Elizabeth Cassidy, Director of Research and Policy at the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, covers international treaties and instruments central to FoRB. These documents are especially important to those who live in countries that do not recognize FoRB or take action against the individual, public, and communal expression of this right.

Learn skills needed to build bridges to advance FoRB by working with elected officials, the media and coalitions.

Grow your leadership knowledge on three key topics that will elevate your ability to lead others — decision-making, understanding your network and everyday leadership — and gain practical approaches to leveraging each effectively.

In societies ruled by repressive regimes, women and minorities often face discrimination, marginalization, and even violence due to their gender and religion. However, despite this oppression, women are at the forefront of driving change and challenging repression. In a panel discussion moderated by Judith Golub, co-founder of FoRB Women’s Alliance, expert panelists explored the role of women and minorities in transforming their societies and resisting oppression. The panelists will include Marjan Keypour, co-chair of ADL’s Task Force on Middle East Minorities and founding director of ARAM, Nadine Maenza, President of the International Religious Freedom Secretariat and former chair of USCIRF, and Farahnaz Ispahani, former member of the Pakistani Parliament and co-founder of FoRB Women’s Alliance and member of ADL’s Task Force on Middle East Minorities.

Facilitated by Baptist World Alliance Women and the FoRB Women’s Alliance, this UN Commission on the Status of Women session featured a panel of experts addressing the state of women and girls in the digital world. While digital transformation can enhance gender equality and provide new avenues for women’s economic empowerment that will help boost economic growth, technological advancement also has a dark side. It has created a dangerous space by providing, often with impunity, fertile ground for gender-based cyber violence (including cyber stalking, trolling, cyber harassment, bullying, and beyond). With the ever-growing use of social media, the threats women and girls experience online affect how they are able to use the internet and participate in their societies – making this topic more critical than ever to address.