Looking for an opportunity to become more involved in women's health? Keep reading to find out 10 ways you can make a difference this summer.
1. Learn from Young Leaders at Women Deliver 2010
The second Women Deliver conference was held from June 7-9, 2010 in Washington, D.C., and hosted almost 3,400 participants, including 250 young people. The Women Deliver Conference is a global conference that brings together advocates, researchers, policy makers, and global leaders from around the world in order to highlight maternal and reproductive health as a global priority.
Women Deliver also invited 100 Young Leaders from almost 100 countries to participate in a pre-conference. This workshop aimed to empower and equip young people with the tools, resources, and knowledge to take the advocacy messages of Women Deliver beyond the conference. We created a Youth Guide to Action on Maternal Health for the Young Leaders to use at the conference. Download it here.
Young advocates were featured in both plenary sessions (watch the panel on "Young Women Deliver") and breakout sessions. The Youth Coalition and Advocates for Youth organized a series of eight youth-focused concurrent sessions, on issues ranging from maternal mortality to teen pregnancy to reaching marginalized adolescent girls.
Several of the Young Leaders have shared their experiences via the Women Deliver blog. Read their entries here. The 100 Young Leaders also discussed core topics that must be addressed to improve maternal health around the world at the Deliver for Youth blog. Email us if you'd like to be a guest blogger. You can also check out the Deliver for Youth Facebook group to learn about upcoming events, discuss issues effecting youth, and network with young advocates around the world. Click here to join.
2. Explore New Research on Adolescent Girls
At the Women Deliver 2010 conference, we published, in cooperation with the Center for Global Development, "Why It's the Right Time: Moving on Reproductive Health Goals by Focusing on Adolescent Girls" by Miriam Temin, Ruth Levine, and Nandini Oomman. In this paper, we present compelling arguments for doing more to protect and promote women's and girls' sexual and reproductive health, and make the case for why adolescent girls require special attention in order to accelerate progress on international health goals. Read it here.
3. Download Maps and Data on Girls Around the World
GirlsDiscovered.org is a newly launched website providing data and maps on the status of adolescent girls worldwide. Whether you are interested in which countries have the highest literacy rate or which countries have the largest population of girls, this website will provide accurate, accessible data presented in visual form or as a spreadsheet you can download. Any questions you have about the status of girls can be answered here!
4. Blog For Girls, By Girls
Do you have something to say? Become a guest blogger for Goal! Goal is a Standard Chartered Bank community initiative that uses sport and life skills education to empower adolescent girls, providing knowledge and offering a safe place to play. Goal was piloted in India and will be expanding globally in 2010, aiming to reach 100,000 girls directly and up to 5 million mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and community members. Write about what's happening with girls' empowerment around the world, comment on a recent development, describe your amazing summer job or just share your hopes and dreams. Over the next few months, Goal Girls will be publishing guest blogs, so start writing! For more information, click here, and send your submissions to goal.info@sc.com.
5. Get In the Action at the International AIDS Conference
You're invited! Join this week's conversation on condoms at conversationsforabetterworld.com, UNFPA's online blog . For the next few consecutive weeks, the site will feature video blog adaptations of the survey developed by the International AIDS Conference Satellite Session Working Group, to solicit answers from young people on issues including condoms, sexuality education and voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) for HIV prevention.
* Comment on the Blog: The experts at the upcoming AIDS conference in Vienna want to know what you think about HIV and condom use. Let them know your opinions by answering four simple questions here.
* Spread the word on Twitter: RT @_conversations_ and answer: What are the real barriers to getting condoms?
* Start a conversation: Add your ideas to any of the discussions of global issues at Conversations for a Better World.
You can also get the latest news about the AIDS 2010 Youth Programme and the opportunities to become involved in the XVIII International AIDS Conference by visiting the Vienna Youth Force website. There you can connect with other young people attending the conference and learn more about what you can do to help strengthen the voice of youth at AIDS 2010.
6. Enter Your Ideas to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
What would you say to other teens about preventing pregnancy? What kind of message - or image - do you think would make a difference? Enter your ideas in MTV's Stay Teen Pregnancy Prevention contest for a chance to win $250 and have your entry displaced on postcards, posters, and other materials distributed nationwide! Teens 13-19 are eligible to submit their artwork and ideas about teen pregnancy prevention. For more information and to read the official contest rules, visit the Stay Teen website.
7. Become a Global Advocate for Youth Reproductive Health
Pathfinder's 3 Billion Reasons campaign aims to increase awareness, support, and funding for programs that protect and promote youth sexual and reproductive rights. Learn why youth reproductive health is critical to sustainable development, read about new projects focusing on girls and young women and join the Youth Health and Rights Coalition to become a global advocate here.
8. Spread the Word: Youth Call to Action from the G8/G20
Youth delegates at MY SUMMIT 2010 identified a lack of obstetric expertise in the developing world as a major barrier to providing essential maternal health services to women across the globe. They urged G20 leaders to provide funds for education teams to aid developing nations in training new maternal health practioners and in creating a long term maternal health plan. Check out what the G8 youth delegates wrote in their memo here.
9. Share Your Maternal Health Care Provider Experience
Are you a maternal health care provider? Join Global Voices for Maternal Health, an online forum developed by the University of Oxford to incorporate healthcare providers into the development of global maternal health care policy. The forum will focus on identifying solutions to persistent barriers experienced by the providers of maternal healthcare, and create a body of evidence to be used by policymakers. If you provide care for pregnant women in Africa, Asia, Latin America or the Middle East, this is your opportunity to make your voice heard.
As a reward for taking part all participants will receive:
* A Certificate of Participation from the University of Oxford and the opportunity to have your name included in the list of contributors accompanying future publications.
* An instant summary of the most up-to-date results of the surveys you've taken.
* Access to an online resources page.
* The opportunity to take part in the search for solutions, and discuss the problems you face with other healthcare providers and leading international experts in the Forum.
And winning ideas in the discussion forum will receive cash prizes of between $50 and $100!
Join the interactive website at www.globalvoices.org.uk
10. Get Your Number
Days before the G20 Summit in Toronto, 21 young women met to discuss the issues facing the 3.3 billion girls and women across the globe. Hosted by the Belinda Stronach Foundation, the G(irls) 20 Summit focused on strategies to implement the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, and addressed issues such as access to education, maternal and child health, and economic opportunity. Click here to see Jill Sheffield, President of Women Deliver, addressing the delegates as part of a panel discussion on the status of girls and women.
There are 3.3 billion girls and women in the world - what's your number? Get your unique, randomly generated number here, and learn more about the G(irls) 20 Conference.
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