Kigali, Rwanda, 20 June 2022 | During this week’s Commonwealth Women's Forum (CWF 2022), taking place in parallel to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), Women Deliver joins the Government of Rwanda in kicking off the one-year countdown to the next Women Deliver Conference (WD2023), taking place from 17-20 July in Kigali, Rwanda.
WD2023 will be one of the largest multi-sectoral convenings to advance gender equality to date. From day one, WD2023 has been co-created by grassroots advocates, multilateral governments, the private sector, philanthropies, and youth, including from and representing communities facing systemic discrimination in Kigali and around the world. With sexual and reproductive health and rights at its core, WD2023 will center intersectional feminist principles, to address compounding issues impacting girls and women — from climate change, to gender-based violence, to unpaid care work — and collectively identify and action evidence-based solutions.
Throughout CWF 2022, Women Deliver will participate in panels and discussions alongside the Government of Rwanda to build momentum and begin galvanizing concrete actions to address challenges impacting girls and women in Rwanda, across the Commonwealth, and globally.
Women Deliver’s outgoing CEO and incoming Board Member, Kathleen Sherwin, noted that, “WD2023 will enhance the collective power of diverse gender equality advocates around the world, including by championing the leadership of grassroots advocates, connecting advocates with decision-makers, and sharing key advocacy strategies. We are thrilled to be coming together with the Government of Rwanda and Rwandan gender equality advocates during CWF 2022 to continue laying the groundwork to advance gender equality and improve the wellbeing of girls and women, in all their intersecting identities, in the lead up to WD2023 and beyond.”
“The goals of this year’s Commonwealth Women's Forum perfectly align with the objectives of WD2023. Proposed solutions from the Forum will inform Commonwealth leaders’ discussions and policies on ending gender inequality, and will help Rwanda and the world catalyze progress on the objectives of WD2023; including advancing collective progress on gender equality, and holding leaders accountable,” said Maliha Khan, President and CEO of Women Deliver.
Rwanda’s strong and demonstrable commitment to gender equality and girls’ and women’s health and rights makes it an especially appropriate choice for WD2023.
“We are delighted to partner with Women Deliver to host WD2023 in Rwanda. WD2023 affirms our country’s ongoing efforts to ensure that the rights of half of humanity are not denied,” said Rwanda’s Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Minister Jeannette Bayisenge, who is also Chair of the WD2023 Host Country Committee. “The Commonwealth Women’s Forum, with its theme of ‘Delivering a Common Future: Transforming for Gender Equality’, represents a timely opportunity to come together at the one-year-out mark from WD2023.”
The Conference’s theme, registration, scholarships, and concurrent applications will open on 19 July, 2022 during a virtual launch event being organized by Women Deliver.
FOR MEDIA QUERIES PLEASE CONTACT:
- Heba Katoon – Women Deliver
hkatoon@womendeliver.org - Kagiso Saasa – Edelman
womendeliver@edelman.com - Jennifer Woodside – Commonwealth Secretariat
j.woodside@commonwealth.int
About Women Deliver: Women Deliver is a leading global advocate that champions gender equality and the health and rights of girls and women, in all their intersecting identities. Our advocacy drives investment — political and financial — in the lives of girls and women worldwide. We harness evidence and unite diverse voices to spark commitment to gender equality. And we get results. Anchored in sexual and reproductive health, we advocate for the rights of girls and women across every aspect of their lives.
About the Commonwealth Women's Forum (CWF 2022): CWF 2022 is held in parallel to the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), taking place in Kigali, Rwanda between 20-21 June 2022. Delegates at the Commonwealth Women's Forum will discuss solutions to address pressing challenges affecting girls and women across the Commonwealth and ensure member countries have robust policies and programmes to meet gender equality targets by 2030. Proposed solutions from the two-day forum will inform Commonwealth leaders’ discussions and decisions on ending gender inequality — ultimately involving women at the highest level of policymaking to address challenges directly affecting them.
