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  • Giving Women Welcome Back Apero

    Register Now!We look forward to seeing many of you in person at our offices for this apero.

    We have invited Elise Buckle, co-founder of SHE Changes Climate,a global campaign enabling women in all diversity, to lead equitable climate action globally. 

    She will speak to us about the work of SHE Changes Climate that is focused on increasing female representation at all levels of climate decision making, by influencing key players, campaigning for public support, collaborating with counterparts and amplifying the overlooked. As our Annual Conference in 2024 will be on women in climate, we thought this would be an ideal opportunity to start the conversation.

     

  • Screening of “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (if you are a girl)”

    In-person Space is Limited so Register Soon BelowFollowing the panel conversation we held back in April this year, where the founder of Skateistan was one of the panelists, we are delighted to be able to screen this Oscar and BAFTA award-winning documentary.

     

    This short film/documentary follows a group of girls who are attending the ‘Back to School’ program at Skateistan to help them enter or rejoin formal education. Alongside winning an Academy Award, the film has also won a BAFTA and won Best Documentary Short at the Tribeca Film Festival.

    Skateistan, founded in 2008 in Kabul, runs skateboarding and creative education programs in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa. Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl) is a moving account of a group of girls in Kabul and their progress through their classes at Skateistan. The Skate School is seen as a refuge from the dangers and insecurity of life outside its walls. We see the interaction between the girls and their female teachers, some of whom are former Skateistan students, and the bonds that are created between women and girls in challenging environments.

    It’s fitting that the film was shot with an entirely female crew, on location in Kabul in 2017. Afghanistan is consistently ranked as one of the worst places in the world to be a girl, but the film shows another side to life and childhood in Kabul. We see the girls in the classroom at Skateistan, being guided by their teachers who encourage them to be brave by coming to the board. They tell stories to each other, joke around and clap for each other when they get things right. In the skatepark, they watch their educator in awe as she demonstrates her skills, before getting on the boards themselves and helping each other to balance.

     

    The screening will be followed by a Q & A with the founder and executive director of Skateistan, Oliver Percovich.

     

  • GW Workshop: Monitoring and Evaluation Clinic for Project Circles

    Workshop

    This clinic is to help our Project Circles understand the importance of Monitoring & Evaluation as a tool for accountability and learning. After a quick dive into the key elements of the M&E framework, we will address challenges PCs might face in establishing their M&E system. We want this workshop to be as interactive and practically useful as possible.  
    *This workshop is open to all GW members, but please note it will be specifically targeting Project Circles.  

    **If you are a current Project Owner and were unable to register to the workshop, please contact us.

     

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    OUR FACILITATORS

    Elianna is an active giving women member and member of the executive committee. She has been working in the field of development for more than 15 years in direct programme implementation, and more recently as a grant maker. Elianna has conducted many evaluations for Giving Women projects and sat on several project circles. 

    Sophie is an active giving women member and also sits on the executive committee. Sophie spent a decade building her career in London's financial sector, with expertise in Leveraged Finance later transitioning to private equity. Upon relocating to Switzerland, she engaged in local volunteering activities and competitive ski touring races while raising her four children. In 2020, Sophie Pelka co-founded the Give It Forward Trust (GIFT) with two partners. GIFT embodies her belief in the power of professionalized philanthropy to drive sustainable changes, especially for women and girls. 

     

  • GW Workshop: Demystifying Governance

    Workshop

    This workshop proposes to focus on what we mean by governance, why good governance is important, the characteristics of a good governance framework and the roles and responsibilities of the different actors within that framework. We will touch on some of the practicalities of setting up and supporting a Board, including managing conflicts of interest. Participants are encouraged to submit questions in advance of the workshop, as well as suggestions for specific themes that they would like to see addressed.
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    OUR FACILITATOR

    Joanne Goetz is a member of GW and a corporate governance expert, having worked with boards, committees and management at a senior level in the fields of scientific cooperation and international development. She is currently Head of Governance in a Geneva-based international organisation which brings together both the public and private sector. In addition to her corporate governance experience, Joanne has worked in project management roles and as data protection officer. 

     

    * We also encourage you to watch one of our previous Panel on the topic of "Nonprofit Boards: How to make them more effective", held in June 2023 and available on our Youtube Channel. 

  • Panel Conversation: Funding Women-Led, Women-Focused Organisations

    Panel

    Registration for this Online Panel at the Bottom of the Page 👇 

    The challenge of finding unrestricted funding is ubiquitous in every discussion with beneficiary organisations large and small. Is unrestricted funding the way to go? Why are funders finding this so difficult to do?
     
    Join us for a conversation with a panel made up of directors of two grant-giving foundations, the director of a Giving Women project and Dr Dhananjayan (Danny) Sriskandarajah, the CEO of OXFAM to discuss the merits and impact of their Women’s Rights Fund (WRF) which  supports women’s rights organisations (WROs) with flexible, multi-year funding to invest in their own priorities.
     
    Katharina Samara-Wickrama, director of Issues Affecting Women Programme (IAWP) at Oak Foundation will be moderating the conversation

    Our panelists will be:

    Muriel Guigue, Head of Philanthropy, Cartier Philanthropy
    Olivia Leland, Founder & CEO of Co-Impact
    Amisa Rashid, Founder and Executive Director Nivishe Foundation
    Dr Dhananjayan (Danny) Sriskandarajah,CEO, OXFAM
     

    Bios to follow

     

    Katharina Samara-Wickrama - Moderator
    A lawyer by training, Katharina began her humanitarian career in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) where she worked primarily on promoting gender equality and the rights of refugee women. Thereafter she set up the first joint NGO programme to prevent and address sexual exploitation and abuse of refugee women and girls, training staff on the issue and conducting investigations into allegations of abuse and exploitation. More recently she led the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership. Katharina is currently the Director of the Issues Affecting Women programme of Oak Foundation supporting initiatives that address violence against women, intra-familial violence and trafficking and exploitation of women. Katharina’s passion is to open spaces for the voices that most often go unheard. Otherwise you can find her dipping in the chilly waters of Lake Geneva or making music with a community of Afro-Brazilian Samba Reggae drummers. Her favourite vegetable is chocolate.

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    Muriel Guigue

    Before joining the Cartier Philanthropy in 2016, Muriel worked for the last 15 years within UN agencies (UNCTAD, UNOG, ITC) and Foundations (International Cocoa Initiative, Trafigura Foundation and Puma Energy Foundation), and has extensive experience of programme management, with a specific focus on monitoring and evaluation of projects in developing countries. Muriel holds a master’s degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Grenoble and a diploma in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics.

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    Olivia Leland

    Olivia is the Founder and CEO of Co-Impact, a global philanthropic collaborative for equitable systems change at scale, focused on advancing gender equality and elevating women and girls’ power, agency and leadership at all levels. Olivia has more than two decades of international experience in philanthropy, government, and the non-profit sector. Prior to Co-Impact, Olivia was the founding director of the Giving Pledge – an effort launched by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett to help address society’s most pressing problems by encouraging increased philanthropy. Previously, Olivia worked in microfinance and financial inclusion, and in the areas of strategy development, multi-sector collaboration, and advancing gender equality.

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    Amisa Rashid

    Amisa Rashid is a counselling psychologist and a mediator specializing in peace building and Trauma Healingcentring her work on Trauma informed resilience for community building. Aiming at reducing conflict and violence in her community, Amisa is the Founder and Executive Director of Nivishe Foundation whose main objective is building community resilient using Trauma informed programs for peaceful social cohesion to her community by creating safe spaces and offering psychosocial support to victims of violence. Being an individual who values inclusivity she has pioneered Nivishe in offering Mental Health services through sign languages which since its commencement has managed to serve 200 individuals with hearing Aid challenges. To have a holistic approach in her field she is also a 2020 IPHRD  (International Peace and Human Rights Development) Africa Fellow as a young woman Mediator Ambassador. She is the also the only Kenyan chosen among 10 participants globally to participate in the 2021 Orygen Global fellowship for young Mental Health Advocates.

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    Dr Danny Sriskandarajah
    Danny has been Chief Executive Officer of Oxfam Great Britain since January 2019. Prior to that he spent six years as Secretary General of CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance. He has previously been Director General of the Royal Commonwealth Society, Interim Director of the Commonwealth Foundation and held various posts at the Institute for Public Policy Research. From 2018 to 2019 he was a member of the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, and from 2015 to 2016 a member of the High Level Panel on Humanitarian Finance. He has been a Trustee of the Baring Foundation, Comic Relief, and International Alert, and a member of the Lead Group of Scaling Up Nutrition.

  • New Member Autumn Onboarding Meeting

    Panel

    For new Giving Women members,
    We would like to offer you the opportunity to get to know Giving Women better by attending an onboarding meeting either in-person on 2 November at 13:00 CET at our office in Geneva or via Zoom (details upon registration). There may be some of our new members are not so new and may have missed a previous onboarding so this is also your chance to join us.

    During the meeting, you will get more information about Giving Women and how you can get involved. This is also an opportunity to meet other new Giving Women members.  The meeting will last 1 hour and you don't need to prepare in any way. It will be quite informal with our operations manager, Kathleen, and Atalanti, our Founder, sharing about Giving Women and you will have the chance to ask questions. 

    We look forward to meeting you all.

  • GW Workshop: Crafting your organisation’s key messages to inspire engagement

    Workshop

    Crafting compelling key messages is crucial for any nonprofit organization looking to create engagement and a lasting impact. In this workshop, we will delve into the art and science of developing effective key messages that resonate with your target audience. From defining your organization's core values and messaging pillars to designing campaign messages that evoke emotion and inspire action, this workshop will provide you with the tools and strategies to align your communication efforts with your desired outcomes. 
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    OUR FACILITATOR

    Kathleen Holmlund
    Along with being the Operations and Communications Manager for Giving Women these past 4 years, Kathleen has worked in the communications field across various corporate and nonprofit sectors for over 20 years. These include consumer electronics, automotive electronics, human rights, climate, business ethics, health and food. She is a techie nerd at heart and loves trying out new tools that help amplify the reach of quality positive online content. 

     

    Sonia Martin- Nair

    A native of Singapore, Sonia has been in the digital field for over 20 years, both in the corporate and consulting sectors. She has helped to build and strengthen brands both in the B2B and B2C sectors. She joined Giving Women 2 years ago and is an integral part of  its Communications Team as being a highly valued member of our Project Circle Monitoring Committee. She has also advised a number of our Project Circles with their communications.

  • GW Conversation with GreenLamp and HelpMum: Innovative approaches in maternal and infant health in Africa

    Panel

    REGISTER BELOWJoin us in Zurich for a compelling panel discussion featuring the remarkable work of HelpMum and GreenLamp, two organizations at the forefront of improving maternal and infant health in Africa. Discover their innovative strategies and collaborative efforts that are making a difference in the lives of mothers and children across the continent. Engage with the experts, delve into their challenges and successes, and explore how these initiatives are transforming healthcare, empowering women, benefiting local communities, and facilitating cultural changes. 

    The conversation will be moderated by Marie-Noëlle Jerschke, Associate Partner and board member at FairCapital and feature:

    Corinne Namblard, Advisory Board Member of HelpMum
    Christina Blecher, Board Member of GreenLamp
     

    BIOS

    Marie-Noëlle Jerschke

    Marie-Noëlle is Associate Partner and board member at FairCapital, a mission-driven financial intermediary based in Switzerland, providing financing and consulting services to cooperative producers and other actors along the Fairtrade value chain. She is passionate about market-based sustainable solutions to global problems. With more than 20 years of international work experience in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and business development, she has worked several years as an independent consultant and impact investor. Her former employers include JP Morgan in London and Paris, Groupe Danone in France and LOT Airlines in Poland. Marie-Noëlle graduated from HEC Paris with a Master in Management and complemented her education with a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Management at the University of St. Gallen. 

     

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    Christina Blecher

    Christina Board Member and the inspiration behind GreenLamp. Christina draws on her wide network to build important relationships and lead vital fundraising. Christina has an overview on all GreenLamp activities and, driven by her passion for social justice, she leads with determination and an acute sense of responsibility for all that they do.

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    Corinne Namblard

    Corinne has been a Board member at HelpMum Nigeria since 2019.She first met with Dr Abiodun Adereni, the Founder of HelpMum in 2018 in Geneva as she was the member of an international jury for the first edition of the UNDP "Start-Ups for SDGs" award. Which HelpMum won. She brings to HelpMum her financial skills and expertise on strategy and governance as well as her international network of contacts. 
    Corinne currently sits on the Brussels Airport board, the Conseil Scientifique of TPM in Toulon as well as on the TAC Technical Advisory Committee of Geneva based Nature Based Infrastructure, an ISSD Think Tank. She is the former CEO of a Private Equity fund dedicated to infrastructure and has developed over her 40 years international financial career a portfolio of board and senior corporate and banking executive roles, government advisory and UN Senior Expert roles.

  • End of Year Sale – All Day!

    Panel

    We look forward to welcoming many of you to our popular End of Year Sale.
    On sale will be an array of unique gifts in time for the holiday season, courtesy of our projects and our members and friends!  Some of these items include Pashmina and silk shawls, jewellery, clothes, bags, decorative pillows, paintings, jams, chocolate and olive oil. The list goes on with many amazing pieces of craftsmanship on offer.

    No need to register, just come on over between 10:30 and 19:00

  • Giving Women Christmas Dinner in Zurich

    Panel

    Join Giving Women members for a festive dinner at Restaurant Sham
    This will be an informal opportunity to meet Giving Women members and learn more about the organisation. 

    Please RSVP by COB 5 December so we can make the appropriate reservation at the restaurant.

  • Project Circle New Year Gathering – Members Only

    Panel

    Please join us either in-person or online to celebrate the amazing work our Project Circles (PCs) have been doing this year and to share experiences. 
    Project Circle Members – share, learn, inspire
    This evening is about celebrating your engagement, commitment and successes. It is a unique occasion to meet with other PC members to share experiences, knowledge and learnings, as well as to give feedback and suggestions. You’ll also be hearing from some of our Project Circle Coordinators as well as from PCMS. In addition, PCMS will be onsite for one-on-one conversations.
     
    Non-Project Circle Members – show your support, gain insights
    This is a unique occasion to show your support to the PCs as active members of our Giving Women community. It is also an opportunity to get an inside look into the workings of the PCs and how they are helping many organisations reach their full potential.

    In addition, please remember that even if the 2022/2023 Project Circles are off the ground, new members are always welcome, with new ideas and perspectives.

    We look forward to seeing you at this special evening to kick start the Giving Women year!

     

    Please fill out our PC Members Survey

    As we prepare to start new project circles in the late Spring, and wish to also celebrate our current ones, we wanted to gauge the temperature of our PCs by putting together a quick survey.  We ask all PC members to fill out the survey before the meeting on Monday. 

  • Giving Women New Year Apero – Geneva

    Panel

    Register NowIn 2024, Giving Women celebrates with great pride its 15th anniversary. We have seen our community steadily grow to over two hundred members, and beyond, with partners and projects globally.

    To date, we have worked with over 65 projects on 5 continents. Each year we recognise the value that our community brings to projects working to improve the lives of women and girls.

    So come and get to know other Giving Women members and the exciting work they are all doing, and be inspired over a light Apero at our offices.