Of the 143 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, more than one in four are women and adolescent girls of reproductive age whose rights, safety and dignity are often violated and must be protected. This special session will highlight a feminist approach to humanitarian action as a means of addressing challenges and accelerating progress to achieve the ICPD and 2030 agendas.

Climate change disproportionately affects populations in the Global South, despite their lower contribution to the root causes of this global crisis. As prevention and adaptation efforts progress too slowly, young people across the globe are stepping up to the challenges of climate change by speaking out, as well as educating and mobilizing their communities. This session offers a point-counterpoint debate between national leaders and young climate activists on the challenges of action, the need for partnerships, strategies for adaptation and resilience, and the future of climate justice.

On average, more than 33,000 girls are forced into child marriage every day. Every year, more than 4 million girls are subjected to female genital mutilation. Son preference, gender-biased sex selection, and other harmful practices cause gender imbalances that negatively impact the fabric of societies. This session will dispel the myths that perpetuate these practices and their staggering toll. The global target of eliminating harmful practices by 2030 will be achieved only if efforts to address these problems are dramatically intensified.

South-South and Triangular Cooperation is increasingly important as the new way of mobilizing knowledge and resources for global development. This session will capitalize on successes in population and reproductive health programing, which are expanded through South-South and Triangular Cooperation commitments. It will bring in experts to explore how new opportunities can be leveraged to deliver Agenda 2030 and accelerate the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action.

Today’s world is more demographically diverse than ever before, bringing new challenges and creating opportunities. This signature session will delve into changing demographics as a driver for sustainable growth, poverty reduction, and human capital development. The session will investigate how countries can seize these opportunities and respond to their inhabitant’s needs by making the right investments in health, family planning, youth empowerment, education, and employment opportunities, all while safe guarding human rights and pursuing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Participants from young and ageing societies will share experiences and lessons learned from harnessing the demographic dividend.

Without dependable population data, whole communities of people remain invisible and their needs and rights ignored. In order to leave no one behind, high-quality disaggregated data are required at national and local levels. Meeting the growing data needs of decentralized governance is critical. Population trends will shape national development and investments effectively only when population and household data are widely accessible and utilized as a public good, while safeguarding the rights of respondents to privacy. This session focuses on making data a public good in order to guarantee zero invisibility and to leave no one behind.

Today, more women have access to family planning information and services than ever before. Yet 232 million women in developing countries who want to prevent pregnancy are not using modern contraceptives. How can we meet their needs? What will it take to reach marginalized communities and those living in fragile and humanitarian settings? And who is going to pay for it? This signature session will explore the path forwards – engaging across sectors – to expand rights, agency and contraceptive choices to ensure that everyone everywhere can prosper as equal partners in sustainable development.

Supermodels, entrepreneurs and fashion designers are part of multi-billion-dollar industries that have the power to change how we think and talk about women's health, including menstrual hygiene, sexuality and sex education. Some of these social influencers are already using their platforms and reach to attack the stigma and taboos around women’s sexual and reproductive health. In this signature session, we’ll learn from what influencers are already doing to address social norms, destigmatize women’s health, and empower the next generation. The session will also be an opportunity for participants to discuss what works, identify what more is needed, and invite new faces into the conversation and movement!