2024 CSW68 Final Report
Delegation Information
March 11th-22nd 2024
Taylor Davis (Head Delegate), Ziyana Kotadia (Communications Coordinator), Ghannia Bokhari (Engagement Coordinator), and Aisha Imana (EDI Coordinator) attended UN CSW68 on behalf of Young Diplomats of Canada.
Achievements
During the months leading up to the UN CSW68 and the two weeks of CSW68 itself, our delegation planned and executed a number of projects to advance gender justice and uplift the voices of Canadian youth. This section will review the key accomplishments of the delegation as well as reflect on the delegation’s Communications and EDI processes.
Key Accomplishments
Prepared and delivered an oral statement to the UN Commission.
Raised over $14,000 in grants and funding to support the delegations’ attendance and advocacy.
Hosted a panel, ‘Young Advocates Speak,’ at UN Women’s Pre-CSW68 Virtual Youth Forum.
Ran a workshop at the UN Women’s Youth Forum Innovation Lab to engage young people in drafting a global declaration for sexual and reproductive rights.
Spoke to key Canadian parliamentarians, including Minister Hon. Marci Ien and Senator Marilou McPhedran about the challenges and opportunities for youth in spaces like the UN CSW.
Submitted a written statement of 6 anti-oppression policy recommendations to address gendered harms to the UN Economic and Social Council.
Engaged in advocacy meetings at Canada’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
Hosted two parallel events with NGO Committee on the Status of Women (NGO CSW/NY), where we collaborated with key stakeholders such as Dorothy Estrada-Tanck - Chair of the UN Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls - and our partners at Fora: Network for Change, Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic, Mediators Beyond Borders International, Women's Intercultural Network, and YWCA Toronto:
Parallel Event 1 was titled “Creating Inclusive Protection Infrastructures: Social Security, Child Poverty, and the Young Feminist Economy.” We examined how social protection, child welfare, and childcare infrastructures fail to respond to the unique needs of womxn, girls, and youth.
Parallel Event 2: “Global Voice for Reproductive Justice: An Interactive Journey” aimed to take attendees on a journey through various regions of the world — North America (Indigenous perspective), Latin America, and The Middle East and North Africa, to explore and discuss the multifaceted aspects of reproductive healthcare and justice.
Presented at a parallel event hosted by the Bahá’í Community of Canada and the Baha’i International Community, called “From Conflict to Collaboration: Transforming institutions to promote gender equality.”
Published an op-ed through Young Diplomats of Canada on the importance of young voices in the international gender justice movement.