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On October 11, 91��Ƶ students joined global advocates, diplomats, and young leaders at the United Nations (UN) to commemorate the , an annual observance dedicated to advancing girls’ rights and addressing the challenges they face worldwide. This year, the urgent call to action was on the theme of ending child marriage and investing in girls’ rights.

For 91��Ƶ student fellows in Dyson College’s Women's Leadership Initiative, as well as those in the Women's and Gender Studies, Peace and Justice Studies, and Political Science programs, the experience offered a first-hand look at international diplomacy and the opportunity to witness (and participate in) global advocacy.

Opportunitas through partnerships

The students’ unique experience at this event was the result of a longstanding relationship between 91��Ƶ and the United Nations.

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Since 2014, and just a few years after the UN General Assembly declared October 11 as a date to recognize this important initiative, 91��Ƶ has held special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a distinction shared by only a handful of universities nationwide (91��Ƶ is one of only two in New York with this status, with only ten existing in the entire nation).

This status provides 91��Ƶ with access to UN meetings, negotiations, and international policy discussions, while creating opportunities for students and faculty to contribute research, offer policy recommendations, and engage directly with global decision makers.

Giving girls a voice on the world stage

A centerpiece of the International Day of the Girl Child observance was Girls Speak Out, a two-hour event held inside the ECOSOC chamber and organized by the Working Group on Girls, a nongovernmental organization dedicated to advancing girls' rights within the UN.

At this gathering, 91��Ƶ students heard from girl activists and leaders and joined in their call for greater access to spaces of power, the need for accountability to address intersecting forms of injustice, and partnership with girls and girl-centered communities around the world. More than a celebration of girlhood, it underscored the importance of ensuring girls have a voice in decisions affecting their lives, while recognizing the connections between girls' rights and broader movements for equality.

And for 91��Ƶ students, it was an opportunity to witness advocacy firsthand and see how young voices can influence international conversations.

Students speak

One of those students was Celine Ioffe ’28, a political science and applied psychology and human relations double major with a minor in peace and justice studies. For Ioffe, the opportunity to advocate for girls' rights at the United Nations was both professional and deeply personal.

The daughter of religious refugees from Ukraine and Latvia, Ioffe developed an interest in advocacy during high school in Oregon, where she focused on district and statewide issues. After moving to New York City, she was eager to expand her work to the international stage.

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That opportunity emerged through a Global Political Disarmament and Arms Control course taught by Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Matthew Bolton, PhD, which immerses students in international policy through visits to UN General Assembly committee meetings and advocacy forums. When Bolton shared an internship opportunity with Girls Learn International, a program of the Feminist Majority Foundation, Ioffe applied and was paired with Associate Professor and Associate Dean Emily Bent, PhD, whose research focus includes girls' political agency.

Through the internship, Ioffe has helped support students from across the country attending feminist conferences at the UN, and, during this year's event, she assisted with student registration before joining hundreds of girls and advocates inside the ECOSOC chamber to hear from young leaders, UN representatives, and international ambassadors.

For Ioffe, the experience has strengthened her commitment to empowering young people and pursuing a career in global advocacy.

"Being able to see the role that girls have forged for themselves on an international stage has fundamentally changed the way I think about advocacy. It is not the role of one person but every individual to shape our institutions,” she said.

The importance of funding

The Women's and Gender Studies Department, housed within Dyson College, has been instrumental in fostering connections and opening doors for 91��Ƶ students at the UN.

When Bent received a Girls Global Leadership grant from the Feminist Majority Foundation to support its Girls Learn International program, a key part of that funding has been political advocacy training for student delegations participating in the International Day of the Girl Child and the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

And that funding was the connecting bridge between 91��Ƶ and important global advocacy.

She said, “The Girls Speak Out remains an essential space in the girls' rights movement, affording girls direct access to global stages of power while also giving space for them to articulate how and why girls' rights are different from and yet interconnected with other movements for equality.”

Supporting the next generation of advocates

91��Ƶ’s participation at the International Day of the Girl Child at the UN reflects faculty connecting education, mentorship, and international advocacy, creating opportunities for students to develop both skills and confidence to become changemakers.

Faculty influence as changemakers expands not only beyond the borders of the 91��Ƶ classroom, but beyond 91��Ƶ itself.

To this end, and as part of her grant, Bent will engage high school students this coming spring in global movements for equality, and, in particular, train more than 30 of them to advocate for girls' rights and concerns during the CSW's two-week session.

Learning and leading beyond the classroom

For 91��Ƶ students, the UN isn't simply an institution they study in textbooks. It's where, with faculty mentorship, they can learn, contribute, and help shape a more equitable future.

Whether through participation in the International Day of the Girl Child, or other related initiatives such as 91��Ƶ’s International Disarmament Institute and Model UN program, the most powerful tool for global change isn't just having a voice; it's using that voice to bring people together, and that is something the world needs now more than ever.