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Strong youth participation at the 67th U.N. Commission on the Status of Women

Posted on May 1, 2023, by Beth Blissman CoL

A large group of 25 people smiling for a photo.
Loretto Co-members Alice Kitchen and Beth Blissman, along with former Loretto Volunteer Teresa Blumenstein and BVM Associate Sherry Warren, welcome students and teachers from Loretto Academy and St. Mary’s Academy to New York City.
Photo by Citadines Connect staff person.

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 (CSW). 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 Dr. Rana Dajani, our new friend and colleague, for a parallel event, “Education in the Digital Age: ‘We Love Reading’ Intergenerational Dialogue.”

This event featured two panelists from St. Mary’s Academy and three from Loretto Academy who entered into 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.

Our BVM sister colleagues were able to attend several events as members of our 20-plus 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!

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Beth Blissman CoL

Beth, a Loretto Co-member, is the Community’s UN NGO representative.
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Loretto welcomes you

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