Written by Colin McEvoy | March 24, 2025 | SHARE
Lehigh University students took center stage at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, presenting on global gender equality initiatives as part of the university’s year-long celebration of its UN partnership
As the year-long celebration of the Lehigh University/United Nations (LU/UN) Partnership continues, dozens of Lehigh University students visited New York City last week to attend and participate in the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) Conference.
Twenty-five Lehigh students gave presentations at the conference, an annual global gathering dedicated to advancing gender equality and women's rights. The event seeks to evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, and formulate policies to promote women’s rights globally.
The event marked the final event of United Nations Week at Lehigh University, in which the LU/UN Partnership presented 13 programs in five days. Other events highlighted such topics as prosecuting war crimes, empowering women in rural Nigeria, closing the educational gender gap in developing countries, and the role of media in eliminating gender bias within health care.
The LU/UN Partnership provides opportunities for all Lehigh students, faculty, and staff to gain skills necessary to become successful global future makers by engaging with the United Nations via curricular and co-curricular initiatives.
Each year, the partnership helps more than 1,000 Lehigh faculty, staff, and students attend U.N. conferences, high-level briefings, and private meetings with ambassadors and other U.N. officials.
Held on March 21, the CSW conference is organized by the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), a functional commission of the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Participants include government representatives, U.N. agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and civil society organizations from around the world.
During the conference, Lehigh students Maria Gregoire ‘25, Rhema Hooper ‘26, and Kareem Hargrove ‘25 presented about promoting social innovation among women. They highlighted Lehigh University’s programs and partnerships that create high-impact opportunities to advance gender equality.
The presentation showcased LU/UN Partnership initiatives like student internships and the Youth Representatives Program. They also highlighted some of the NGOs that Lehigh students represent at the UN through the partnership, like the Nor Luyce Mentoring Center for Youth and Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA).
Nor Luyce is an Armenia-based nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering teenage girls from socially vulnerable backgrounds through mentorship, education, and professional development. MWIA is a global organization that advocates for gender equality in medicine, supports women physicians, and works to improve women's and children's health worldwide.
“Lehigh is not Lehigh without its partnerships, whether through NGOs, the Youth Representatives, or our partnerships with the private and public sectors,” Hargrove said. “Without these partnerships, we couldn’t facilitate the work that goes on at Lehigh.”
Lehigh students Demi Moore ‘27, Avneet Kaur ‘28, Lorraine Rwasoka ‘26, and Julia Wilczynski ‘25 presented about advancing efforts to implement and promote the goals of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a landmark global framework for gender equality and women's rights established during a 1995 UN conference in Beijing.
The 1995 Beijing Platform for Action focuses on gender equality and women's empowerment. This includes initiatives to improve education, economic opportunities, political participation, and protections against gender-based violence across African nations.
In a separate presentation, Tasfia Ahmad ‘27 discussed closing the gender gap in education for young women in developing countries. Ahmad is a youth representative for the Nadam Foundation, an NGO based in India whose main goal is to support the region's impoverished areas that have little to no support or resources.
“We work to support the Nadam Foundation’s ‘One World’ concept, which calls for universal brotherhood and global unity," Ahmad said. "This aligns with the United Nations' principles, aiming to foster social cohesion and inclusivity.”
Additionally, Lehigh students Anna Van Riesen ‘28, Shirina Rong ‘28, and Kyra Szabo ‘25 presented about empowering women in leadership and peacebuilding through policy advocacy. They are U.N. youth representatives with the American Association of University Women (AAUW), which advances gender equity through education, research, and advocacy.
“The data is absolutely irrefutable that having women in power is incredibly important for peace building,” said Van Riesen. “Involving women in the peace-building process increases the probability of a peace agreement lasting more than two years by 20%, and it raises the implementation rate for those peace agreements from 77% to more than 90%.”
The LU/UN Partnership kicked off its 20th anniversary last semester with a visit from Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.N., who offered candid insights about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Additionally, last month, Lehigh students heard from Philémon Yang, President of the 79th Session of the U.N. General Assembly.