Help me get to the UN!

Hi! I'm a 22 year old PhD student from Auckland, and I've just been selected by the Aotearoa Youth Leadership Institute as a delegate to the UN Commission on the Status of Women in NYC in March. However, as an impoverished student I need your help to get there!

The Commission was first established in 1946, and has met regularly since then to discuss the conditions of women across the globe and to set new priorities for improving these women's lives. This year, the priority theme is "Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls", while the review theme is "Participation in and access of women to the media, and information and communications technologies and their impact on and use as an instrument for the advancement and empowerment of women." As a young feminist New Zealander, studying historical portrayals of femininity in Vogue magazine, these topics are hugely exciting. (For more info on the UN CSW, check out this link: http://www.unwomen.org/en/csw)

As a delegate through AYLI, my participation in this event will be followed by a research project, a volunteer project, and several blog posts about my experience. AYLI's focus on developing youth leadership in New Zealand has allowed people like myself to attend international conferences on topics from climate change to world economics. Ensuring that New Zealanders and young people in general are represented and involved in these kinds of discussions is crucial to our future. Through your support, I hope that my experience at the CSW62 will be both inspirational for other young people and useful for the feminist communities that I participate in (and of course amazing for my own personal development!). For more information on AYLI, see here: http://www.ayli.org.nz/about/

The overall cost for an AYLI delegate to the CSW62 is $5750, which covers flights, accommodation, a training weekend, general resources and admin, and a few other things - AYLI has a full cost breakdown on their website here: http://www.ayli.org.nz/csw-2018/

This delegate fee is the main thing I'm fundraising to cover, but any further assistance towards food, extracurricular activities, and general expenses would be greatly appreciated! (My target is higher, as Givealittle takes 5% of funds raised for admin costs)

Thank you for reading, and for supporting me!

Josie