Theme for 2012: Ending Child marriage

On December 19, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls' rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.

The Guatemalan Presidency of the Security Council will convene on 29 October 2012 an Open Debate on women and peace and security with a focus on “the Role of Women's Civil Society Organizations in Contributing to the Prevention and Resolution of Armed Conflict and Peacebuilding.”

In March 2013, CSW will meet for its fifty-seventh session.To involve key stakeholders in its preparation – particularly civil society and women's groups, policy makers and other experts – UN Women will use a two-week online discussion (23 July – 3 August) on the critical gaps and challenges facing women and girls in the priority area: the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.Within this

Comprised of 350 delegates from around the world – female and male leaders in their fields – the conference will offer a provocative mix of keynote speeches, multimedia, plenary discussions, debates, break-out “action groups” and opportunities to engage online.

The uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region came with a promise of equality and freedom. That did not happen. Today, the women in the region find themselves even more excluded from the formal decision-making in a region with an increase of militarism, arms flow and gender related violence.

What kind of leadership is most effective in societies undergoing upheaval and/or transition? To address this pivotal question, women leaders from Liberia, Pakistan, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Samoa and Mexico will offer compelling accounts of their innovative leadership approaches in a two-part panel event.

Every year since 2002, we have gathered at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to recognize women who are social entrepreneurs, political representatives, businesswomen, human rights defenders and civil society advocates.

This year we are pleased to honor:

Human Rights Award

Rosana Shaack: Liberian Activist rehabilitating girl soldiers.

The AWID International Forum on Women's Rights and Development is both a conference and a call to action. The largest recurring event of its kind, the AWID Forum brings together women's rights leaders and activists from around the world every three to four years to strategize, network, celebrate, and learn in a highly charged atmosphere that fosters deep discussions and sustained personal and professional growth...

Foreign Policy In Focus and the Black Communities Process (PCN) host a discussion with Danelly Estupiñan.