Protect | Reclaim | Resist | Reimagine | Expand – Towards a Just and Equal Future.
At the 69th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), held in New York in March 2025, Power to You(th) stood proudly alongside feminists, youth leaders, and movement builders from across the globe. This year marked a pivotal moment—not just because it commemorated 30 years since the landmark Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, but because the urgency of our global context demanded bold reflection and even bolder action.
Against the backdrop of rising misogyny, far right and anti-rights movements, shrinking civic space, and the persistent underfunding of grassroots work, we entered CSW69 with a clear mission: to amplify the voices of young people—especially girls and young women—from the Global South who are already leading transformative change in their communities. Our participation focused on engaging with partners, spotlighting lessons and best practices, and strengthening global visibility. We connected with movements using creative and culturally rooted tools such as survivor-centered storytelling to end female genital mutilation (FGM) and sat in rooms that revisited our shared histories and imagined feminist futures. But most importantly, we listened, we learned, and we left with urgent calls to action.
One of the most powerful moments for us came during the session, “Claiming Civic Space: Advancing Intergenerational and Intersectional Feminist Movements and Leadership” which brought together activists from across generations and regions to reflect on the growing threats to civil society organizing. It was a sobering reminder that the hard-won gains since Beijing are under attack—and that youth-led and feminist movements must be supported, protected, and resourced now more than ever.
A critical lesson we took away was the importance of long-term, flexible funding for feminist and youth-led movements. This issue hits home for us as we approach the final year of our current implementation phase and face a steep challenge in securing new funding to sustain and expand our work. Movements cannot thrive on short-term project cycles or token inclusion. Real investment must reflect the transformative power and staying power of youth leadership. We also saw across multiple sessions the power of multi-stakeholder collaboration. No single sector or actor can advance gender equality alone. Governments, civil society, private institutions, and youth movements must co-create inclusive, intersectional policy solutions. Whether it’s tackling harmful practices like FGM, fighting for SRHR, or expanding access to education, it’s clear that partnerships grounded in equity—not hierarchy—are what will push us forward.
But collaboration means little if it only happens in elite, exclusive spaces. One of the boldest and most necessary demands we heard—and strongly echoed—is the call to decentralize CSW and host future convenings in the Global South. As long as CSW remains rooted in New York, the vast majority of rural, indigenous, grassroots, and youth voices are effectively locked out by cost, visa issues, and institutional gatekeeping. Convening CSW in the Global South would mark a significant shift toward real inclusion, accessibility, and ownership.
This call for change stands in sharp contrast to the CSW69 Political Declaration, which despite good intentions, fell short in several key areas. The declaration reiterated previous commitments but lacked binding mechanisms and accountability frameworks, leaving implementation up to uneven national efforts (CESR, 2025). The declaration’s failure to explicitly address sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) was perhaps the most alarming, especially in these critical times. It also employed ambiguous language around intersectionality and gender diversity, erasing the specific challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals and marginalized women across the world.
Declarations alone won’t shift power. Action must follow.
We must confront the global rise of anti-rights movements with solidarity and courage. We must defend civic space with the same urgency with which we defend life. And we must recognize young people not as future leaders—but as co-architects of the solutions we need right now.
Our final call is simple but urgent:
💡 Fund youth-led movements sustainably—beyond projects and into long-term power.
🤝 Build inclusive coalitions that center grassroots voices and knowledge.
📣 Decolonize global platforms like CSW—bring them closer to the people.
🛡️ Protect civic space and resist the rise of misogyny and regressive policies.
🌍 And above all—let youth lead.
The road ahead is difficult—but young people aren’t waiting. From Nairobi to New York to Jakarta, they are mobilizing, storytelling, organizing, and imagining new worlds into being. Power to You(th) remains committed to standing with them—and being led by them—every step of the way.