What the 1995 Beijing Women’s Conference Was Really Like | Beijing+25: Feminist Leaders Look Back

In 1995, the #UnitedNations 4th World Conference on Women resulted in the groundbreaking Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action - an agenda for change which set the tone for the next quarter-century of feminist movement building across the globe. In honor of this momentous gathering - and the women and girls who made it possible - Breakthrough is inviting activist leaders to reflect on what happened, and where we go from here. How have the lives of women and girls changed for the better? For worse And how do we keep up momentum in the fight for gender equality? #BreakthroughSpotlight #Beijing25 LEARN MORE AT https://www.unwomen.org/en/csw/csw64-... CHECK OUT MORE OF OUR PROGRAMMING AT https://letsbreakthrough.org/ - FEATURING SPECIAL GUEST: Ponny White (She/Her), Child Care Policy, Reproductive Justice, and Racial Justice Advocate Ponny is a senior at Minnesota State University Moorhead, double majoring in multimedia journalism and political science with an emphasis in women and gender studies. Ponny is a dedicated reproductive rights activist working with organizations like Advocates for Youth and Planned Parenthood to lobby Congress for legislation in support of young people’s access to affordable reproductive healthcare. As the president of her school’s Black Student Union and Campus Feminist organization, Ponny orchestrated free, inclusive, and comprehensive sexual education courses. She currently organizes a fundraiser which allocates and distributes free emergency contraceptive pills on campus. After her family was personally targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Ponny took up work as a co-director at a local nonprofit that serves immigrant families. As an immigrant American, first generation college student, Ponny understands the systemic disadvantages experienced by marginalized, which is why she strives to center Black, queer, bodies of color in her public service work. SPECIAL GUEST: Mallika Dutt (She/Her), Founder and Former President & CEO, Breakthrough As a strategic innovator, Mallika has pioneered effective approaches of social change through the founding of several nonprofits, including Breakthrough and Sakhi for South Asian Women. She has also provided transformational leadership in her roles as a Program Officer for Human Rights and Social Justice at the Ford Foundation’s New Delhi Office, the Director of the Norman Foundation, and the Associate Director of the Center for Women’s Global Leadership at Rutgers University. Now, Mallika leverages her experience as a changemaker to catalyze a new, interconnected leadership, through program design, facilitation, public speaking, and coaching. Her intersectional methodology incorporates creative and contemplative approaches, including: narrative strategy, storytelling, somatic embodiment, energy medicine, yoga and mindfulness practices. A recipient of multiple awards, she received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2016. Mallika has served on several boards and committees and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. A graduate of NYU Law School and Columbia University’s School of International Affairs, Mallika began her career as an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton. She is also the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from her undergraduate college, Mount Holyoke. - If you enjoyed this conversation, please consider making a donation to Breakthrough. Your support helps us to produce Breakthrough Spotlight and other programs to amplify fellow artists, storytellers, and culture change activists and build a world in which all people live with dignity, equality, and respect. https://letsbreakthrough.org/donate/