The Leopard Emerging Fall 2019 |
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Listen, the world is singing a new song - a song we’ve never heard before But change comes It comes in the blink of an eye the way a Leopard emerges |
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At first unseen, silently before the naysayers perceive it – stealth, suddenly, she’s there, out in the open, free – as she always was. The Nepalese have a traditional belief that Buddhist monks transform themselves into snow leopards in order to slip across borders unnoticed – to search for medicine in Tibet – the medicine of transformation. Everyone knows what it is to transform. There’s not a single woman in the world who doesn’t know what it means to rise out of the ashes. And I know there are men who know what it means as well. It comes from suffering – and everyone – women, men, children – you, reader, has known what it is to burn inside for something real – to burn to give life meaning. Maybe it is that fire – that spark – present at the core of everyone – that brings you to want change – just like me. So let’s not waste this precious time together, because no one person can bring about the kind of change we’re talking about: systemic change in human relationships, and therefore systemic change in the way we practice diplomacy – in the way we move together as nations – as humanity. Read more: The Leopard Emerging |
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Woman Forward International is a global platform for systemic change in international affairs education, reorienting research towards the principals of unity, collaboration, and service. We create unique partnerships that lead to behavioral changes that advance women to advance humanity. |
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Women Forward International Partners with the United Nations |
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Women Forward International’s work is expanding its international visibility and impact. Our student and university faculty partners will have the opportunity to train and present their research at the United Nations. Students will publish their results through the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and other eminent outlets accessible to member states and the international community. Together we are transforming academic research to make the Sustainable Development Goals a living reality. |
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Featured from right to left: Mona Oswald, Women Forward International Advisory Committee member; Ambassador Marco Suazo, Director of UNITAR; Assistant Secretary General Nikhil Seth, Executive Director of UNITAR; Dr. Kent Davis-Packard, Executive Director of Women Forward International; Sarah Odeh, Women Forward International Communications Consultant; Pelayo Alvarez, UNITAR New York Office, Division for Multilateral Diplomacy. |
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SEPTEMBER 11,2019 2019 | WASHINGTON DC UNITED STATES LAUNCH |
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Rising Out of the Ashes On September 11th, 200 guests welcomed "a song never heard before" at the Aspen Institute to honor the next generation of leaders dedicated to unity, collaboration, and service. The theme of the evening was the Power of Art to Advance Women to Advance Humanity. Keynote speaker Her Excellency Roya Rahmani, first woman Ambassador of Afghanistan to the United States, described what this power means for Afghan women in her speech "Rising Out of the Ashes." Syrian poet and visual artist, Nada Odeh, took us on her internal journey of overcoming the loss of her physical home and empowering herself as a woman in "I Rise with my Art." |
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- The Leopard Emerging by Dr. Kent Davis-Packard, Executive Director, Women Forward International, Inc.
- Our Mother Comes Forth by Rocio Cavazos, Founder, The Ananda Group, Mexico; Introduction by Sarah Odeh, WFI; and A Message from the United Nations: A Partnership for the New Humanity by Marco Suazo, Director, United Nations Institute for Training and Research
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MAY 2019 | MEXICO CITY LATIN AMERICAN LAUNCH |
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Dra. Marcella Lembert, Vice President Mexico Environment, Social and Governance Bank of America Merrill Lynch speaks on how banks can empower women entrepreneurs at the launch of WFI at the Aspen Institute in Mexico City, May 2019 |
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U P C O M I N G E V E N T S |
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DECEMBER 14-15, 2019 | DOHA NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY |
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How ISIS Wins Women, How Women Win the War against ISIS Join us at the Doha Forum, where Women Forward International will feature National Defense University’s prize-winning essayist on women and ISIS Returnees. |
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APRIL 2020 | NEW YORK GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY |
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Real Security in Afghanistan Hear first-hand from voices often unheard by the media what Afghan families need, and how the international community can best help the country move forward. Georgetown University students will present at the United Nations their collaboration with two leading grassroots non-profits in Afghanistan. |
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APRIL 2020 I NATO HEADQUARTERS STANFORD UNIVERSITY |
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An Action Plan for NATO on Countering Human Trafficking in the Balkans Stanford University students will recommend mechanisms NATO should put in place to effectively and efficiently combat and counter human trafficking, especially as it relates to women and girls. |
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MAY 2020 | MEXICO CITY COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY |
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MAY 2020 | MEXICO CITY HARVARD UNIVERSITY |
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JUNE 2020 | PARIS SCIENCES PO |
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Joining Hands: How Women’s Collectives are Transforming the Culture of West Africa Students from Sciences Po’s Paris School of International Affairs, Doctoral, and Management School will present their work with Equipopulation to empower women change-makers across French speaking West Africa. |
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JUNE 2020 | NEW YORK CITY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY |
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Nourishing Minds in the United States: Delivering the Abundance to those in Need – with Love University of California, Berkeley students will present at the United Nations their impact assessment of a new school pantry program transforming the lives of single mothers and serving as a template for relieving hunger in the United States with White Pony Express. |
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SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR DONORS: The Embassy Of The State Of Qatar (Founding Donor) The Heart's Path Charitable Foundation Marshall Millsap |
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"In order for women to succeed and for us to continue to develop and strengthen as a nation, we plan to continue investing in our girls and women. The work of Women Forward International and Qatar are a natural fit because we also believe in the partnership that it brings. We have found that amplifying the voices of women and sharing in opportunities to lead doesn't just benefit women. It benefits us all. Through service and continued focus we can bring resolutions to the problems facing the world." - His Excellency Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the United States Meshal Al-Thani |
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Women Forward International hosts Her Excellency Lolwah Al Khater, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, for a private roundtable breakfast on religious philosophy and contemporary politics at the Aspen Institute in July 2019. |
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