Women of Concern

This year, instead of holding our in-person event, Women of Concern: CHANGE MAKERS will meet virtually to celebrate women around the world who are creating and promoting positive change within their own communities - from Haiti to Malawi, Lebanon to Kenya. Presented by RTÉ journalist Sarah McInerney, the programme will also feature a spoken word performance from FELISPEAKS and music by Loah.

Each year, Women of Concern recognises an individual from the private or public sector for their exceptional achievements and extraordinary leadership - and this year is no different. For 2021, we are proud to honour Northern Irish academic, peace activist and human rights defender, Professor Monica McWilliams.

Professor McWilliams co-founded the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition and, as a delegate to the multi-party peace negotiations which led to the Good Friday Agreement, ensured that women’s voices were represented in the peacebuilding process. She is Emeritus Professor in the Transitional Justice Institute at Ulster University and specialises in conflict resolution and working with women in conflict regions.

She will appear in conversation with renowned Ugandan journalist and Concern Board Member Kevin Doris Ejon, in a wide-ranging conversation that shares insights into Monica’s work, activism, and the importance of equal representation.

At Concern, we know that gender inequality is one of the major barriers to ending extreme poverty - but we also understand that women are often the most effective dynamos of change within their families and communities. We place women and girls at the heart of our programmes - because equality for women is progress for all.

Please join us and tune in on Friday, 22 October for an inspiring and thought-provoking programme, which will raise vital funds to support our work.

When Concern begins working with a community, it is women and girls who are most often the first that we work with - not only because persistent inequality in all societies means that women are disproportionately affected by poverty and oppression - but because Concern understands that women are the most effective dynamos of change within their families and communities.

We understand that if you invest sustained time and resources into the lives of women in the community - providing holistic economic and social support - that they can lead in lifting themselves, their families and their communities out of extreme poverty forever.