Center for Women's Global Leadership facts for kids
The Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL) is a group based at Rutgers University that works to support women's rights around the world. It was started in 1989 by Charlotte Bunch, a famous activist for women's human rights.
The center is led by Executive Director Krishanti Dharmaraj. The former director, Radhika Balakrishnan, is now a professor at Rutgers. The CWGL is part of Rutgers University's Douglass Residential College and works with other women's programs at the university.
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What the Center Does
The CWGL is a special kind of organization. It's part of a major university, but it also acts as a non-governmental organization (NGO). This means it's an independent group that gives advice to the United Nations on important issues.
The center's main goal is to help women become leaders. It believes that when women lead, it helps not only women but also creates a fairer world for everyone. The CWGL focuses on three main areas:
- Stopping violence against women
- Making sure women have control over their own health
- Helping women have financial security and a good quality of life
The CWGL played a big part in two major world meetings: the 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights and the 1995 Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women. At these events, the center helped establish the important idea that "women's rights are human rights."
Now, the center works to make sure governments and organizations keep their promises to protect these rights. It does this by speaking up at UN meetings and running worldwide campaigns that get people involved.
Working with the United Nations
The CWGL is very active at the United Nations. It takes part in meetings at the UN Commission on the Status of Women and the UN Human Rights Council. At these meetings, the center helps women's rights activists from all over the world share their ideas and concerns.
The center helps in many ways:
- It organizes planning sessions for activists.
- It brings people together to discuss women's rights.
- It provides training on how to talk to leaders and make a difference.
- It sends out news and reports about what's happening at the UN.
Creating UN Women
In 2007, the CWGL worked with another group called the Women's Environment & Development Organization (WEDO). They brought together 50 women activists from around the world. Their goal was to convince the UN to create one strong agency just for women.
This led to the Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) campaign in 2008. Hundreds of activists joined in. On July 2, 2010, their hard work paid off. The United Nations General Assembly voted to create "UN Women", a new UN agency dedicated to gender equality and empowering women.
Worldwide Campaigns
The CWGL runs campaigns that bring people together from all over the globe to support women's human rights.
16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence
In 1991, the CWGL started the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence campaign. It is a yearly event that calls for an end to all violence against women.
The campaign runs from November 25 to December 10. Over 3,700 organizations in about 164 countries take part. The dates are very meaningful:
- November 25: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
- November 29: International Women Human Rights Defenders Day
- December 1: World AIDS Day
- December 10: International Human Rights Day
Protecting Women Activists
The CWGL is part of the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition. This is a network that helps protect and support women who are fighting for human rights. These women sometimes face threats because of their work. The coalition makes sure they have the support they need to stay safe.
The coalition includes 28 groups from around the world, such as Amnesty International, The Center for Reproductive Rights, and the International Federation for Human Rights.
The Center at Rutgers University
The CWGL connects the world of learning with the world of activism. At Rutgers, it is part of the Institute for Women's Leadership (IWL). The IWL is a group of eight programs that study how women lead and help prepare them to become effective leaders.
Poster Collection
The CWGL has a collection of about 300 posters from women's rights groups all over the world. These posters show 20 years of women working together for change. You can see them online because Rutgers University has digitized them. In 2012, The American Library Association gave an award to recognize this important collection.
