Global Women's Action Network for Children

“If the values and priorities of the United States and of our world are to change – and they must be changed – women, especially mothers and grandmothers, will have to demand it.  Rich women and poor women and those in between.  Powerful women and empowered powerless women.  Corporate women and political and philanthropic women.  Community women and women of faith.  Girls, young women, and old women.  All together determined to build a new world fit for children and everyone.”
- Marian Wright Edelman, Founder and President, Children’s Defense Fund

The Global Women’s Action Network for Children (GWANC), an alliance of high-profile women leaders, is committed to supporting programs for women and girls and to building a powerful global voice for women and children that will impact national and international policy arenas. In February 2004, 35 women from around the world including Nobel laureates, heads of state, philanthropic leaders, and advocates for women and girls gathered in Bellagio, Italy to form GWANC, and in June 2006, GWANC was officially launched at a three-day conference by the Dead Sea in Jordan. The conference, entitled Mobilizing for Action, was convened by five women who joined together to address the crucial issues of girls' education and maternal mortality: former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; former President of Ireland and UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson; CEO of Vital Voices Melanne Verveer; President of the Children’s Defense Fund Marian Wright Edelman; and founder and President of Women’s Learning Partnership Mahnaz Afkhami.

With more than 55 million school-aged girls around the world out of school, and more than half a million women dying during pregnancy or childbirth a year, the GWANC tackles a critical and timely challenge. The network is motivated by a vision of a just and equitable world where the needs and rights of women and children are met and assured.

The network is committed to:

• Achieving the Millennium Development Goals on maternal mortality and girls’ access to education
• Building bridges between advocates for women and children and powerful leaders and organizations
• Building a bold and persistent global voice for women and children across all sectors to carry the concerns of women and children into the halls of power

Martha Segura, executive director of the Colombian Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations, commented, “We are not starting a project, a little program to assist children and women. We are making a long-term commitment to what really is a new movement. But the women's movement has created great social capital, and that is trust. That is our endowment. We must use it to move our issues forward.”

For more information on GWANC, please consult the website at: www.childrensdefense.org/gwanc