From Local Communities to Global Action: My Journey to CSW71

From contributing to the International Alliance of Women’s preparatory process to joining its official delegation to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York

I am deeply honoured to share an important new chapter in my international work for education, women’s leadership, stronger communities and peace.

I have been officially appointed as one of the 20 members of the International Alliance of Women (IAW) delegation to the 71st Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women – CSW71, which will take place in March 2027 at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The appointment was confirmed by the IAW Executive Committee following the recommendation of the CSW71 Task Force.

For me, however, this moment is significant not simply because of the appointment itself.

It represents the continuation of a process in which I have already had the opportunity to contribute ideas, exchange perspectives with women from different countries and participate in shaping the common preparation for CSW71.

A Journey That Began Before the Appointment

My journey towards CSW71 began months before the final composition of the delegation was announced.

As part of the IAW preparatory process, I participated in two international working meetings, held on 18 July and 8 August 2026, and completed an individual preparatory assignment focused on the issues and actions I considered particularly important for the forthcoming session.

My contribution concentrated on three interconnected areas:

quality education, ethical and inclusive leadership, and community resilience.

Within the Sustainable Development Goals, I chose to focus particularly on SDG 4 – Quality Education and SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, while for the Review Theme I addressed Disaster Risk Reduction.

Behind these choices was one central conviction:

Sustainable societies are built by people who have the knowledge to understand, the confidence to participate and the ethical capacity to lead.

I therefore argued that education should do more than prepare women and girls for employment. It should also develop critical thinking, civic responsibility, ethical leadership and active engagement in community life.

I also emphasized that strong institutions depend on public trust — and that women must have real opportunities not merely to participate, but to lead, influence decisions and contribute to building that trust.

And when considering disaster risk reduction, my focus was on the role of women not only as people affected by crises, but as active participants in preparedness, decision-making, response and community recovery.

From Individual Contributions to a Common Position

The preparatory work was not symbolic.

Following our meetings and individual assignments, the IAW CSW71 Task Force brought together the contributions submitted by participants and used them as a basis for developing the IAW Written Statement for CSW71.

The final statement was subsequently approved by the IAW Executive Committee on 8 September 2026.

For me, it was particularly meaningful to see several themes that had been central to my own contribution reflected in the final collective document.

Among them are the importance of leadership development and mentoring,  the role of education in developing civic responsibility, critical thinking, ethical leadership and community engagement,  and women’s equal participation in disaster preparedness, risk assessment, emergency decision-making, response and recovery.

This does not make these ideas the contribution of any one participant. The Written Statement is a collective IAW document developed from the preparatory process.

But it makes the experience particularly valuable: individual ideas entered a collective international dialogue and became part of a shared process of defining priorities and action.

That, for me, is one of the most meaningful dimensions of international civil society cooperation.

The Idea I Want to Take Further: Women as Social Capital

The preparatory process also strengthened an idea that I want to develop further through my own work:

Women as Social Capital

We often speak about empowering women in terms of what women need from society: access to education, resources, opportunities, leadership positions and decision-making.

All of these are essential.

But I believe there is another question worth asking:

What does an entire community gain when women are empowered to lead?

Women create connections.

They connect families and schools, generations and institutions, local communities and civil society.

They transfer knowledge.

They create networks of trust.

They mentor.

They organize.

They recognize needs that may remain invisible to formal institutions.

And in times of uncertainty or crisis, these relationships can become part of the invisible infrastructure that keeps communities functioning.

This is why I increasingly see women not only as beneficiaries of social development policies, but as creators and multipliers of social capital.

Investment in women’s education, leadership and participation can therefore create an impact that extends far beyond the individual woman.

One woman gains knowledge.She shares it.Another woman gains confidence.A network begins to form.Trust grows.The community becomes stronger.

This creates a different way of understanding women’s empowerment:

Education → Leadership → Mentoring → Networks → Trust → Social Capital → Community Resilience

From an Idea to a Practical Model

The next question is how to translate this concept into practice.

One direction I am exploring is the development of Community Women’s Leadership Hubs.

I envision them not necessarily as new institutions or expensive physical structures, but as flexible local networks capable of connecting:

women and girls, educators, mentors, civil society organizations, municipalities, universities, public institutions and responsible businesses.

Depending on the needs of each community, such a hub could support mentoring, leadership development, civic education, digital skills, community initiatives, networking, intergenerational exchange and preparedness for local challenges and crises.

The principle is deliberately simple:

connect the resources that already exist within a community and enable women to multiply their impact through one another.

A teacher can become a mentor.

A student can discover that leadership is possible.

A woman with professional experience can support another woman beginning her journey.

A civil society organization can connect citizens with institutions.

A municipality can open a pathway for participation.

And individual relationships can gradually become a network of trust.

This is the point where women’s empowerment becomes community transformation.

What I Want to Bring to New York

My participation in CSW71 will therefore not be only about attending an international forum.

I want to arrive in New York ready to listen, learn, exchange and contribute.

During the coming months, I intend to continue developing the concept of Women as Social Capital and exploring the Community Women’s Leadership Hubs model as a possible practical framework connecting education, mentoring, ethical leadership, civic participation and community resilience.

I am particularly interested in learning from women and organizations working in very different social and cultural environments.

What works in one community may not work in another.

But the underlying principle may travel:

when women have knowledge, networks, trust and meaningful opportunities to participate, their capacity to strengthen the communities around them grows as well.

And perhaps this is where the relationship between local and global action becomes most important.

International forums can create ideas, standards, partnerships and shared commitments.

But transformation ultimately becomes visible somewhere much closer to home:

in a school,in a family,in a municipality,in a local organization,in a woman who decides that her voice matters,and in another woman whom she helps to discover the same thing.

From Local Communities to Global Action — and Back Again

Being appointed to the IAW delegation to CSW71 is an honour.

But I see it even more strongly as a responsibility.

A responsibility to bring the experience of education and local communities into the international conversation.

A responsibility to listen to perspectives different from my own.

A responsibility to build meaningful partnerships.

And, most importantly, a responsibility to bring something back.

Because the value of participating in a global dialogue should not end when the conference ends.

It should return to our schools, organizations and communities in the form of knowledge, relationships, opportunities and action.

That is the journey I want to make:

From local communities to the global dialogue.From the global dialogue to practical action.From women’s leadership to stronger communities.And from stronger communities to a more peaceful and sustainable world.

Milena OreshkovaMember of the International Alliance of Women Delegation to CSW71Bulgaria