to be featured at the
conference. People can submit their ideas or learn more about Women Deliver 2019 at wd2019.org.

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About Women Deliver: As a leading, global advocate for the health, rights, and wellbeing of girls
and women, Women Deliver brings together diverse voices and interests to drive progress for
gender equality, with a particular focus on maternal, sexual, and reproductive health and rights. We
build capacity, share solutions, and forge partnerships, together creating coalitions, communication,
and action that spark political commitment and investment in girls and women.