The 2015 annual conference UN Women National Committee of United State was held on June 26-28th in beautiful City of Long Beach, California. In this conference Lalita Janke as the new national president.
ICWIN members and friends participated in this conference and our presence recognized as one of the more engaged group of attendees.
The 13 years old actress Rowan Blanchard who talked about her work on gender equality was one of the highlights of the conference. She said, “Earlier this year I worked with Team HeForShe through social media and it will please you to know that there has been an overwhelming positive response from children and former children of all ages. My favorite response thus far has been from a twelve-year-old Pakistani girl who said she became interested in women’s issues because her mother followed her dream of becoming an engineer even though it was considered a male-occupation. Her mother, a woman in a restrictive society who stood tall in the face of limiting odds to achieve a difficult goal, is a role model for me. We are privileged to live in a country that does not place these restrictions upon us. We must not drift away from taking advantage of achieving whatever goal we set our hearts on. You can read the rest of here powerful speech here here.
The keynote speaker of the event was Dr. Suja Lowenthal. Her speech was one of the most inspiring moments of the conference. She came to US from India and said, “This conference is a reminder of our shared story… No matter what corner of the world we come from, we have a shared story. Our challenges, struggles and ultimately successes have a common thread that stitches together our journey to this very conference today. “She then continued by encouraging all of us to “imagine the future. “
She said “There is something magical about mobility. It is the great equalizer. I come from the poorest parts of this universe. And, even there, someone in the remotest village has a right to dream her dreams and have opportunities to realize these dreams. That is what mobility does. It makes a poor village girl’s chances of fulfilling her hopes and aspirations possible. Whether it be the 16-year old who got on a train to study nursing half way across her native country, or the 7-year old girl on her dad’s bike imagining a world she cannot quite see, it is a hope like nothing else can provide. 8 Only with mobility, whether by train, bike or bus, when we dream the impossible it can be possible. A few years ago at the TED conference right here in Long Beach I was inspired by so many thought leaders and world changers. One particular speaker said the following – The miracle of your mind is that you can see the world as it isn’t. We can imagine the future. We can remember the past. We can imagine what it is like to be some other person in some other place. We can change the world if we defy the impossible. I have never believed this more than I do today… “You can read the rest of this powerful inspiring talk here.
To read the inspiring keynote speech from Dr. Suja Lowenthal,
To read the transcript from the amazing speech given by 13 year old actress Rowan Blanchard about her work on gender equality, click here.
To read the introduction of Rowan and the work of #TeamHeForShe on social media,
For a complete list of our amazing speakers and to read their bios, click here.
Click here for conference photos
