Volume II | November 2024
Inspiring Impact:
Zonta
Foundation for Women Quarterly Report
Gender-based violence is a pervasive global issue that disproportionately affects women and girls. It takes many forms, including physical and sexual assault, domestic violence, child marriage and femicide. It knows no national or cultural barriers and affects millions in peacetime and in conflict.
One of the most pressing forms of gender-based violence for adolescent girls is child marriage, a practice that robs an estimated 12 million girls annually of their childhood, education and agency. The Zonta Foundation for Women has supported efforts to end child marriage since 2014, first working to delay early marriage in Niger from 2014-2018.
Since 2018, the Foundation has funded the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage as the first private-sector donor to the Global Programme This project works to bring together governments, civil society, families and young people in a collective effort to prevent girls from marrying too young and to support those already married as girls
By investing in programs that address the underlying causes of child marriage, the Zonta Foundation for Women is helping to break the cycle of violence and create a more equitable world for all Ending genderbased violence requires a collective effort from individuals, communities, governments and organizations. Through its annual Every Member Every November fundraising campaign, the Foundation mobilizes its global network of members to contribute to vital initiatives that advance gender equality and benefit women and girls worldwide. And, during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, observed annually from 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) to 10 December (Human Rights Day), all Zonta clubs and districts are encouraged to take part in the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign to raise awareness, advocate for change, and promote a future free from discrimination and abuse for all women and girls. Let us use these campaigns and beyond to raise our voices, demand justice and work toward a future free from gender-based violence.
Over the past 40 years, more than US$38 million has been allocated to support international service projects and over US$15 million has been dedicated to our educational programs, empowering more than 2,700 women and girls with fellowships, scholarships and awards
Arizza Ann S Nocum, 2011 Young Women in Public Affairs Awardee, now the
8 YEARS AFTER
By Arizza Ann S. Nocum
If I could crystallize the feeling of being recognized as a Zonta Young Women for Public Affairs (YWPA) Awardee in 2011 in one quote, this saying by Marianne Williamson would fit the bill:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be?
Who am I not to be? I am and I can - that's the validation that the Zonta YWPA Award, in 2011, so generously gave
me I was 16 years old when I climbed up the stage in Sofitel Manila to receive the award from YWPA Award officials As a fresh high school graduate, I did not see myself as worthy of the award
I volunteered and served actively in high school I was leading a non-profit group for peace and education Yet, these things seemed too miniscule because to be globally recognized by Zonta was an infusion of confidence and motivation that I had never felt before It was as if thousands of inspiring women all over the world told me, “We believe in you ”
The way I saw it, the YWPA Award did not just recognize me; it challenged me. And thus, Day 1 after receiving the award, I decided to devote more time, more energy and more focus on building up KRIS, a non-profit organization promoting peace in the Philippines through education.
From 2011 to 2017, KRIS built six libraries in areas affected by conflict and poverty. Each library was equipped with books, computers, and other learning materials that empowered young people with the knowledge, empathy, and values critical to peace. Through KRIS, I also started a scholarship program that provided small grants to more than 400 elementary to collegeaged students.
In recognition of my work in the Philippines, I was then tapped in 2016 to become part of the Extremely Together youth council. The council is composed of 10 young leaders from all over the world handpicked by the late former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan from all over the world to prevent global violent extremism. As part of this council, I worked with my fellow young leaders to create learning materials to inspire and inform young people about peace-building.
Zonta Young Women in Leadership Award
As the daughter of a Muslim mother and a Catholic father, I also sought to share my personal story of peace and my journey with KRIS to fellow young people not just in the Philippines but also overseas. I have been privileged to share this story in various youth forums and conferences in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and more.
I graduated with a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering, magna cum laude, from the University of the Philippines Diliman. Upon completion, I was conferred UP’s Gawad Tsanselor Para Sa Natatanging Mag-aaral and the Garrick Yao Memorial Award for Service. I was also awarded as one of the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines in 2016.
Today, I continue to work with KRIS to promote peace and education with schools, youth organizations and communities, while balancing my work as the managing director of a marketing consulting firm that I co-founded in 2020. Truly, the task of making myself worthy of that YWPA Award is an ongoing challenge.
Click here to watch Arizza’s interview with One Young World
In these eventful 13 years, I know that I would never have recognized that I was “powerful beyond measure” if not for Zonta and the YWPA Award. I would never have gained the support of outstanding women all over the world who live out the meaning of the award. I would never have looked at myself with the same faith, confidence and motivation as I do now. Thank you, Zonta Club of Quezon City and Zonta International. You have made a world of a difference in the life of this young woman who, up to now, strives to make a difference in the world.
From 2020-2022, an external audit evaluation by One Young World shared that KRIS’s estimated impact was at US$4,985,971.47 Since 2020, KRIS has trained more than 3,000 young Filipinos through Extremely Together and other peacebuilding programs, with an additional 600,000 indirectly reached through online information campaigns
MEET THE 2024 AMELIA EARHART FELLOWS
Learn more about the extraordinary women taking the lead in the booming space economy. This group of 30 women from 17 different countries is breaking barriers in fields such as aerospace engineering, planetary science, robotics and more
Click here to learn more about the 2024 fellows
INTRODUCING THE 2024 YOUNG WOMEN IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS AWARDEES
The Zonta Young Women in Public Affairs Award looks to the young women of today to be the leaders of tomorrow. This group of young women, aged 16-19, have demonstrated a commitment to public policy, government and volunteer organizations
Click here to learn more about the 2024 awardees
The Young Women in Public Affairs Award was renamed the Zonta Young Women in Leadership Award in June 2024 to adequately recognize young women leaders like Arizza and so many others across the globe who are leading the way in building a better world for women and girls
A SUSTAINABLE YOUTH VOICE IN UGANDA
Phase II of the Global Programme to End Child Marriage addressed gender-transformative approaches (GTA) to ending child marriage. This plan required sustained investments over time as it looked to focus on the root causes of gender inequality and transform power relations through localized program partnerships with grassroot feminist, women-led and youth-led organizations.
Eighteen-year-old Maliama Hope Bridget is a student at Alere Senior Secondary School Adjumani District in Uganda, one of the 12 focus countries in the UNFPAUNICEF Global Programme. She works hard on completing her own education and encourages her female peers in her community to do the same, specifically through a youth-led organization: Girls Education Club. Education is the leading initiative to help young female adolescents delay marriage and discover other possibilities for a viable future. Maliama uses radio programming and outreach to inform her community how to protect adolescent girls and empower them to be safe and stay in school.
On her adolescent-run talk show, Maliama encourages girls to be confident, speak up about their challenges, and to wait to be married and get pregnant until they are adults. The goal is for adolescent girls to complete their secondary education to pursue their dreams, and even go on to continue their education in college if they choose.
Every girl deserves a chance to thrive, learn and build a future of her own choosing.
“My club has 35 members, 15 of whom are boys. We all work together giving each other advice on menstruation and careers and how to cope with the different challenges that we face. You may only be seeing us today but behind us are our teachers who give us opportunities to pass on the information which they impart to us to others.”
All proceeds will go to the Zonta Foundation for Women International Service Fund to support global initiatives to address gender-based violence
Maliama Hope Bridget, a sustainable youth voice in Uganda
