What barriers stand in the way of people of African descent accessing sexual and reproductive health? Where and how can policies, programmes and agendas meaningfully include marginalized populations, especially Afro-descendants? Participants in this open dialogue will reflect on these questions, with a look to promoting inter-continental conversations and an exchange of best practices. This dialogue is an opportunity to mobilize and secure global commitments for equity and inclusion of Afro-descendants.

How can we leverage the reach, ingenuity and financial power of the private sector to accelerate progress towards fulfilling the promise of ICPD and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals? In what ways can governments, the private sector and civil society work together to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights? This conversation will take up these questions, including the role of private sector contributions and investments in the sustainable development agenda. Expect to engage with leaders from private and public sector alike, and arrive ready to explore new and renewed commitments from the private sector to realize the vision of Cairo.

What is at stake? What do men and boys need and demand when it comes to sexual and reproductive health and rights? What are the barriers, where are the gaps in resources and progress, and how can these obstacles be addressed? This open dialogue will enable participants to reflect on the role of men and boys as clients, partners and agents of change for gender equality. The conversation will explore why and how the sexual and reproductive health and rights needs and demands of men and boys can be addressed, and will highlight the social norms that need to transform in order to enable this change.

How can religious leaders, from a wide range of faiths, uphold and amplify the Nairobi Commitments? What is the role of religious actors in advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights? This dialogue will allow participants from diverse faiths and organizations to reflect on the relationships between religion, rights and choices. Expect tough questions on contentious and complex issues, and a thoughtful discussion on the way forward.

How are young people promoting positive change in countries affected by conflict, humanitarian crises and fragility? How can we collectively shift the narrative away from young people as “beneficiaries” needing “empowerment”, to the recognition that young people are central contributors to building peace and responding to humanitarian crises? The conversations will feature the work of exceptional young leaders, and explore opportunities to support and promote young people’s engagement in humanitarian and peacebuilding efforts, particularly in the context of the ICPD Programme of Action. It will be a vibrant dialogue on the work of young peacebuilders, human rights defenders and humanitarians in promoting peace, recovery and resilience of communities.

This dialogue aims to bring visibility to the urgent challenges that prevent indigenous women and girls from enjoying their right to sexual and reproductive health. It will highlight the progress that has been achieved since 1994, the barriers that stand in the way, and the critical elements required for ensuring a rights-based and culturally acceptable approach to sexual and reproductive health and rights for indigenous peoples. Expect an intercultural exchange that puts the rights, voices, and choices of indigenous women and girls at the centre of the conversation.

Whose rights and choices have been fulfilled, and which groups and individuals have been left behind? Twenty-five years after the landmark agreement in Cairo, equality is still a goal rather than a reality. This is especially true for girls and women and people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, who often face barriers to their sexual and reproductive health and rights and heightened vulnerability to gender-based violence. This conversation will highlight the experiences of human rights defenders and their insights on what it takes to ensure radical and transformative change in the lives of those facing discrimination and exclusion. Expect provocative questions and proposed solutions to finally and fully realizing an inclusive ICPD Programme of Action.

Young leaders are key to driving transformative social change. This session shines a light on youth participation in political systems and notes that Young Parliamentarians have a key role to play in advancing the ICPD agenda. This session will take an intergenerational and interactive approach and will foster dialogue among parliamentarians of a range of ages while soliciting feedback and questions from attendees. The aim is to identify lessons learned that can advance all parts of the ICPD agenda in sub-national, national and global financing frameworks. The young politicians will also share ideas on how they can shape opportunities for the advancement of sexual and reproductive health within their mandate. Expect young parliamentarians to make concrete, life-changing commitments that can be enacted through parliamentary policy and fiscal and oversight instruments. The event will be convened by UNFPA in collaboration with the Global Parliamentary Alliance (GPA), an initiative of the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (EPF), the World Health Organization and IPU.

How can governments equitably address the needs, rights and choices of older persons, especially older women? This dialogue will explore different national ageing strategies that focus on human rights, inclusion and gender equality. Participants will reflect on and exchange success stories and solutions that take an all-government approach to addressing this demographic mega-trend.