NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—The Douglass Residential College is inviting the community to attend its first annual Global Summit, titled “Women’s Health and Dignity for the 21st Century” on Saturday, November 22 from 10am-6pm in Trayes Hall at the Douglass Student Center at 100 George Street.
The Douglass Global Summit will be the first conference of its kind and aims to form a constructive dialogue in response to global health issues regarding access to quality and affordable healthcare and education, sexual and reproductive health rights, poverty, environmental sustainability and more.
The event is free and open to the public but attendees are encouraged to register at the event website.
The program will feature student panels, a contest, breakout sessions on relevant themes and keynote speaker Dr. Nafis Sadik.
Sadik was the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund and the first woman to lead one of the United Nations’ major programs.
Douglass Residential College is an all women’s college within Rutgers University that offers extra support for women through their leadership programs, living learning communities, scholarships and career development programs.
Undergraduate students will be able to participate in the Global Summit by presenting their ideas or works of art on the topics of sustainability, governance and accountability, human rights and dignity, place and mobility or health. Each of the presentations will be entered into a contest to win cash prizes.
The Douglass Global Summit was initiated based on a conference between several countries that took place in Egypt twenty years ago for the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
Following the conference came a “Program of Action” backed by 179 countries who agreed that promoting human rights and dignity are pertinent to economic development and that everyone has the right to a life without discrimination.
Although much progress has been made as a result of this conference, there are an abundance of challenges that require new solutions.
The first-ever Douglass Global Summit aims to inspire Rutgers students to respond to 21st century problems with innovative and global ideas to improve the health and dignity of women and girls around the world.Â
Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.
