Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF)

Highlights: Brief introduction to campaigns, events & programs: 1991 – 2025:

1991 – 1993 WWSF organized 3 international factfinding conferences about the situation of women’s and children’s rights in Asia, Africa and Europe.
Understanding Creating Change, WWSF, a Swiss not-for-profit NGO, created many new ideas and programs not in existence before, all connected to its Call for action to speed up urgent implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Agenda.

1994 – The 3-day Dakar/Senegal international conference/workshop produced the “75% Dakar Declaration 1994” which was published widely and remains an unfinished business in our world today. You find the 75% Dakar Declaration in English and French on our website.
https://www.woman.ch/concept-note-vision-mission-and-objective-1/75-declaration-dakar-1994/

(photo: WWSF – Dakar conference/Workshop 1994)

A future without equal participation of women, children & youth – 75% of the world population – 6 billion of us – is doomed.

1994 – Launch of the WWSF Prize for women’s creativity in rural life.
To-date, WWSF has awarded 492 prizewinners around the world with a prize of US$ 1000 per laureate. All prizewinners are published on our website www.woman.ch

1995 – WWSF participated at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, the most important event addressing the rights of women and girls. What was the significance? The UN Beijing Declaration envisioned a world in which women have the same rights and opportunities as men.

The 1995 Beijing Platform for Action flagged 12 key areas where urgent action was needed to ensure greater equality and opportunities for women and girls. It also laid out concrete ways for all countries to bring about change.

WWSF President/CEO, Maria Elfriede (Elly) Pradervand, attended the 4th UN World Conference on Women in Beijing, together with four other WWSF Board members, and organized during the conference its 1995 WWSF – Prize for women’s creativity in rural Life Award ceremony in the presence of 4 Laureates from China and India. A big crowd attended the event, including many international dignitaries and the press, as well as TV coverage by CNN, China TV, and other international media outlets present at the event.

H.R. Highness, Queen Fabiola from Belgium, who supported the WWSF Prize program from the beginning, participated at the Prize ceremony & personally congratulated the prizewinners for their courage & creativity, and WWSF for creating this special Prize Award for courageous rural women leaders and groups from around the world.

1995 – WWSF, in collaboration with 3 other NGOs, created during the Beijing Conference the International Day of Rural Women – 15 October with WWSF taking the lead & financial responsibility for the official promotion of a new “International Day”, created posters and press releases for international awareness raising, especially for rural communities, and invited many world leaders to endorse the Day in their countries. WWSF selected the 15 October to be the date for its annual Press announcement of annual winners of the “Prize for women’s creativity in rural life”, share their contributions and daily challenges, increasing awareness and support for their daily efforts in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Agenda.

Life is about serving and celebrating humanity to help create a more just world.

2000 – WWSF launched the 19 November – World Day for prevention of violence against children and youth in synergy with the 20 November anniversary of the Child Rights Convention. Every year since 2000, we promote our poster for our membership to continue to draw attention to the continuous violations of children’s rights.

2010 – WWSF launched its “19 Days Kit for prevention of violence & abuse against children and youth 1-19 November. The Kit was originally in English, French & Spanish and has become an annual version in English only.

Sample of the 19 Days Kit cover page, displaying the selected 19 Prevention themes

2004 – 2021 “WWSF – Innovation Prize for selected Partner organizations”, using & promoting the 19 Days Campaign in their respective countries for the
prevention of violence and abuse against children and youth”, 80 prizes awarded to-date.

2020 – 2022 “Covid – 19 pandemic”. The big public health disruption forced WWSF to drastically change our regular campaign efforts & public relations, with one active member dying of Covid. It took us some time to restart our program again, albeit with reduced capacity as before.

2022 – WWSF used the liminal space of the pandemic crisis to review and re-introduce our 1994 initiative, the “Dakar Conference / Workshop Declaration 75%” which we did not pursue as the time was not ripe for its introduction.Together with Board members and staff, we created in 2022 a “WWSF 75 % Leadership Training Forum for Women and Youth: leading from the heart ❤️ serving humanity”, and a concept note, describing the vision and mission to join the campaign Forum and introduce it various organizations and groups.“Women, Children and Youth – 75 % of the world population (6 billion of us) needed to become a Public Call for women, children and youth to rise and claim to be included at decision-making Tables where decisions are made in our name. WWSF joined the annual New York UN-CSW event where NGO members were invited to join and benefit from a global NGO network of civil-society actors who share their programs via a collective Zoom process.Below is our 2022 Zoom poster to announce our new campaign presentation on 20 March.

2023 – WWSF organized a second 75% Zoom event to share its “Leadership Training Forum for Women & Youth: leading from the heart ❤️ serving Humanity, a force for the common Good for All.

2024 – WWSF organized on 17 December a third Zoom event out of Geneva with 5 speakers sharing their program of work, leading from their heart ❤️

2009 – 2022 WWSF created the Swiss White Ribbon Campaign:
“Eliminating gender-based violence against women & youth in Switzerland”, launched as the Swiss branch of the International Canadian White Ribbon campaign. After 12 years of mobilizing the Swiss public, men, women and youth, and supported by 50 “Swiss White Ribbon Ambassadors” who joined the campaign, has been put on hold due to the Covid-19 disruption in our public work and meetings.WWSF is looking for a qualified White Ribbon campaign manager that will continue the campaign in the future. Switzerland has not yet reduced the annual statistics of violence against women and youth. The international campaign has spread around the world with branches in over 70 countries. WWSF hopes that it will continue until gender-based violence has been eliminated around the world.

Maria Elfriede (Elly) Pradervand

2025 – Looking to the future: WWSF is in a state of transition and needs to build a new team to move our programs forward.

WWSF is looking for a qualified Swiss Project Manager who will lead the future of the Foundation’s annual action plan. The founder, Maria Elfriede (Elly) Pradervand, will remain as the Founding President & continues to serve as a pro-bono consultant.

WWSF will pursue its development plans in the context of a very insecure future for many NGOs to continue campaigning with new ideas for change and help turn our world around for the general common Good for all, leaving no one behind, aiming the end of violence, wars, poverty, and pandemics on our beautiful planet.

WWSF expresses deep gratitude & solidarity to all past and present Board Directors, sponsors, consultants, staff and volunteers over 35 years who have made delivery of our ideas and projects possible. We have not yet achieved peace and right human relations & count on your solidarity & precious support till we have reached our dream:

❤️ Creating a world that works for all – leaving no one behind.

Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF) / Fondation Sommet Mondial des Femmes (FSMF)
3 Blvd. James Fazy, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland – www.woman.ch – secretariat@wwsf.ch
Tel.: +41(0) 22 738 66 19 – UN consultative status, CH not-for-profit status – IBAN: CH1900 788 0000 5070 1412