Event Highlight: WLP Participates in Women, Faith, and Development Alliance’s “Breakthrough Summit”

On April 13-15th, Women’s Learning Partnership joined forces with other internationally-focused women, faith, and development organizations to convene a "Breakthrough Summit" to launch the Women, Faith, and Development Alliance (WFDA). The Alliance, a unique and unprecedented coalition of faith, development, and women’s groups, seeks to give new focus and energy to the global efforts to reduce poverty by increasing investments in women's and girls' empowerment around the world. Madeleine Albright, Kim Campbell, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Queen Noor, Mary Robinson, Desmond Tutu, and Muhammad Yunus are among the Alliance Co-Chairs.

Over 100 organizations and thousands of activists have joined WFDA, committed to conduct programs that empower women and girls. Concrete commitments already amounting to $1.4 billion have been made to target issues ranging from education and economic empowerment to organizational funding for maternal mortality and violence against women. Women’s Learning Partnership made the following commitment:

"As a coalition of 20 human rights, women and development organizations, working in 20 countries across three continents, WLP commits to invest $5 million dollars over three years toward increasing the number of women in decision-making at the household, community and national levels. This collaboration will multiply grassroots trainings, advocacy initiatives, media outreach, and the reach of the participatory leadership concept to grassroots constituencies, thus contributing to the transformation of discourse, and gender norms about women's role in society."

The launch also featured leaders from the world’s major religions who affirmed that inter-religious cooperation to promote gender equality and end gender-based violence was a moral imperative.

WFDA’s founding partners include InterAction, Religions for Peace, Women Thrive Worldwide, and the Washington National Cathedral’s Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation. To learn more about WFDA, or to read more commitments, visit their website www.wfd-alliance.org/.