Youth Transforming Narratives to Participate in the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70)
Youth Transforming Narratives is pleased to announce its participation in the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), to be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from March 9 through March 19, 2026.
Our participation reflects our continued commitment to meaningful engagement, advancing young women’s leadership, women’s participation in decision-making, and the full implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agendas.
Representing YTN at CSW70 will be Cynthia Brain, our Policy Team Lead. Cynthia is a human rights lawyer and international policy consultant with over eight years of experience supporting UN-aligned policy development, advocacy, and program implementation across the United States and Africa. She has designed and managed rights-based initiatives addressing girls’ education, gender-based violence, climate-related security risks, and social exclusion, ensuring alignment with UN Women, Peace and Security (WPS); Youth, Peace and Security (YPS); and Sustaining Peace agendas. Cynthia holds an LLM in Human Rights from the University of Edinburgh and dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Global Affairs and Psychology.
Supporting this engagement is our Policy Team, which has played a critical role in developing our policy positions, preparing recommendations, and coordinating our participation.
Sheetal S. Joshi, India, M.A. Political Strategy & Communication, Policy Team Officer
Margherita d'Avella, Italy, MA, Policy Team Officer
Nur Aksamija, U.S., B.A. in Social Science, Policy Team Officer
In addition to our Policy Team, the rest of YTN’s volunteer team is engaged in organization-wide consultations to deliver the voices of young women in their countries and regions. Together, our team is working to ensure that our participation is grounded in rigorous research, inclusive consultation, and clear advocacy objectives.
Our Approach and Goals
We will primarily focus on CSW70’s review theme: Women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life. We aim to amplify youth-led feminist perspectives from the Global Majority through three strategic sub-thematic areas:
Women’s Participation in Public Life, Safety, and Civic Space: Addressing the fundamental right to lead and the protection of women human rights defenders.
Barriers to Participation: Highlighting and dismantling the systemic inequalities and exclusions that hinder progress.
Youth and Young Women’s Leadership: Championing intergenerational justice and the specific agency of young feminists.
Our goal is to advocate for intersectional and intergenerational approaches to gender equality, contributing meaningfully to the global dialogue and the final outcomes of CSW70. By linking full participation to the safety of civic spaces, we aim to address the systemic barriers and exclusions that historically silence marginalized voices. Through this engagement, YTN is committed to fostering intergenerational equity and ensuring that youth leadership is recognized as a cornerstone of the global gender equality agenda.
We look forward to engaging in bold conversations, building transformative partnerships, and ensuring that the outcomes of CSW70 reflect the lived realities and leadership of young feminists worldwide.