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Mountain Youth Hub calls for the empowerment of mountain women and girls at CSW68

22.03.2024

During a side event at the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68), Mountain Youth Hub co-founder and co-leader Ritikaa Gupta from Canada called for the empowerment of women and girls in mountains through education: "By contributing to this forum, we aim to initiate a dialogue – not only with mountain youth but with all committed professionals – to enhance education opportunities for mountain women and girls and advance the mountain agenda."

The side event marked the Mountain Youth Hub's inaugural participation in a United Nations (UN) event. The hybrid session, titled "Advocating for mountain women and girls' education through student-engaged learning", took place on 14 March 2024 at UN Headquarters and was organized by the Utah International Mountain Forum (UIMF) at Utah Valley University (UVU), with the co-sponsorship of the Permanent Missions of the Kyrgyz Republic and Nepal to the United Nations, within the framework of the Mountain Partnership.

Supported by the Mountain Partnership, the Mountain Youth Hub is a youth-led initiative dedicated to empowering and mobilizing youth across mountainous regions worldwide. The platform plays a critical role in advancing the Five Years of Action for the Development of Mountain Regions 2023–2027.

In her statement, Ritikaa underscored the importance of climate change and sustainability education for mountain women and girls. Recognizing the need for accessibility, the Mountain Youth Hub aims to develop tailored content, communication materials and training resources in local languages and dialects to empower mountain communities with the knowledge and tools needed to tackle challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss.

Members of the Mountain Youth Hub furthermore launched a video message at the event, voicing their perspectives, concerns and ideas for solutions for sustainable mountain development. The video included statements from Hub members Daniela Manzano in Ecuador, Rocio Meline Garcia in Argentina, Sambat Ranabhat in Nepal and Leila Rossa Mouawad in Lebanon, as well as first-hand contributions from artisans Merely Milagro Carhu Layme and Ruth Marina Alcasihuincha Calachua in Tolconi, in the Peruvian Andes.

Learning by engaging

The side event also stressed the importance of leveraging models like UVU's student-engaged learning (SEL) approach and Rotaract Clubs for facilitating youth's active actively contribution to the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and the mountain agenda.

The SEL model is implemented jointly by the UIMF, a coalition of student clubs at UVU, with academic institutions from the Kyrgyz Republic. It involves both traditional students and non-traditional learners, including students over 25 who balance education with taking care of their families and jobs. Since 2011, the SEL model has encouraged students to work as a team on implementing solutions to real-world challenges under the mentorship of university faculty members.

The CSW68 event itself was an example of SEL in action, having been organized as part of UVU's course "United Nations Sustainable Development Goals", with Stephan Atkinson, UIMF President, and Dastan Abikov, former president of the Bishkek Rotaract Club, moderating the event.

Participants included: Baatyrova Gulnara Marishovna, Minister of Health, Kyrgyz Republic; Aida Kasymalieva, Permanent Representative of Kyrgyz Republic to the UN; Lok Bahadur Thapa, Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations; Rosalaura Romeo, Coordinator of the Mountain Partnership Secretariat at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Joseph Pitts, former United States Representative from Pennsylvania; Jay DeSart, Chair, History and Political Science Department, UVU; Aijan Chynybaeva, former Vice President of the Bishkek Rotary Club; Janessa Purcell, Vice President of the UVU Rotaract Club; Aidana Nurlanova, Vice President, Bishkek Nomad Rotaract Club; Ali Iusupkhanov, President, Bishkek Nomad Rotaract Club; and Almaz Atabekov and Tatiana Panfilenko with students from Osh Technological University.

The SEL model also was featured during a students-only virtual parallel event, titled "Empowering mountain women economically through an inclusive student engaged learning model", at UVU on 20 March 2024. The event was moderated by Handen Torsak, UIMF Vice President, with contributions from students enrolled in the UVU United Nations Sustainable Development Goals course and their peers from the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as members of the Mountain Youth Hub. Presenters shed light on the challenges faced by women and girls in mountainous regions and explored the role of SEL in fostering positive change.

Links:

Mountain Youth Hub video statement

Watch the recording: 14 March side event "Advocating for mountain women and girls' education through student-engaged learning"

Watch the recording: 20 March parallel session "Empowering mountain women economically through an inclusive student engaged learning"