Giving Women

Gender Based Violence - prevention, identification & healing
2025-10-30 12:30 - 14:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84255526926
Gender-based violence affects everyone. However, in underserved communities, where it is often normalised women and girls often lack safe spaces to speak out, find support, and begin to heal. How can we work together to combat GBV?
Join Giving Women, on Thursday 30 October, online at 12:15, for an important conversation on “Gender Based Violence: Prevention, Identification, Healing.” Our panel will feature speakers with lived experience, practitioners who work with survivors on the ground, and will be moderated by a representative of an organisation that provides funding for these programmes.
Our moderator will be Julie Broome, Director of Issues Affecting Women at Oak Foundation. She will be joined by:

Alessandra Guedes – Gender and Development Research Manager @ UNICEF Innocenti
Daniela Valdivia – President at Huellas & Futuro NGO
Jane Anyango – Founder of Polycom Girls in Nairobi, Kenya
Trizah Gawka – Program Manager at Be That Girl
Queentah Wambulwa – CEO at Girls For Africa Mental Health Foundation

Access to materials
Recordings and all workshop resources are shared after the event with members, active projects, and ticket holders.

From Capacity to Capital - Fuelling women’s financial inclusion in emerging markets
2025-11-24 18:00 - 21:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | responsAbility Investment AG, Zollstrasse 17, Zurich, 8005, Switzerland
We warmly invite you to join the Giving Women Zurich Chapter and our host partner, responsAbility, for an evening of insight and inspiration on how financial and non-financial support can empower women to build more resilient futures in emerging markets.
True financial inclusion is about more than access to capital: it’s about creating the conditions for women to grow their capabilities, strengthen their livelihoods, and lead change in their communities. This discussion will explore how mentoring, capacity building, investment, and climate-conscious initiatives work together to drive lasting empowerment.
Bringing perspectives from grassroots action to global investment, our panel brings together leaders who are advancing women’s empowerment, financial inclusion, and climate resilience in complementary ways.
Panelists:

Martin Heimes – Head of Private Debt at responsAbility
Amanda Turner Ege – Executive Director at elea Foundation
Rebecca Berlinger – Co-funder & COO at The Rocket Foundation
Nejira Nalic McCarrick – Financial Inclusion Expert and Project Circle Coordinator at Giving Women

Moderator: Nadir Franca, Co-Lead of the Giving Women Zurich Chapter.

Join us for an engaging evening of conversation, connection, and concrete action, followed by an apéro generously hosted by responsAbility.

Unlocking youth livelihoods through digital skills
2025-12-04 12:15 - 13:30 (Europe/Helsinki) | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86431094190
As Africa’s “youth quake” approaches — with the population aged 15–24 expected to grow by 42% by 2030 — finding employment is becoming an urgent challenge. Is digital training the answer? Can global job opportunities open up for these young people?
Join us online to explore how digital skills programmes are already creating pathways to employment for youth in underserved communities. Hear directly from practitioners working on the ground, as well as a researcher who will share best practices, success stories, and the challenges we must address to ensure these initiatives are effective, ethical, and scalable.
Our moderator

Kirsten Schuettler – Economist

Our panelists

Maeghan Ahumuza – Operations Lead, Era92
Valerie Okumu – Development Officer, Konexio Africa
Dr Funda Ustek Spilda – Senior Lecturer and SE Asia Programmes Lead at the Department of Digital Humanities, King’s College London
Brizan Were – Co-founder and Managing Director, Lions Strength

How can the Social Enterprise model help close the funding gap?
2026-02-19 12:15 - 13:30 (Europe/Paris) | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86981622639
Context

At a time when funding is increasingly difficult to secure while needs continue to rise, many organisations are under intense pressure. Migrant populations are at record levels due to conflict and climate crises, girls’ completion of primary and secondary education is declining, and access to healthcare remains a struggle. The challenges are overwhelming.
What we will explore
Thursday 19 February, 12.15pm CET (online) : Join us for an online conversation moderated by Zoya Siddiqui from Acumen, an organisation that recognised early on the potential of the social enterprise model. Together, we will explore how this approach can help organisations build more resilient, financially sustainable models.
We will highlight and hear from three grassroots organisations applying this model in the field: Aavishkaar Centre (India), Project Maji (Africa), and Womengro Initiative (Uganda). We will also be joined by the Elea Foundation for Ethics in Globalisation, which supports social entrepreneurs through its philanthropic giving, to share the funder perspective on what helps these models thrive.
Panelists
Moderator:
Zoya Siddiqui, Development and Partnerships Manager at Acumen Europe
Expert perspective:
Lisa Jean-Mairet, Executive Director, Elea Foundation for Ethics in Globalisation
Voices from the field (highlighted organisations):
– Prapti Bhasin, CEO, Aavishkaar Centre, India
– Sunil Lalvani, Founder, Project Maji, Africa
– Lilian Nakigozi, Founder, Womengro Initiative Uganda

Why coalitions and collaborations are so important today?
2026-04-23 12:15 - 13:30 (Europe/Zurich) | Zoom
In a world that is increasingly uncertain, unpredictable, and disrupted, business as usual is no longer effective. Progress requires a different approach—one grounded in partnership.
Many are looking for alternative ways to achieve positive change in a resources constrained context. How do we ensure that money and decisions are being directed to the most relevant and pressing needs?
Our speakers will share the benefits, challenges, risks and opportunities of collaborative and pooled funding and support mechanisms.

Join us on 23 April online at 12:15 CET for what promises to be a vibrant discussion with:

Medina Haeri, Co- Founder & Executive Director, Helia Collaborative
Eliane Matti-Proenca, Head of Partnerships, Global Partnerships for Education
Gloriah Soma, Founder & Executive Director, Titi Foundation, South Sudan
Jennifer Wu, Co-founder, Unity4Impact

Moderator: Elianna Sabbag Moquette, Director, If! Foundation

Women Driving Climate Action (Zurich Climate Week)
2026-05-07 18:00 - 21:30 (Europe/Zurich)
Giving Women is leading a panel conversation at Zurich Climate Week.
Learn more and register on the official Zurich Climate Week site here
Climate change is not gender-neutral. Women are disproportionately affected by its impacts — yet they are also among the most powerful drivers of climate solutions.
Across sectors such as agriculture, water, energy, and biodiversity, women are already building resilience, leading innovation, and shaping sustainable systems. However, their role remains under-recognised and underfunded.
This event by Giving Women brings together key actors across philanthropy, finance, and practice to explore how we can better connect capital with impactful, women-led climate solutions — and accelerate meaningful change.
Why it matters
Despite their central role, only a small fraction of climate finance reaches women-led initiatives.
Unlocking the full potential of women in climate action is not only a matter of equity — it is essential for building scalable, effective, and sustainable solutions.
By shifting the narrative from women as beneficiaries to women as leaders and solution drivers, we can strengthen climate resilience, advance biodiversity, and contribute to more inclusive economic systems.
The panel
The event will feature a dynamic panel discussion bringing together organisations working at the intersection of climate, gender, finance and system change, including Medair, Unearthodox, ShEquity and The Table.
The conversation will explore:

How climate change impacts women on the ground
How women are already driving nature-society or socio-environmental solutions across key sectors
How can we collectively help level the playing field for systemic transformation
What is needed to scale these solutions through innovative financing approaches

The panel will connect real-world insights with strategic perspectives, highlighting both challenges and opportunities for systemic change.
Learn more and register on the official Zurich Climate Week site here

Bridging the first and last mile: enhancing mobility and access to health for women and girls
2026-06-11 18:00 - 21:30 (Europe/Zurich) | PwC Offices, Birchstrasse 160, Zurich, 8050, Switzerland
Giving Women, in collaboration with World Bicycle Relief and ROKPA INTERNATIONAL, and Save the Children Switzerland is hosting a panel conversation and interactive experience exploring how mobility poverty remains a root cause of gender inequity in healthcare access.

In many underserved communities, distance can mean the difference between care and hardship. While women are often the primary health managers for their families, geographic isolation and lack of transportation continue to prevent millions from accessing essential and life-saving healthcare services.
This event will explore how practical and scalable solutions — from the Buffalo Bicycle to mobile healthcare clinics — can help bridge the mobility access gap and transform healthcare delivery in remote regions. By connecting on-the-ground experience with philanthropy and systems thinking, we aim to foster collaboration and inspire concrete action toward more inclusive and accessible healthcare solutions.
Atalanti Moquette, Founder – Giving Women
Opening the evening with reflections on the importance of the right to mobility for access to health.
The Panel

Alisha Myers, Executive Director of Impact & Learning – World Bicycle Relief (WBR)
Exploring how purpose-designed bicycles empower community health workers to reach more patients, reduce travel time, and ensure the “last mile” is no longer out of reach.
Zoe Bozzolan-Kenworthy, CEO – ROKPA INTERNATIONAL
Highlighting its mobile clinic model, bringing essential healthcare services directly to remote and underserved communities where access to medical care remains limited.
Adam Cianciara, Head Foundations, Major Donors, Legacies – Save the Children Switzerland
Sharing how bringing healthcare closer to communities through schools, community health workers, and local partnerships can help remove the barriers that prevent women and children from accessing life-saving care.

Moderated by Giving Women’s co-lead for Zurich, Alina Bulugioiu.
