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Gender Youth Caucus Updates:

CSW70 - Apply for YOUTH ACCREDITATION

+ Key Updates! 

Dear young feminists and youth advocates,

The Gender Youth Caucus at the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) is pleased to share a number of key updates and youth engagement opportunities, including those in the lead up to the Seventieth Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70). We also invite you to join Whatsapp broadcast group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Fws0LJslYOT75TXACFksqW 

WHAT IS CSW70?

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the United Nations’ principal intergovernmental body dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Convened annually at UN Headquarters in New York, CSW brings together Member States, UN entities, and civil society to assess progress, set global standards, and shape policies on gender equality.

CSW70 will focus on ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including through inclusive and equitable legal systems, the elimination of discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, and the removal of structural barriers. The session will also review women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls. 

Apart from the main event happening at UNHQ, several other engagement opportunities, such as the CSW Youth Forum (virtual and in-person), and UN Women Adolescent Girl Townhalls, will be co-created with youth partners- more information will be shared in the coming weeks.

APPLY NOW: CSW70 YOUTH ACCREDITATION

Accreditation is required to participate in person at CSW70. Through this process, the Gender Youth Caucus will assist selected youth advocates with accreditation via another ECOSOC accredited organization, and guide them through the UN Indico registration process.

This support process is open to: individuals aged 35 and below.  

Link to apply: https://forms.gle/K4xR6wfrcmnndk3v7

Deadline to request accreditation: 15 January 2026, 23:59 UTC

Please note that submitting the form does not guarantee accreditation, as badges are limited and subject to UN approval. If accreditation is provided, you must complete your registration on the UN Indico portal by 23 January 2026 to allow sufficient time for NGO approval. The MGCY team will support you throughout this process.

Please note that this registration support does not include funding for travel or accommodation. However, once you successfully register for CSW70, you will receive a confirmation letter that may be used for fundraising and visa applications. We encourage you to explore support from local partners and organizations you have previously worked with. Youth advocates are strongly encouraged to apply for visas as early as possible. Depending on your situation, you may apply for a B-1/B-2 visitor visa or a C-2 transit visa for travel to and from the UN Headquarters in New York. MGCY team does not have capacity to support visa applications.

INPUTS TO CSW & CSW70 YOUTH RECCOMENDATIONS

In the lead-up to CSW70, the Gender Youth Caucus has supported several youth and adolescent-led engagement processes to advance collective priorities on access to justice. The Gender Youth Caucus has actively engaged in the CSW Revitalization process, pushing for a CSW that is intergenerational and intersectional. Read the outcome declaration of the CSW revitalization here.

On 6 December 2025, we co-led the CSW70 Global Youth and Adolescent-led Consultation along with youth-led civil society organizations focused on gender equality at the intersections of justice, peace and security, health equity and SRHR, climate justice, economic rights, and descent-based discrimination. The consultation brought together young people from multiple regions, and the outcomes will feed directly into UN Women’s youth and adolescent recommendations for CSW70.

This was followed by the UN Youth Compass Young Feminist Briefing/Virtual Youth Blast on CSW70, held on 11 December 2025, and hosted by UN Youth Affairs and UN Women, in partnership with the Gender Youth Caucus and young feminist leaders. The virtual briefing introduced young people to the CSW process, its linkages to the Beijing Platform for Action, and concrete pathways, including accreditation, for youth engagement in CSW70. 

Beyond in-person participation, young people will also have opportunities to engage substantively in shaping CSW outcomes. This includes contributing to the zero draft of the CSW70 Youth Recommendations participating in youth-led consultations and drafting processes, and engaging in broader gender-related advocacy within the UN system, including relevant Third Committee processes. We welcome young people to submit inputs, including to the CSW70 Youth Recommendations via this link.

MORE UPDATES FROM THE NETWORK

🚨🚨Calling young people from Myanmar and Nepal for WD2026!  

Leading up to the Women Deliver (WD) 2026, ARROW is hosting the 'InterSEXionality' webinar series. Through these webinars, we will be unpacking the concept of intersectionality and analysing gender and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

Apply now through the link here 

Deadline: 10 January 2026

Eligibility: Open to young people from Nepal or Myanmar below 30 years of age.

The webinars aim to prepare attendees to actively participate at the WD2026 that will take place in Melbourne, Australia, from 27 to 30 April 2026. This series will take place between February and April covering topics on introduction to WD 2026, gender, sexuality, SRHR, and their intersecting issues.

ARROW launches a new policy brief

Marking Human Rights Day 2025, ARROW launched a new issue of ARROW for Change (AFC), titled Resisting Anti-Rights: Building Inclusive Movements, Enabling Feminist Agenda Setting Beyond 2030 in Asia and the Pacific which examines the accelerating interconnected crises. The AFC examines how these issues continue to disproportionately impact women and girls in all their diversities across the Asia–Pacific region. The bulletin emphasises that these structural crises compound pre-existing discrimination based on gender, class, disability, migration status, and geography, deepening vulnerabilities while undermining access to health services, bodily autonomy, and rights protections.

In case of any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Gauri Nimbalkar, Global Focal Point for Gender at the Gender Youth Caucus via gendergfp@unmgcy.org 

In Solidarity,

Gender Youth Caucus team