The experience of attending UNCSW is like none other I have ever experienced. To have the opportunity to be gathered with women and girls from around the world that are doing groundbreaking work to improve the lives of women and girls is both uplifting and humbling! I am Canadian and although we certainly have our struggles the reality is that globally women, girls, gender diverse, transgendered, and the 2SLGBTQIA+ often face much harsher conditions. The priority theme for UNCSW68 was to address poverty and strengthened institutions and financing with a gender perspective. The UNCSW68 sessions highlighted the work that we need to do to ensure that we are eradicating poverty and financially supporting groups that are working for equality globally.

I attended a session on women’s mental health. One of the slides contained the following quote “A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking because her trust is not on the branch but on it’s own wings.” I truly believe that gatherings such as the UNCSW that bring us together globally teach us to trust our own wings and to support others to find their wings!