The Power of Women | unfoundation.org

Being a stylish woman is about more than just fashion and beauty. Sure, as a little girl, I remember with excitement trying on my mom’s hats, dresses, and heels, but I was most awe-struck by her inner beauty. Her true grace came from lifting others up and her ability to instantly melt boundaries with her warmth. From an employee greeting her at the door, to the host of the party, she has always been able […]

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Making Child Marriage a Priority

This week, the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will bring together thousands of leaders from around the world who are working to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. Government representatives, women’s rights advocates, and NGO leaders will convene in New York for two weeks from March 4 – 15 to explore policy and program strategies to end violence against women and girls. The focus on violence is desperately needed

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Rise Up with Girl Up

  Last week, 10×10 – a partner of our Girl Up campaign – released Girl Rising, a film with a simple yet powerful message: educate girls, change the world. This feature-length film follows 9 girls from 9 countries, whose stories are written by 9 women writers from the girls’ respective countries and narrated by 9 actresses including Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Salma Hayek. This movie captures unforgettable stories from some of the toughest places

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Changing Norms, Ending Child Marriage

For many adolescent girls and young brides, child marriage is perceived as a death sentence, given the scarring effects for the health, education, and life of girls. Although child marriage is a widespread problem in Malawi, it has so far not received the attention that is needed to end it and children continue to be abused and suffer in silence.  It is estimated that every year, 10 million girls are married before they reach the

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Girls Leading Change: Malala Yousafzai

This post is part of the Global Mom Relay originally published on Huffington Post. Every time you share this blog on the Global Mom Relay website, $5 will go to women and girls around the world. Scroll to the bottom to find out more. Leadership is not about title, position, or age. No one reminds us of that more than Malala Yousafzai. Long before the October 2012 attempted assassination of Malala shocked the world, the

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UNDP report cites new trends to celebrate—and more work ahead

Today marks the world’s first International Day of Happiness, thanks to a 2012 UN resolution declaring wellbeing a universal goal and calling for more inclusive, equitable growth to make wellbeing and happiness achievable for all. Wellbeing is very much on the rise, according to UNDP’s new flagship Human Development Report. Human development, UNDP’s defining mandate, aims broadly to create an enabling environment for people to enjoy long, healthy, happy lives, with responsive governments and the

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Global Mom Relay Twitter Party

Melinda Gates believed in the power of daughters to change the world. Rebecca Soni reminded us to never give up on our dreams. Milly Businge exposed us to the realities of child marriage’s impact on girls. These women, and the other bloggers contributing to the first leg of the Global Mom Relay, have made this first leg of relay so powerful. As Girl Up gets ready to pass the Global Mom baton, we’re so thankful to each of you

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Five elements for a successful global partnership

The High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda is currently holding its fourth meeting in Bali on the topic of global partnerships. Importantly, this meeting is building off of the Panel’s recent sessions in London and Monrovia, which focused on household poverty and the national building blocks required for development, and is delving into how the new agenda will be implemented. The UN Foundation has a 15 year history of building partnerships in support of

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A Message to Congress amid Possible Funding Cuts to UN & Peacekeeping

Congress has some tough budget decisions to make in the weeks ahead. But there are some things the U.S. simply cannot afford to cut – like our commitment to the United Nations, its peacekeeping operations and global health initiatives. Today I testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations. I was honored to share with Chairwoman Granger and Ranking Member Lowey the importance of funding the International Organizations and Peacekeeping accounts within

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