Together, We Are Powerful

/
Alyssa Newlon from Milaan pitching her concept at Women Deliver 2019.

Alyssa Newlon from Milaan pitching her concept at Women Deliver 2019.

Women Deliver is the world’s largest conference on gender equality and the health, rights, and wellbeing of girls and women in the 21st century. It serves as a catalyst for global advocates working to achieve a more equitable world, which includes access to quality education. Aliyya Mattos, Executive Director of PaperSeed, had the privilege of taking part in Women Deliver earlier this month along with several of our partners (Creative Action Institute, Milaan, and Zana Africa).

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Central to our core values is our responsibility to lift up those who don’t have access to opportunities, to provide a platform to elevate voices less heard, and to engage an ecosystem of stakeholders working together for collective impact. Specifically, we have honed a laser focus on how to address barriers that prevent girls from receiving quality education and what we can do to break the cycle of poverty. The theme of Women Deliver this year, “How will you use your power?” was both a reminder and a rally call.

Power is a currency that is greater than the sum of its parts, and one of our biggest takeaways from Women Deliver was the invitation to delve more deeply into the power of community. We are diving into what this means for PaperSeed and we welcome your feedback – as a grantee partner, donor or champion of change – to create a world where together, we are all powerful.

ALIYYA MATTOS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PAPERSEED AND Jacqueline Novogratz, FOUNDER OF ACUMEN FUND

ALIYYA MATTOS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PAPERSEED AND Jacqueline Novogratz, FOUNDER OF ACUMEN FUND

Our goal to forge connections and relationships across both traditional and non-traditional barriers – to use our power to open doors, to be better, to do better, and to commit to deeper connections with our partners – whether that may be in a boardroom or the back of a pick-up truck. With over 8,000 conference attendees at Women Deliver, we had the opportunity to see some of our partners in action, and also, to meet many new friends equally committed to changing the status quo for the better.

With sessions from 6am to 10pm, notable names in international development such as Melinda Gates and Jacqueline Novogratz, multiple heads of state and Grammy award wining artists, there was no shortage of information and inspiration being fire-hosed left and right. To quote Raj Kumar of Devex, “If you’re in global development, Women Deliver 2019 is like the Super Bowl.”

However, with that in mind, some of my key takeaways from the conference are:

  1. Make way for youth: The next generation is here, and their power is palpable. This could not have been more apparent than during the Opening Plenary, when youth advocate from Zambia, Natasha Mwansa, set the tone for the days that followed. “Can I stand? I feel more powerful when I stand.” And she was powerful indeed – as you can see here.

  2. We all need a seat at the table: This means not speaking on behalf of others, but actually bringing their voices to the table. It’s not anything new, but being mindful of the power and privilege we have is and looking for ways to share that power is a continual journey and can’t be emphasized enough. That means bringing youth, intersectionality, disenfranchised communities, corporations and governments to the table. We are more powerful together.

  3. Putting money where your mouth is: It was refreshing to see leaders not just speaking, up but stepping up as well. Announcements such as the $1.4 billion in support of women and girls from the government of Canada, and new funds like Equality Fund and ILU Women’s Empowerment Fund, show impressive collaboration between the government, private and public sectors.

  4. The world isn’t perfect, but it used to be worse: Hans Rosling was a voice for the positive direction that the world is moving in, and set up the Gapminder Foundation to fight misinformation. Gapminder Head of Creativity, Anna R. Ronnlund, shared some great stats at the opening of Women Deliver. We are healthier, more educated and living longer than ever before. Do we have some serious problems? Yes. Is the world better than ever? Yes. If you are feeling down about the progress, check out the great tools at Gapminder when you need a little pick me up.