Women Deliver 2019 Conference Media Advisory – Women Deliver

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe Now

Women Deliver 2019 Conference Media Advisory

The full press conference programme for the Women Deliver 2019 Conference (WD2019) is now available below and online. Please note that speakers are subject to change without advance notice. This email contains important information for planning purposes only, including how to cover the opening ceremony, so please read all the way through.

You must be registered before attending any official WD2019 plenaries, concurrent sessions, side events, or press conferences. The media registration entrance is located off of Thurlow street, in the corner closest to the water. Any media applications that have not yet been confirmed will need to complete their registration onsite and may experience delays.

All official WD2019 press conferences will be livestreamed here, and an individual press release for each official WD2019 press conference will be distributed to all registered media at the start of the respective press conference.

Official WD2019 press conferences will take place from Monday, June 3rd to Thursday, June 6th. The official opening press conference will take place on Monday, June 3rd at 2:30pm PDT. Please contact wd2019media@womendeliver.org with any questions, including to submit questions for panellists, time allowing.

Plenary Attendance

Please note, space in the plenary hall is limited and we cannot guarantee seating will be available for all media or delegates who wish to attend. If you would like to enter the lottery for a seat in the Women Deliver 2019 Conference Opening Ceremony, taking place on Monday, June 3rd, 2019 from 4:30-6:00pm PDT, please complete this survey.

The WD2019 media team will inform those selected by Monday at 2:00pm PDT.

All Plenary sessions will be livestreamed and accessible throughout the convention centre—particularly in the Fueling Station. You can also watch the livestream online through the WD2019 Facebook page.

Monday, June 3rd, 2019

02:30-3:30pm PDT
OFFICIAL PRESS CONFERENCE
Power. Progress. Change. Opening of the Women Deliver 2019 Conference
PCR, Rooms 121-122 (level 1)
Press Conference Chair: Hannah August, Director of Communications, Women Deliver
Opening press conference of the Women Deliver 2019 Conference in Vancouver featuring heads of state and leaders in gender equality.

  • Katja Iversen, President/CEO, Women Deliver
  • President Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya
  • President Sahle-Work Zewde, Ethiopia
  • Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Women
  • Natasha Wang Mwansa, Women Deliver Young Leader
  • Maryam Monsef, Minister of International Development and Minister Women and Gender Equality, Canada
Tuesday, June 4th, 2019

07:30-8:15am PDT
OFFICIAL PRESS CONFERENCE
Launch of McKinsey’s "The future of women at work: Transitions in the age of automation" report
PCR, Rooms 121-122 (level 1)
Press Conference Chair: Kweilin Ellingrud, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company
A new report from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) explores the potential impact of automation technologies on occupations, sectors, and countries around the world over the next decade through a gender lens. The report identifies priorities for action to overcome long-established as well as new barriers women will face in the future of work.

  • Mekala Krishnan, Senior Fellow, McKinsey Global Institute
  • Lareina Yee, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Office, McKinsey & Company
  • Geneviève Bonin, Partner, McKinsey & Company
  • Katja Iversen, President/CEO, Women Deliver

 08:40-9:25am PDT
OFFICIAL PRESS CONFERENCE
Press Conference with The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
PCR, Rooms 121-122 (level 1)
 Brief statement and media availability.

 09:45-10:30am PDT
Third Party Press Conference
Global Call to Action Launch: Uniting Forces to Ensure Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) is a Practice of the Past
PCR, Rooms 121-122 (level 1)
 Launch of a Global Call to Action to end the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) arrived at during a Women Deliver pre-conference on June 2, 2019. More than 100 activists, FGM/C survivors, and representatives from international, regional and community groups have joined together to develop and support this call.

  • Ebony Riddell Bamber, Head of Advocacy & Policy, Orchid Project
  • Bertine Pries, Advocacy Manager, Amref Health Africa

10:45-11:30am PDT
Third Party Press Conference
Launch of The Lancet Series on Gender Equality, Norms and Health
PCR, Rooms 121-122 (level 1)
Stanford University, along with a Steering Committee comprised of global thought leaders in gender and health, investigated key relationships between gender norms, gender equality, and the health and wellbeing of women, girls, men and boys globally, across the life course. The Lancet Series on Gender Equality, Norms and Health highlights the mechanisms through which gendered social norms – the often implicit “rules” that shape how women, men, boys and girls think and behave – profoundly affect health around the world. Series authors will present findings and answer questions by the media.

  • Ann Weber, Lecturer, Department of Pediatrics at Stanford University
  • Gary Darmstadt, Associate Dean, Maternal and Child Health at Stanford School of Medicine
  • Geeta Rao Gupta, Executive Director, 3D Program for Girls and Women, and Senior Fellow, United Nations Foundation
  • Jody Heymann, Dean, Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles
  • Lori Heise, Visiting Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

12:30-01:00pm PDT
OFFICIAL PRESS CONFERENCE
Harnessing the Power of Data for Gender Equality
PCR, Rooms 121-122 (level 1)
Press Conference Chair: Jessica Lomelin, Head of Media and Communications, Equal Measures 2030 (EM2030)
Launch of the EM2030 2019 Sustainable Development Goals Gender Index and Plan International’s Taking the Lead Report.

  • Memory Kachambwa, Executive Director, The African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET)
  • Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, CEO, Plan International
  • Maya, Youth Advocate, Plan International

01:15-02:00pm PDT
Third Party Press Conference
Apolitical's Gender Equality Top 100: The Most Influential People in Global Policy
PCR, Rooms 121-122 (level 1)
Press Conference Chair: Lisa Witter, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, Apolitical
A conversation with some of the Gender Equality Top 100. Featuring politicians, civil servants, academics and activists, the list both recognises high-profile icons and shines a light on the unsung heroes whose work is indispensable to creating a fairer world for everyone.

01:15-02:00pm PDT
Roundtable: Roundtable for francophone media/Table ronde pour les médias francophones
Roundtable Room 120

03:15-04:00pm PDT
Third Party Party Roundtable: Digital technology and youth engagement for UHC
Host: Foundation Botnar
Roundtable Room 120

04:15-05:00pm PDT
Third Party Press Conference
OPIC backs asset manager, Deetken Impact, and mission-driven company, Pro Mujer to empower women in Latin America
PCR, Rooms 121-122 (level 1)
Deetken Impact and Pro Mujer team up to invest in women and girls, delivering strong financial returns and meaningful, measurable social and environmental benefits. The Overseas Private Investment Corporation has committed US$10 million to grow the fund.

  • Maria Cavalcanti, President and CEO, Pro Mujer
  • Kathryn Kaufman, Managing Director, Global Women’s Issues, OPIC
  • Alexa Blain, Chief Operating Officer Deetken Impact
Wednesday, June 5th, 2019

07:30-08:00am PDT
OFFICIAL PRESS CONFERENCE
Unlocking the Power of Men's Care: Revealing New Research, Commitments, and Partnerships
PCR, Rooms 121-122 (level 1)
Press Conference Chair: Gary Barker, President & CEO, Promundo

This press conference will highlight three announcements, all centered around the need for men to take on 50% of the world's unpaid care work, as a key driver for achieving gender equality globally.

  • Susan Papp, Managing Director for Policy and Advocacy, Women Deliver
  • Molly Kennedy, Senior Global Brand Manager, Dove Men+Care at Unilever
  • Brian Heilman, Senior Research Officer, Promundo; Lead Author, State of the World's Fathers
  • Tanjina Mirza, Chief Programs Officer, Plan International Canada
  • Ziauddin Yousafzai, Co-founder of Malala Fund

 08:00-08:30am PDT
OFFICIAL PRESS CONFERENCE
Global Gag Rule Expansion and the Future of US Global Health Policy
PCR, Rooms 121-122 (level 1)
Press Conference Chair: Françoise Girard, President, International Women’s Health Coalition
 Launch of "Crisis in Care: Year Two Impact of Trump's Global Gag Rule" report from the International Women's Health Coalition and launch of the SafeAccess knowledge hub on quality safe abortion and post-abortion care programming from Marie Stopes International, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Ipas and Population Services International.

  • Vanessa Rios, Program Officer, Learning, Monitoring, and Evaluation, International Women’s Health Coalition
  • Carole Sekimpi, Country Director at Marie Stopes Uganda

 08:45-9:30am PDT
Third Party Roundtable: Tracking Trump: How anti-abortion ideology is being pushed through U.S. domestic and foreign policy
Host: Planned Parenthood Global and Center for Health Human Rights & Development
PCR, Rooms 121-122 (level 1)

 09:45-10:30am PDT
Third Party Press Conference
Merck joins the Partnership to End AIDS and Cervical Cancer among HIV-positive women in Africa
PCR, Rooms 121-122 (level 1)

 Last May, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and the George W. Bush Institute announced The Partnership to End AIDS and Cervical Cancer among HIV-positive women in Africa.  The Partnership aims to reduce cervical cancer incidence by 95 percent among the roughly 3.5 million women living with HIV in eight African countries, where HIV prevalence and cervical cancer mortality are the highest, an effort largely supported through $30 million in PEPFAR investment.

 At Women Deliver, we’ll be announcing that Merck is joining the Partnership and committing to introduce the HPV vaccine for HIV-infected girls and women (ages 9-26) in a number of priority African countries through an exploratory four-arm, randomized, non-inferiority trial, a very exciting development for empowering and supporting women in Africa. Women who are HIV-positive are 4-5 times more likely to develop invasive cervical cancer.

  • Carmen Villar, VP Social Business Innovation, Merck
  • Deborah L. Birx, Ambassador-at-Large and United States Global AIDS Coordinator
  • Holly Kuzmich, Executive Director, George W. Bush Institute

 12:30-01:00pm PDT
OFFICIAL PRESS CONFERENCE
Leveraging New Grassroots & Global Evidence to Support Girls and Women in Humanitarian Emergencies
PCR, Rooms 121-122 (level 1)
Press Conference Chair: Aanjalie Roane, Senior Associate, Humanitarian Communications
Over the past decade, there has been growing consensus among international, national, and local humanitarian actors that much more must be done to support girls and women in humanitarian emergencies. To help power progress, organizations at all levels have stepped up to document solutions and develop guidance for improving the health and rights of girls and women in humanitarian emergencies.

  • Bill Chambers, CEO and President, Save the Children Canada
  • Diana Abou Abbas, Executive Director, Marsa Sexual Health Center
  • Hauwa, Winner, 2018 Too Young to Wed: Girls’ Champion Award
  • Laurie Adams, CEO, Women for Women International

 01:15-02:30pm PDT
Roundtable for Spanish-speaking media/Mesa redonda para medios de diffusión en español
Roundtable Room 120

 01:15-02:30pm PDT
Third Party Press Conference
What Women Want: Demands from 1 Million Women and Girls Worldwide
PCR, Room 121-122
Results of the What Women Want campaign, which has heard directly from 1 million women and girls around the world about their top request for quality reproductive and maternal healthcare services. Women Deliver is a member of the campaign’s steering committee, along with UN Women, Every Mother Counts, E4A, WRA India/Centre for Catalyzing Change and International Confederation of Midwives; Cherie Blair Foundation for Women program evaluation data.

  • Angela Nguku, National Coordinator, White Ribbon Alliance Kenya
  • Aparajita Gogoi, National Coordinator, White Ribbon Alliance India
  • Kristy Kade, Deputy Executive Director, White Ribbon Alliance
  • Winifred Ognom, citizen mobilizer, Uganda

02:15-03:00pm PDT
Third Party Press Conference
Study: Community Health Workers in African countries increase access to family planning
PCR, Room 121-122
Press Conference Chair: Dr. Githinji Gitahi, global CEO, Amref Health Africa
 Highlights from a multi-country study in Africa looking at the role Community Health Workers are planning in access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, such as family planning services. In Sub-Saharan Africa: One in five girls and women (21 percent) face an unmet need for contraception; One in five adolescent girls aged 10-19 years (19.3 percent) gets pregnant and this number seems to be on the rise.

  • Margaret Kilonzo, Community Health Worker in Kibera, Kenya

 04:15-5:00pm PDT
Third Party Press Conference
Beijing+25: Time is now for Bold, Urgent, Robust Actions
PCR, Room 121-122
Press Conference Chair: Lopa Banerjee, Director of Civil Society Division, UN
 UN Women will share its plans for collective mobilization for 2020—when we mark the 25th anniversary of the 4th UN World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action—in the context of and as a counter to the polarization, reprisals and attacks that the gender equality agenda and civil society activists are facing today.

  • Kalliope Mingeirou, Chief, Ending Violence Against Women, UN Women
  • Nazneen Damji, Policy Advisor, Gender Equality, HIV and Health, UN Women
 Thursday, June 6th, 2019

07:30-08:00am PDT
OFFICIAL PRESS CONFERENCE
The economic impact of having a child before becoming an adult: New evidence and expert analysis
PCR, Room 121-122
Press Conference Chair: Julia Bunting, President, Population Council
A new study, conducted by the Population Council and with Women Deliver, points to the critical need to strengthen sexual and reproductive health and rights and expand economic opportunities for girls and women throughout their lives. Drawing from nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data in 43 low- and middle-income countries, the study found a strong and consistent lifelong negative association between giving birth before age 18 and a woman’s economic empowerment.
This expert panel will explore this new evidence and discuss the importance of using data to inform policies and initiatives intended to serve girls and women.

  • Stephanie Psaki, Deputy Director of the Girl Center, Population Council
  • Divya Mathew, Senior Manager, Research, Women Deliver
  • Niranjan Suggurti, Country Director, India, Population Council

10:15-11:00am PDT
OFFICIAL PRESS CONFERENCE
Movement Leaders in Conversation
PCR, Room 121-122
Press Conference Chair: Katja Iversen, President/CEO, Women Deliver
At the heart of global movements for progress lies the power of people joining together and the power of many demanding the same change. Media availability with select speakers following "The Power of Movements: What happens when many demand change" plenary.


Registration and Accreditation

To be accredited as a media representative, you must submit the supporting documents listed on the media page when you register. If you are attempting to register onsite, please have all required accreditation materials on hand for review. Please note that onsite registration cannot be guaranteed.

We ask that you arrive at least 45 minutes early at registration to give you time to finish the accreditation process and enter the conference venue.

Media registration and Media centre opening hours (PDT)

Monday, June 3rd          5:30am- 3:00pm; 4:30pm-8:00pm PDT

Tuesday, June 4th          5:30am-8:00pm PDT

Wednesday, June 5th     5:30am-6:00pm PDT

Thursday, June 6th         5:30am-3:00pm PDT


‘Ask an Expert’ Desk

In an effort to ensure you have access to leaders and experts attending the conference, Women Deliver will be hosting an “Ask an Expert Desk” in the media center. Like “office hours” for journalists, experts from various organizations will be available for about 30 minutes of time to serve as a resource for questions and comments. The schedule is below:

Tuesday, June 4
12:00 to 12:30
  • Experts on data, research, and technology
  • Experts on sanitation, nutrition, environment, and climate
13:00 to 13:30
  • Experts on advocacy, accountability, political participation, global processes, comms/media, campaigns
14:30 to 15:00
  • Experts on FGM/C, GBV/VAW, early forced marriage, and human trafficking
16:00 to 16:30
  • Experts on economic empowerment, investment, empowerment, leadership, and workplace

 

Wednesday, June 5
12:00 to 12:30
  • Experts on political participation
13:00 to 13:30
  • Experts on marginalized populations: Sex workers, LGBTQI, drug users, people with disabilities, migrants and displaced persons, rural/indigenous, people living with HIV and other stigmatized diseases
14:30 to 15:00
  • Experts on SRH, SRR, abortion, GGR, maternal care, UHC
16:00 to 16:30
  • Experts on maternal care

 

Thursday, June 6
12:00 to 12:30
  • Experts on youth, adolescent sexual and reproductive health, comprehensive sexuality education, education, youth empowerment
  • Experts on men and boys engagement
13:00 to 13:30
  • Experts on peace & security, humanitarian efforts

 

In addition, we are including a curated list of subject matter experts for your consideration as you attend the conference. These individuals have agreed to have their contact information shared with you in an effort to further connect experts and media.

 The full expert list can be found here. Please note that a number of these experts will be at the Expert Desk.


Interview Requests and Room Bookings

 Please submit all interview requests to wd2019media@womendeliver.org along with the below information:

  • Journalist name and contact information (email and onsite phone number)
  • Interviewee being requested
  • Topic

We have two small interview rooms available onsite for use by media throughout the conference. Media may pre-book these rooms by submitting their request to wd2019media@womendeliver.org or at the media center help desk. Please note that availability is limited and are reserved on a first come first serve basis.

There are also several standup locations available on the media center, available on a first come first serve basis.


Additional Notes for Media

 If you are interested in being connected to a delegate from a specific country, please reach out to wd2019media@womendeliver.org to inquire.


The Use of Wireless Microphones

Please note that we will not be allowing the use of wireless microphones in the conference venue. Broadcasters with questions can send a note to wd2019media@womendeliver.org or check in at the media center front desk for additional information.


Partner Press Releases and Media Advisories

 All partner press releases and media advisories are available here and will be updated daily as embargoes are lifted.