Youth Eagerly Return to New York for the 67th U.N. Commission on the Status of Women

After three years of online events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was pure joy to welcome 16 students from Loretto schools in Denver and El Paso to the 67th U.N. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67). From the Teen Orientation sponsored by the Working Group on Girls on March 5, through the end of their stay and beyond, these young women — and their teachers — were stretching their horizons.

The priority theme of CSW67 this year was “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.” Loretto at the UN saw this theme as a prime opportunity to collaborate with our new friend and colleague Dr. Rana Dajani for a parallel event entitled “Education in the Digital Age: ‘We Love Reading’ Intergenerational Dialogue.”

This parallel event featured two panelists from St. Mary’s Academy, and three from Loretto Academy, who entered into both interfaith and intergenerational dialogue with Dr. Dajani to discuss literacy, health and girls’ rights to education. Other new topics for the students included learning more about the care economy, pay inequity, female genital mutilation, how the U.N. functions and a growing awareness of violence against women, especially online harassment of women serving in political office. You can view student reflections on these topics below.

Our BVM Sister colleagues were able to attend several events as members of our 20+ person virtual delegation, and thoroughly enjoyed reflecting on the event with the students. We concluded our reflection with a one-word check out, and the common sentiments were: inspired, hopeful, elevated, uplifted and motivated. There’s much to do and we are grateful to do it together!

Want to hear more about CSW67? Save the date! Loretto at the UN will collaborate with the Loretto Feminist Network to host a one-hour Zoom event at 6 pm ET Monday, May 15, that will be centered around youth engagement and participation in CSW67.