Carol Hanlon, Founder/CEO, Belmont Business Enterprise Centre Inc. (Belmont BEC | BEC Global), TCF WA Inc. (TCF Global) and BPW Business Incubator, will be presenting in New York at the NGO CSW69 Forum, ‘Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs, Gender Equality, and Sustainable Development Goals’.
The forum will be hosted by NGO CSW, which is a coalition of many global non-government organisations, civil societies and individuals that are concerned and working towards the world-wide attainment of women’s human rights, gender equality and empowerment of women and girls on an international level. Their mission is to provide an international platform for the voices and leadership of feminists and women’s rights advocates across the globe to inform, engage and inspire. This CSW year also celebrates 30th anniversary of Beijing+30 will open new opportunities to reconnect, regenerate commitment, charge up political will, mobilise the public and to take stock of progress made and actions required to address barriers to gender equality and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
Ms Carol Hanlon will showcase many inspirational women making a difference globally through social enterprises and NGOs providing insights into their projects and programs and the range of issues affecting the economic empowerment of women, gender equality, women’s empowerment principles and the sustainable development goals. Presenters will also cover a range of global issues affecting women in conflict, peace, justice and security.
Ms Hanlon will be presenting about empowering women entrepreneurs though small business training and mentoring projects, fashion sustainability, G100 MSMEs and global export opportunities.
Other global speakers will include the following:
Irene Natividad, Global Summit of Women, USA - a global overview of women in leadership. Irene is a recognized leader for women in the United States and globally, is Chair of the Globe Women Research and Education Institute, President of the Global Summit of Women, an annual gathering of women leaders from around the world on business/economic issues, and Chair of Corporate Women Directors International (CWDI), which promotes increased participation of women on corporate boards globally.
Delia Domingo Albert, Chair, ASEAN Society Philippines - women in peace and security
As Chair of the UN Security Council in 2004, Delia introduced the Role of Civil Society in Post Conflict Peacebuilding highlighting the role of women in peace-building and peace-making. The Philippines led the Asian region in crafting its National Action Plan to implement UN Resolution 1325 on Women in Peace and Security. Delia was the first woman career diplomat to serve as Secretary (Minister) of Foreign Affairs in Asia.
Neelima Basnet, 1st Vice President UN, BPW International, Nepal, UK - women designing a sustainable future. Women occupy half of the world population. More women are getting educated and entering a world of business and profession alongside men. Climate change is something which impact more to women as it directly affects our physical wellbeing during any crisis. It’s high time women focus on implementing SDGs in their business, profession and personal life so we don’t make mistake like men have done for years ignoring the climate crisis.
Susan O’Malley, Past Chair, NGO CSW, USA - how women live under conflicts - Iran, Ukraine, Gaza, Syria. Susan will explore the challenges women face in countries experiencing internal conflicts (Iran and Syria) as well as those affected by external wars (Gaza and Ukraine). The discussion will highlight the resilience of women in these regions, examining the impact of political repression, violence, economic hardship, and limited access to leadership and decision-making positions. Through a comparative lens, will introduce good practices and strategies that women have employed to cope with the consequences of conflict, advocating for their roles in peacebuilding, activism, and survival. Using recent examples, they will address the importance of integrating women's voices into leadership and decision-making processes in conflict resolution and recovery.
Jesmeen Khera, International Women's Peace Group, Republic of Korea - solidarity and education are essential to building world peace and justice. Women's peace education serves as a vital catalyst by fostering the noble capacity for critical thinking, enabling the systematic resolution of problems and conflicts in a rapidly changing era, and ensuring the smooth functioning of all activities. The International Women's Peace Group (IWPG) integrates peace education into its mission to advance women's rights, promote gender equality, nurture institutions, establish an integrated framework, and present strategies. Through these efforts, IWPG plays a transformative role and faces challenges to support the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) for global peace and security.
Sara Azimi, Peivande Gole Narges, Iran - supporting women & orphan girls through training, education, social enterprise projects. Peivande Gole Narges has been committed to its ever expanding mission to help empower single mother heads of households by providing them with vocational trainings and facilitating sales platforms for a variety of artifacts and items they produce in a number of cities in Iran.
Tiffany Larson, Days for Girls International, USA - unlocking the potential of women through locally led menstrual health programming. Imagine a world with menstrual equity – Since 2008, DfG has been working to achieve global menstrual equity through access to products, education, and advocacy by supporting the life cycle of the menstrual experience at school, work, home, and in times of crisis. Learn how DfG’s work unlocks the potential of women through locally led and market-based approach to menstrual health programming.
Kelly Tallon Franklin, Courage for Freedom, Canada - women in organized crime and criminal justice systems. Kelly is the founder and Chief Executive Director of Courage for Freedom, a Canadian-leading organization who exists to educate, train, and certify front-line and community service providers on proven strategies and prevention tactics to serve vulnerable victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Kelly is an international and national anti-human trafficking task force chairperson with Business and Professional Women and has been acknowledged and awarded many accolades globally as a survivor advocate and activist champion of minor aged children and youth.
Kasey Venter, The Hope Project, Western Australia - critical need for crisis accommodation in Australia. Accomplished advocate and entrepreneur Kasey Venter will deliver a presentation on the Goldfields Women’s Refuge - Hope Project, discussing its inception and the escalating demand for crisis accommodation for women and children in Australia. Venter will highlight key challenges, innovative solutions, and the urgent need for entrepreneurs to step in and assist government.
Ms Hanlon said, “I am thrilled to once again be invited to address this important global forum. It is an honour to be the convenor of this group of amazing women who are making a difference in the world today re the economic empowerment of women, promotion of gender equality, and the sustainable development goals. In 2025, this will be our tenth Forum I have co-ordinated during NGOCSW with a focus on the theme ‘Economic Empowerment of Women’.
I sincerely thank our Forum supporters the International Women's Peace Group, Republic of Korea; Global Summit of Women; TCF Global; BPW Business Incubator; Belmont BEC Inc and TCFWA Inc.
About us:
For further information please contact: E| carol.hanlon@belmontbec.com
Carol Hanlon, Belmont BEC Inc. (BEC Global) | TCFWA Inc. (TCF Global) | BPW Business Incubator
PO Box 370, Cloverdale, WA 6985, Western Australia P| +61 8 9479 3777 M| +61 417963231
