During the 60th Session of the Human Rights Council, held in Geneva (8 September - 8 October 2025), Donatella Benjamin had the privilege to represent Soroptimist International at a side event titled 'Empowering Girls through Education, Protection, Innovation, Global Practices and Norms', on the occasion of the International Day of the Girl Child.
In her latest blog, Evelyne Para, SI Representative at UNESCO, highlights the urgent need for sustainable investment in education and science. Drawing on insights from UNESCO’s recent Financing for Development Conference in Seville, she underscores the risks of declining aid and the importance of renewed global commitment to education, gender equality, and scientific cooperation.
On World Humanitarian Day (19 August), Berthe de Vos Neven, Soroptimist International’s UN Representative in Geneva, reflects on the growing dangers faced by aid workers worldwide. With 2024 recorded as the deadliest year for humanitarians and hundreds more killed in 2025 already, this blog highlights the urgent call from the UN to #ActForHumanity—to protect those who risk everything to serve others.
Soroptimist International’s Representatives in Geneva highlight their active engagement across key UN platforms from June to August 2025. The blog discusses their contributions to the Human Rights Council’s 59th session, forums on artificial intelligence, ocean conservation, and women’s health, as well as their leadership role within NGO CSW Geneva. Through advocacy and strategic participation, SI continues to champion gender equality, human rights, and global policy reform.
Dr. Olga Tzortzatou Nanopoulou, SI Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, explores the systemic and political dimensions of breastfeeding support. Reflecting on a WHO and UNICEF webinar, she discusses new tools designed to embed breastfeeding into healthcare systems, the global experiences shared by participating countries, and the urgent need for structural change. The blog underscores breastfeeding as both a public health intervention and a societal responsibility, calling for care that is competent, continuous, and rooted in women’s lived realities.
Donatella Benjamin, SI Representative in Geneva, reflects on the powerful side event “The Power of Women’s Movements: Solidarity for Justice,” held during the Human Rights Council’s 59th session. The blog revisits Iceland’s historic Women’s Day Off in 1975 and its lasting impact on gender equality, spotlighting the documentary The Day Iceland Stood Still. Through global examples from the Maldives and Somalia, Donatella emphasizes how collective action by women continues to drive transformative change and challenge injustice worldwide.
Pascale Muylaert, SI Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, shares reflections from the UN Ocean Conference, emphasizing the urgent need for stronger ocean governance and the critical role of women’s leadership in environmental sustainability. The blog highlights global commitments to marine protection, the ecological significance of the ocean, and the underrepresentation of women in decision-making spaces. Pascale calls for a shift from tokenism to true empowerment, urging women to claim their leadership in shaping a healthier, more equitable planet.
Berthe De Vos Neven, SI Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, recounts a landmark moment during the 91st session of CEDAW, where Afghan women leaders in exile were formally welcomed for the first time in UN treaty body history. The blog underscores Afghanistan’s enduring legal obligations under international law, despite regime change, and calls for global solidarity in defending the rights of Afghan women and girls. Berthe urges Soroptimist International and the wider international community to amplify these voices, challenge gender apartheid, and ensure no woman is left behind.
