Challenges Activists from Zimbabwe, Mexico, Egypt, Somaliland to Participate with Filmmaker-Activist Christy Turlington Burns, NPR Commentator Melody Moezzi and Others
Keynote Speech by Michelle Bachelet, Former President of Chile
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, 212-633-4150, strimel@aiusa.org
(New York) – On Thursday, Nov. 17, Amnesty International will gather more than a dozen leading advocates for women’s rights from around the globe to assess progress and challenges on issues including violence against women, maternal health and reproductive rights and security and rights in conflict zones. Michelle Bachelet, former president of Chile and current executive director of UN Women, will deliver the keynote speech at 10 a.m.
“The XX Factor: Advance Women’s Rights. Change the World” is supported by the Embrey Family Foundation and will take place at the headquarters of the Ford Foundation, 320 East 43rd Street (off 2nd Ave.).
Journalists who plan to cover the daylong forum should RSVP in advance to: Suzanne Trimel, Media Relations Director, Amnesty International USA, strimel@aiusa.org (212-633-4150)
Limited seating is available to the public. To register, please visit: http://www.amnestyusa.org/xxfactor
Amnesty International’s advocates and researchers on women’s issues will join men and women from the front lines of activism in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America to discuss pressing challenges. Participants will include:
Jenni Williams, a founder of the activist movement Women and Men of Zimbabwe Alive, which campaigns for political, economic and social rights
Gigi Ibrahim, the Egyptian blogger and activist
Cipriana Jurado Herrera, an advocate for labor rights for women and economic and environmental justice and founder of the Center for Information and Solidarity for Working Women in Chihuahua, Mexico
Edna Adan Ismail, director and founder of the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital in Hargeisa, Somaliland
Other advocates who will participate include Christy Turlington Burns, the activist, filmmaker (“No Women, No Cry”) and model; Melody Moezzi, author, activist, attorney and NPR commentator (“All Things Considered”), and Abigail Disney, producer of the current PBS miniseries “Women, War & Peace.”
Schedule:
10 a.m.- Welcome by Maya Harris, Ford Foundation, and Joan Libby Hawk, Board of Trustees, Amnesty International USA
10:05 – Opening remarks by Michelle Bachelet
10:20-11:15 a.m.
Violence Against Women: Reforming Global Attitudes and Stemming the Tide
Jimmie Briggs, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Man Up Campaign
Sarah Deer, Native women’s advocate and member of AIUSA Native American and Alaska Native Advisory Council
Cipriana Jurado Herrera, Human rights activist from Chihuahua, Mexico
Esta Soler, President and founder of Futures Without Violence
Moderated by Pollyanna Truscott, Deputy Representative at the United Nations, Amnesty International
1-1:30 p.m.
Maternal Health and Sexual and Reproductive Rights: Demanding Dignity for Women
Edna Adan Ismail, Director and founder of the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital in Hargeisa, Somaliland
Nan Strauss, Amnesty International researcher and co-author, “Deadly Delivery: The Maternal Health Care Crisis in the USA,”
Christy Turlington Burns, director/producer No Woman, No Cry, Founder, Every Mother Counts