2026 marks the 25th anniversary of our growth under various names beginning as Women's Global Connection, but always in circle dances of compassion around the globe sowing seeds that have sprouted in over 30 countries.

~See archives of our early history 2001-2019 as Women's Global Connection Collections and Research - Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word Archives - LibGuides at University of the Incarnate Word,

~Read of our transitions,

~Participate in the action for 2026 presenting in the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women and/or learning with and growing in solidarity with woman around the globe. Register here and contact Sister Martha Ann Kirk, kirk@uiwtx.edu, WhatsApp 1-210-883-5934 or Dr. Joan M. Labay Marquez labaymar@uiwtx.edu. Information on coming meetings on the registration page: Saturday, January, 24, 9 - 10:30 am US Central time; Saturday, February 14, 9 - 10:30 am; March, UN presentation date to be set, and April celebration to be set. We are grateful to a main partner in recent years Raindrop | Raindrop Foundation San Antonio.

Celebrating 25 years, continuing compassionately.

United Nations 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, 2025,

“Global Leadership Initiatives by Young Women in USA and Africa”

We are presenting at the United Nations 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women on Friday, March 14, 2025 at 7:30 am - 9:30 am CST! Hope you can join us. Please read below for more details.

For the fifth consecutive year, the high school scholars of the University of the Incarnate Word Young Women’s Global Leadership Program (UIW YWGLP) will present at the United Nations 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW69) under the leadership and direction of Dr. Erika Arredondo-Haskins, Lecturer in Religious Studies. This initiative is supported through the Ettling Center for Civic Leadership and Sustainability at the University of the Incarnate Word, continuing in the mission of our founder, Sister Dorothy Ettling, whose vision and dedication to global leadership and empowerment continue to inspire our work.

The focus for UNCSW69 is the review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, marking its 30th anniversary (Beijing+30). Adopted in 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women, the Beijing Platform for Action remains one of the most comprehensive global policy frameworks for achieving gender equality. This review will assess progress made over the past three decades in advancing women's rights while addressing persistent challenges in areas such as education, healthcare, economic participation, and political representation. The session will also explore strategies for accelerating progress toward full gender equality in alignment with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This year’s session, “Global Leadership Initiatives by Young Women in the USA and Africa,” will examine pressing global challenges affecting young women and their communities. The UIW YWGLP Scholars will present research and advocacy on the following topics:

7:35-7:50 TEAM KENYA: “Addressing the Impacts of Gender-Based Violence on Grassroots Women and Girls in Kenyan Communities”

7:50-8:05 TEAM UGANDA: “Feminization of Women Forgotten in Poverty in Eastern Uganda”

8:05-8:20 TEAM USA 1: “Saving Women’s Lives: The Urgent Need for CPR Awareness and Training”

8:20-8:35 TEAM USA 2: “Global Perspective of Women’s Healthcare”

8:35-8:50 TEAM USA 3: “Anti-Pesticide Campaign #DefendTheHive”

8:50-9:05 TEAM USA 4: “Bridging the Gap: A Global Perspective on Gender Equity in the Workplace.”

The UIW YWGLP 2024-2025 members attend the following schools in San Antonio and Africa: Health Careers High School, Johnson High School, School of Science and Technology College Prep, Clark High School, Communications Arts High School, Judson Early College Academy, Theodore Roosevelt High School, Young Women's Leadership Academy, Providence Catholic High School, St. Anthony Catholic High School, Chango Secondary School in Kenya, and Holy Cross Lake View Secondary School in Uganda.

QUICK LINK REMINDERS:

To register for free at UNCSW69: https://ngocsw69forum.events.whova.com/registration/

To LOG IN to our platform after you register: https://ngocsw69forum.events.whova.com/

1) Register for free with UN CSW69 to view all the UN events here: https://tinyurl.com/59e6jym2

2) Join us directly on Zoom here: https://tinyurl.com/4j666sb2

Our UIW Young Women’s Global Leadership Program in Action!

In early December 2024, the University of the Incarnate Word Young Women’s Global Leadership Program (YWGLP), in collaboration with the Ettling Center, brought together young women leaders and UIW undergraduate students to serve and make a difference in South Texas. Their efforts embody the UIW mission to develop "concerned and enlightened citizens within the global community."

The young women wrapped 400 gifts and prepared 300 goodie bags for families during Christmas. They also organized and cleaned the closets and children’s playroom, decorated for Christmas, and spent time eating and playing with the families. Additionally, they had the opportunity to visit the border wall, where they learned about the families coming into Texas, read a poem, and prayed together.

Day 1: We were welcomed by Arise Adelante, which provides transformative educational programs and workshops that foster personal growth and leadership development to immigrant families. A heartfelt thank you to Ruth Tiguila and her fantastic staff for their hospitality and inspiring work with youth and adults.

Day 2: We had the privilege of visiting La Posada Providencia, an emergency shelter that provides refuge to individuals and families who have fled to the U.S. due to political oppression, natural disasters, and other life-threatening circumstances. I am immensely grateful to the Sisters of the Holy Spirit, Sister Nora, Sister Terese, and Sister Zita, and the families who shared their stories with us. The weekend was a powerful reminder of the importance of compassion and solidarity.

Day 3: The young women celebrated mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle – National Shrine in San Juan, Texas.

We greatly appreciate the incredible mentors who guide and support our young leaders. Special thanks to Ms. Rebecca Sanchez, Assistant Director at the Ettling Center and Ms. Kendra Cross, a mentor in the UIW YWGLP and librarian at Providence Catholic School, and Ms. Brandi Coleman, founder and CEO of The Lemonade Circle.

Thank you to all the exceptional women and young women for their commitment to this mission and for being a source of inspiration and encouragement.

These experiences have strengthened our resolve to lead with purpose and serve others with open hearts. Praised be the Incarnate Word!

to join us or learn more about our program, click below.

Thank you for your interest!

Applications are closed for the 2024-2025 school year and will re-open in August 2025.

READY TO JOIN THE YWGLP? CLICK ON THE LINK TO APPLY FOR THE 2024-2025 YWGLP PROGRAM!

2024-2025 UIW YWGLP APPLICATION (⬅️apply HERE)

If you have any questions, please contact, Dr. Erika Arredondo-Haskins at ehaskins@uiwtx.edu

WE PRESENTed AT THE UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN MARCH 16, 2024.

Will you Join us? #NoPeriodPoverty!

Please join the Young Women's Global Leadership Program (YWGLP) at UIW in promoting #NoPeriodPoverty! Team USA and Team Kenya of this program are collaborating to raise funds to purchase necessary menstrual products for our members who have to skip school on their menstrual cycle due to a lack of hygiene products. Support this sustainable project by donating or helping us spread the word! Any amount of donations, $5, $10, or $20 are much appreciated!

If you want to help the YWGLP in our efforts to say No! to Period Poverty, please click HERE or scan the QR code. Thank you in advance for your support!

Celebrate the International Day of the Girl established by the United Nations. See the slide show, "Women Who Inspire" with stories of friends of the Young Women's Global Leadership Project in Guatemala, Mexico, Uganda, and the USA. Click here Women Who Inspire 2.pptx

University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas, USA

YOUNG WOMEN'S GLOBAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAM AND GLOBAL LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

Join the group which will start meetings again in September, 2023.

We had a successful Global Summit on April 22. Guest Speaker: Dr. Adriana Rocha Garcia, Councilwoman for District 4, City of San Antonio

Rising Young Leaders Speakers: Sarah Kirikumwino, Uganda & Ava Schreier, USA

For more information email: ehaskins@student.uiwtx.edu

For an application to join YWGLP click on red bar above!

#YWGLP #girls education #TheWord

Join us on Saturday, March 11th at 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. CST for our presentations at the UN CSW 67 ! Our teams from Kenya, Uganda & the United States Teams will be presenting on their projects and sharing how they made an impact in their communities and around the world. Register here to attend their vitual presentations on zoom: https://uiw.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMkf-yorz4sGtW97_Ze9my1wk3ooy1A7F1V

The sixty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place from 6 to 17 March 2023 and will consider the priority theme of, "Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls". The session will also review the agreed conclusions of the sixty-second session, "Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls".

Registration for the NGO CSW67 Forum is open!

When you register, you can indicate if you are attending virtually, in-person, or a mix of both. Registering will allow you access to the Virtual Portal once it opens on 5 December. If you register now or before the Portal opens, you'll receive an email to login to the Portal once it opens. The Portal will list all events including in-person events.

Scroll down to read the FAQs about registration.here!

REGISTRATION FAQs:

How do I register for the NGO CSW67 Forum?

To register for the Forum, click this link. Choose your ticket type based on how you will be attending: in-person, virtually, or a mix of both. Continue filling out your information and submit your registration!

Here is the link again:

NGO CSW67 Forum Registration (whova.com)

Will I receive a link to join the Portal once I register?

While registration for the Forum opens today on 18 November, the Virtual Portal itself will not go live until Monday, 5 December.

If you register now or anytime before the Portal opens on 5 December, you will receive a confirmation email, but you will not be able to access the Portal. However, once the Portal goes live, you will automatically receive an email with a link to join the Virtual Portal.

If you register after the Portal opens on 5 December, your registration confirmation email will include a link to access the Virtual Portal.

Do I have to pay to register and attend the Forum?

Nope! The NGO CSW67 Forum is totally free! However, if you’d like to support our work, you can make a donation here.

Can someone register alone or as a group?

You can register more than one person at a time when registering for the NGO CSW67 Forum.

Do I have to be part of an NGO to register?

Nope! Anyone can register and attend the NGO CSW Forum whether you’re part of an organization or not. The Forum is totally open to the public.

Will NGO CSW67 Forum registration get me access to the UN CSW and the UN building?

No. The UN CSW and NGO CSW67 Forum are two totally separate events. Registration for the NGO CSW67 Forum will not get you a UN grounds pass or access to the UN building.

For more information about official registration for the UN CSW, visit UN Women’s website.

Celebrating International Day of the Girl- Oct. 11th

As we gather again today to commemorate this year's International Day of The Girl Child, it's important that we begin to give honest responses to critical questions about the kind of world we're building for and around the girl child. We can only celebrate the uniqueness of the Girl Child when we have approached their fears and asks sincerely.

Behind every strong woman is a history of a oppressed girl who had to learn how to get back up again and again to not depend on anyone. Last year, the theme by UN on International Day of the Girl Child was Digital Empowerment. Our challenge is how Digital Revolution is to be for all, with all, by all. The Digital Generation is our generation.- Team Kenya

#IDGC2022

#InternationalDayOfTheGirlChild #EqualRightsAndJusticeForAll #SaferHomesForTheGirlChild

#GivingVoiceToTheGirlChild

#BRPKenya

#YWGLP

2022-2023 Leadership Council

2022-2022 Committee Chairs

Our Young Women Leaders in Kenya were surprised with their t-shirts, certificates and laptops. They demonstrate that by closing the digital gender divide, we empower our young women so they can connect in a global world.

Hilda Claire Nyongesa- Mentor

Global Citizenship: Closing the Digital Divide

Our young women in Uganda were excited to received their program t-shirts, certificates and laptops. Closing the digital divide with our international partners remains a top priority.

Pictured below are our three mentors of East Africa = Ms. Christine, Ms. Hildah Claire, and Brother Patrick

Our Young Women Leaders in Kosovo meet with the Deputy Minister of Education in Kosovo to discuss their action plan to address the environmental issues including waste management in Kosovo and their community.

Linda Gjergji- Mentor

Our Global Summit was held on Saturday, April 23rd from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Theme: "Empowering young women through cross cultural education and leadership development" - Sister Dorothy Ettling, Founder

SA to UN66: Our Young Women presented at the parallell event for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women,

YWGLP OLELAI PARISH ,KABERAMAIDO DISTRICT -EASTERN UGANDA-2021.pdf

Welcome our Team from Uganda and hear their reflection on the impact of our program!

Climate Enthusiasts of San Antonio

Women in Law Panel Flyer Rose.pdf

WOMEN IN LAW GLOBALLY. Join us for this special series

Etleva Beqiri and Linda Gjergji, mentors of the Kosovo Young Women’s Global Leadership. Etleva, a University of Pristina Law student inspired YWGPL to have panels on “Women in Law Globally.”

“Women in Law Globally,” Saturdays, March 5 and 12, April 2, 2022, 9 am to 10:15 am (Central US time)

For the general public, to register for this event please email Sr Martha Ann Kirk at kirk@uiwtx.edu.

For UIW faculty, staff and students, please register at Give Pulse by using your UIW login credentials.

Please register here for this event.

The role of women lawyers in the US, Kosovo, Mexico, Afghanistan, Uganda among other countries - their education, participation in governmental and non-governmental jobs and other career options. Peacekeeping, Migration, Domestic Violence and Child Abuse guide the discussions in different sessions. Students have the opportunity to interact with the lawyers to explore issues and possibilities.

Conversations moderated by Hope Frye, JD, an internationally respected lawyer and former president of the American Association of Immigration Attorneys.

See details on presenters at Young Women’s Global Leadership Program. Learn of the monthly conversations with students in Kenya, Kosovo, Uganda, and the US, with partners in Peru Co-sponsored by the UIW Pre-Law, Women and Gender Studies, Lewis Center for the Americas, Centro Incarnate Word, in Mexico City, and UIW Bajio in Irapuato, Mexico.

UIW-YWGLPS-Flyer UN CSW66.pdf

Youth-Led Advocacy for Gender Equality

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Project Uplift: My Motivation

Contact Us

Women are the real architects of society. ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe

Girls Global Leadership San Antonio Program

6-8 month program
Meet once a month
Mentoring by San Antonio female leaders in Business, NGO and Public sectors. In addition to Academic Scholars Mentoring in Health Sciences, Education, Life Sciences, Applied Sciences, Pharmacy, Technology, Law, Art and Music.

Girls' Global Leadership Summit

Completely girl-led
Design, direct and execute the Girls Global Summit
High School Juniors and Seniors throughout the San Antonio area

Girl Effect

WGC

The Young Women's Global Leadership Program and Summit f/k/a WGC Girls Global Summit carries forward the legacy of global citizenship leadership training created by the Women’s Global Connection (WGC). The Girl’s Global Summit began in 2012 and was the flagship local project of the WGC.

WGC’s founders, Sister Dorothy Ettling, CCVI (1940 -2014) and Sister Neomi Hayes (1935 – 2017) inspired volunteers, university students, professors and business leaders to mentor girls and young women to discover how they can influence and create positive change. The Young Women's Global Leadership Program continues their legacy.

Hear a presentation on the growing Girls Global Leadership Project which was given August 2021 in "Stories of Truth and Transformation" a conference with ongoing service and networking https://sites.google.com/view/stories-truth-transformation/speakerssites.google.com/view/stories-truth-transformation/speakers

UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN 66th Session

Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programs.

Learn more about the UNCSW

Learn about the UN Sustainable Goals and how to be a presenter at the 66th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

Read about what we did in March 2021, "SAtoUN" https://sites.google.com/view/satoun/homesites.google.com/view/satoun/home how it was featured in Global Sisters Report https://www.globalsistersreport.org/news/ministry/column/young-women-work-together-present-un-forum Be a part of the learning, connecting, and action in March 22.

The “Circle” of young women around the world is getting stronger as they have gotten to know each other during the fall 2021. Mary Marquez, a Saint Anthony Catholic High School student, recognized that partners in other countries did not have easy access to computers as the students at her school.

Mary (center in the picture of San Antonio participants) won funds from Incarnate Word Sisters "supporting women for a better world” for her “Tech for Success” Project proposal. Funds will be used by St. Anthony’s and Incarnate Word High Schools to purchase Chromebooks and additional laptops for Ugandan and Kenyan students to use. Then US students can learn even more about courage from these emerging global leaders. More and more African women have been recognized with Nobel prizes.

Global security and peace are not won by dominant relationships and wars. Positive peace grows as the human family unites around the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

Incarnate Word Sisters have a history promoting education whether across town or across the world. Sr. Martha Ann Kirk shares a story of Sr. Pauline Fierro, a leader in education for Hispanics a hundred years agowww.ksat.com/news/local/2021/12/31/sisters-of-charity-of-the-incarnate-word-prominent-leaders-in-education-for-hispanics-in-west-side-community/

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