A Good Week for Women's Empowerment: Summer Session & Stories Around the World

It’s been a big few weeks for women around the world- from the largest conference of the decade on women and girl's health to the female-focused issue of the Lancet medical journal, there’s been an increasing amount of global attention on girls this month.

It’s also an exciting time for women in Nablus- specifically, as The Women’s Group here at TYO prepares to launch next week, and we’ve held several more meetings with potential female entrepreneurs interested in our Fostering Women Entrepreneurs in the Middle East project. And while progress for girls in Palestine can sometimes be missed by major press, below are two links on recent global efforts, and how they align with TYO's work:

• Released this month, the World Bank's report on Closing the Deadly Gap Between What We Know and What We Do discusses the intrinsic value of investing in women's health- and further, it talks about how it's smart economics, as it brings substantial benefits to individuals, households, and even nations. TYO agrees- and that's why we're eager to launch this session of The Women's Group, where local experts will lead seminars on both physical and mental health.

• Released this week, the recommendations to the U.N. Secretary General for the much-anticipated Post-2015 Development Agenda included a goal to "empower women and girls to achieve gender equality". This recognition that women are the one of the most vital pieces in efforts to address poverty is exactly why TYO has supported female entrepreneurs in Palestine for three years- and continues in our current FWEME project to enable females to both start businesses, and also help bring significant changes in their families and communities.

So as our session kicks off next week, we're glad to know we're in good company with a global community continually focusing on women's empowerment. Stay tuned for updates as summer program starts!