Tag Archives: WIE Symposium

Guest Post: How It Felt to Attend the WIE Symposium in NYC

“The human spirit is everywhere….the will for partnership. For wants of tiny amounts of money, we lose 8 million children a year before their fifth birthday. These are the places that are otherwise at war if they don’t develop. We are in a cusp of history, and you can help make that history….”
-Jeff D. Sachs, Columbia Professor & Advisor, UNICEF Millenium Development Goals

One of the guests April met at WIE was Fran Drescher, actress and founder of the Cancer Schmancer Movement, a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all women's cancers be diagnosed while in Stage 1, the most curable stage.

Recently, I had the honor to attend the Women’s Inspiration & Enterprise (WIE) Symposium, co-founded by Arianna Huffington, Donna Karan, and Sarah Brown. Held in New York City in September, the conference boasted impressive panels of catalysts for change, from supermodel Christy Turlington Burns to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The energy was amazing, and the thought fields were bright, lush fields blooming with flowers of every color; aromatic, fragrant, and intoxicating.

I was flying. I was in India; I was in Guatemala; I was in Cambodia; I was in Africa with the UN’s Josette Sheerhan; I was a baby crying of hunger; I was a mother wrought with pain because I couldn’t feed my crying baby. I was the mother who had to journey through my war-torn village, risking being raped & brutalized, to walk for miles to get food for my children…only to become too weak to carry both of my young children–I had to chose which one to leave by the side of the road to die, and which one to save. I was the child left on the side of the road by my mother to die, I was the child she saved. I am knowledge, I am change, I am now, and I am the future. I am hope.

In the face of the sometimes seemingly depressing state of the world, it is those of you who think differently that will change the world. It is those of you who spread your sunshine, knowing that the only thing that can break up the darkness are your rays of light, with their warm, gentle touches.

It is those of you who understand that we must educate our girls and women, because women are the architects of the future. It is those of you who understand that it is the women of the world who can be trusted to resolve conflicts peacefully and with love, without the atrocities of war. It is those of you that understand it isn’t just about getting these girls a college degree, but saving the world.

There are millions of children across the world who should be in school that aren’t. In Cambodia, most youths leave school by age 13. In Africa and other poor areas of the world, it is much of the same story. When the attrition rates are high, so are the rates of poverty, hunger, maternal mortality, disease, war, and death.

When we educate a girl, we are doing more than teaching her to read and write. We are teaching a woman, and a mother. We are teaching someone who may have otherwise been a child bride and a maternal mortality. We are saving her, so she can save her community. We are saving lives and sustaining communities.

“We are giving more than an education; we are giving heart & soul. Raise awareness. Inspire change.”
- Donna Karan, Urban Zen Foundation

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What Do You Dream for the Daughters of the Future?

Gennifer Delman is the founder/president of She's the First*{Hofstra}

What do you dream of? For many of us, we’ve been encouraged ever since we were youngsters to reach for the stars and dream big. Perhaps you have aspirations for a career in the field you love or a chance to meet a role model who positively impacted your life. For millions of women across the globe, they can only dream of privileges we often take for granted: safe motherhood, an education, health, and the choice to have children.

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day on March 8, our friends at the White Ribbon Alliance (WRA) for Safe Motherhood invited us to share what we dream for the daughters of the future. WRA hosted the 2010 Women: Inspiration and Enterprise Symposium I chronicled last September here on Aspire. I am still moved by the messages that the strong, passionate women of the WRA so openly shared on the stage that day.

This call-to-action reminds me of my own mother, a Ukrainian immigrant whose biggest dream for my sister and I was to pursue higher education and explore our passions. It is this kind of love, support, and nurturing that we must share with the daughters of the future, regardless of blood relation or geographic location.

“Every mother in the world dreams that her daughter will have a better life than she has. My mother was married at age 9 and had her first child at age 13.  She wants more for me,” says Hadhya Yahya Mohamed Al-Zawm from the National Safe Motherhood Alliance in Yemen. Even if you are yet to become a mother or have no intention of doing so, this campaign reminds us of a powerful message sent out at WIE: All women are sisters and it’s our duty to help fulfill the visions of our loved ones and of those who don’t have the means or right to dream big.

So you want to get involved? Here’s what WRA is asking us to do:

  • Grab your Flip Cam (a She’s the First one, perhaps?) and your closest friends, to film a 2-minute or less video sharing your individual and group dreams.
  • Write a 500-word or less personal statement explaining your hopes for the future of women (post it on your own blog, or guest blog here for She’s the First.
  • Get creative! Write an original song or poem urging policy makers to act and then post it on YouTube.
  • Share the link on WRA’s Facebook page to encourage participation (link @She’s the First so it appears on our Wall, too!).

For the daughters of the future: I dream that one day all women can pursue not only their aspirations and interests but also the rights for safe childbirth and motherhood and education. All of this and more are possible if we work together, a global team of passionate human beings. So to the entire She’s the First family, I invite you to join Tammy, myself, and all of the WIE 50 Young Champions in this movement for all of the daughters of the future to live our mantra: She believed she could, so she did.

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WIE Symposium Encourages Women to Change the World

[Editor's note: This is a guest blog post from Gennifer Delman, a junior at Hofstra University, who reports back from an event that She's the First was proud to attend, the first WIE Symposium in NYC last Monday.]

Energy darted around the room as women of all ages gathered at Skylight West in N.Y.C on Monday, September 20 to join forces at the first ever Women: Inspiration and Enterprise Symposium. Hosted by Sarah Brown, Donna Karan, and Arianna Huffington, the day was full of ideas, words of wisdom, and the celebration of girls and women.

At WIE: She's the First campaign developer Devin Tomb, Gennifer Delman, with HerCampus founders & supporters to their right.

As a 20-year-old junior journalism major at Long Island’s Hofstra University, it was an absolute honor and privilege to be selected as one of 50 Young Champions to attend this magnificent conference. During my time at school, I have immersed myself in organizations I care about, including magazine networking group Ed2010 and online women’s magazine hercampus.com. But it wasn’t until I interned for Tammy Tibbetts earlier this year that I learned of She’s the First. Ever since then I knew I had to be a part of it… but how?

When I found out that STF would be reaching a wider audience by establishing branches at colleges and universities across the nation, I knew I had found my place. I had already been a part of two campus chapters of a national organization, and starting something that has a global effect at Hofstra sounded like a dream come true. After applying and being selected to attend WIE, I also knew that I found the perfect source of inspiration before I embark on my STF journey and set up my own chapter.

Some of the 50 Young Champions at WIE: Liz Tarpey of Georgia Tech; Yifan Zhang, creator of Styleta.com; Natalie MacNeil, founder of ShesTakesontheWorld.com; Tammy Tibbetts of STF; Gennifer Delman

Here’s a glimpse of what I observed: The beautiful actress Elizabeth Banks discussing women’s roles in Hollywood. One of my role models, Cathleen Black, revealing her rise to success in the magazine biz. Actress Ashley Judd sharing her experiences traveling the world and speaking to women who have endured terrible pain just to survive. The selfless Melinda Gates opening up her heart and telling her first-hand stories. The hercampus.com founders speaking about the power of youth innovation, something STF is a prime example of. An organization built by young innovators that aims to inspire and provide the means for youth innovators across the globe… that’s a powerful thing.

All of it was so eye-opening and made me feel connected to everyone in the room. The division between CEO, model, and celebrity was suddenly torn down. We were (and are) all women and we have power. If we harness our individual power, we can come together and help those with fewer privileges to do the same. I also realized that our youth is not a limitation — it’s an advantage. Don’t ever feel like you don’t have the ability to make a positive impact. Every woman has the capability if they have the desire.

Nthabieseng is so awesomely ambitious, she once got to meet Shakira!

But of everything I soaked in at WIE, it was the words of a 12-year-old South African schoolgirl named Nthabieseng Tshbalala that resonated with me the most. Tears formed in my eyes when Sarah Brown asked Nthabieseng what she would tell policymakers that girls need most. She eloquently replied, “You’re here because you have education. And you’re here because you have education. We need education.”

We don’t have to do this alone. If we have a dream, an idea to make this world a better place for our children and their children to inherit, let’s not sit around and just think about it. Let’s change the world together. Who’s with me? – Gennifer Delman

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The Unexpected Tale of a Top Model: "Desert Flower"

She was a  First.

Waris Dirie, a stunning Somalian nomad who eventually walked the runways of the world and scored ad campaigns with Chanel, Levi’s, L’Oreal, and Revlon, was the first in her family to be a model and actress, to write an international bestselling memoir, to have her life made into a movie. The WIE Symposium invited us to an advance screening of that movie — Desert Flower, starring top model Liya Kebede — last night at the MoMa in NYC, when we learned what Waris’ true distinction is: she is the first to publically speak out about female genital mutilation (FGM), a horrifying practice that 130 million of the world’s women and girls experience, including herself.

Waris spoke for the first time with Laura Ziv of Marie Claire about the FGM she had undergone at age 3, a scene that is heartwrenchingly portrayed at the end of the film. The magazine had wanted to tell her story of working her way up from a McDonalds, but Waris didn’t want people to just scratch the surface of her rags-to-riches life.

Girls who don’t undergo the practice of having their genitals cut out and sewn up, only to be taken apart but their husband on their wedding night, are ostracized from their society and, among many other misfortunes, miss the opportunity to go to school. You can’t watch this film without crying, but ultimately you will be uplifted by scenes of Waris’ growth and be empowered to use your platforms of style for messages of substance.

We plan to read Waris Dirie’s memoir next, and we highly recommend that in February 2011, you go with a group of friends who may be used to seeing present-day supermodel Liya Kebede in all the fashion magazines, and watch her take on a remarkable debut acting role, honorably portraying Waris in Desert Flower.

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A Times Square Takeover

where the UN Foundation's PSA will play

From September 20-22, world leaders will gather in New York City for the UN’s summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These are the 8 international development goals — end poverty & hunger, achieve universal education and gender equality, combat HIV/AIDS, etc. — that all 192 UN member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by 2015. No small task. Accomplishing them almost sounds like creating a utopia, and we’ve only got four years left…but that doesn’t mean we should give up.

In fact, more than ever, we need to take small steps to collectively make the big leap toward reaching these goals, especially those  for universal education and gender equality. At She’s the First, we’re proud to provide a platform for taking action — with your friends, you can creatively fundraise to sponsor a girl’s education. One girl at a time, we can find a solution.

To remind everyone to play their part, the UN Foundation is airing this 33-second PSA 8 times every hour on the Toshiba Vision screen in Times Square. Keep your eyes peeled for it, New Yorkers!

This month, follow the She’s the First blog to stay involved in September’s meeting of the global minds in New York City. We were selected as one of 50 Young Champions for Women to attend the Women: Inspiration & Enterprise (WIE) Symposium on September 20th, a dynamic new annual conference timed to coincide with the UN summit, and our Ambassador Kaitlin Davis will be reporting for us from the UN Week Digital Media Lounge, September 21st-24th!

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