A day in the life of Sarah
A day in the life of Sarah, a GAGE qualitative researcher from Jordan, on her experience as an official Women Deliver Conference 2023 delegate and member of the safeguarding team. Kigali, Rwanda.
The day begins! Following an early breakfast at 7am I hop on the Women Deliver official shuttle bus along with other conference participants from a variety of hotels across Kigali – ready for a busy day at the Kigali Convention Centre. The entire city is full of posters, shuttle busses, people with badges, Women Deliver volunteers with yellow shirts…I’ve never been at such a large gathering with over 6,000 gender equality champions! The conference themes are Spaces, Solidarity, Solutions and everyone is ready and excited to make space for the under-represented, unite in solidarity for gender equality and discuss concrete solutions in the face of recent roll-back on gender equality.
First stop – the GAGE exhibition booth. I’m there for a two-hour shift where I am able to discuss the work at GAGE to conference delegates who stop by our booth, and describe the work we have done as well as the work we have upcoming. It was really exciting for me to share my experience at GAGE with so many different people – from adolescent girls, donors, government officials, youth activists, and implementers – I am so proud of the work we do at GAGE! Everyone was truly interested in our work! We were in the busiest spot of the entire convention centre, which meant extensive traffic at our booth.
I was in the official WD Conference Safeguarding team, which was a real privilege for me. Prior to the official conference opening, I received virtual and in-person training on how to conduct safeguarding in this context to ensure that everyone’s wellbeing remains a critical component of the conference offer. The conference can be an overwhelming and tiring space as well as drawing on difficult themes – including personal accounts of gender-based violence; stories of discrimination based on gender, sexual or religious identities; and the persistent feeling that some remain voiceless. These themes may be difficult listen to and confront, which is where we step in.
During my half-day duty shifts, I moved around the conference facilities in order to be present in different sessions and designated locations for youth facing distress or in need for support. The safeguarding team leads also checking in on me, to make sure I stayed healthy, active and happy throughout my Women Deliver experience.
After my safeguarding shift, I opened my official Women Deliver Conference app and had the tough job of selecting which session to attend. There are so many interesting titles, it can be a bit overwhelming – some sessions are plenaries with hundreds of attendees, and others are smaller interactive sessions. Today I attended a plenary on sexual and reproductive health, with a minister making a large pledge and investment to SRHR! The crowd went wild.
At the end of a very busy day, I relax by painting. Just behind our GAGE booth space, I help fill in a large poster on gender equality with other delegates-turned-painters – it’s a lovely way to unwind at the close of a busy conference day in Kigali!
