What do women need in the area of health? What does the term “informed choice” mean? How can we make sure we provide girls with the support and care they deserve in their teenage years? These questions were among the issues addressed during the Emerging Leaders Conference Europe.
We learned from experts about the methods of advocating for youth and women’s needs and mechanisms of the protection of human rights. I really appreciated that other participants shared their personal experience on the topics discussed. Although, because of Covid-19, the conference needed to change its form to an online version, I still had the opportunity to interact and get to know people from other countries during the main session and in the breakout rooms. Hearing their perspective inspired me and motivated me to take action.
I was the delegate from Polish team and I must admit that for us the conference didn’t end at the official farewell, after a week of working together. The issues discussed moved us and prompted further conversation about the possibilities to implement the proposed solutions in our country. For example, we would like to organize a Fertility Education and Medical Management (FEMM) presentation in Polish to help women make informed choices after being provided with the necessary knowledge about their bodies. The other idea we would like to see realized in practice is creating a website with a chat option for young people who want to learn more about their health.
To be able to take part in the ELC was a wonderful opportunity for me and I am very thankful to the WYA staff and the project team who made it possible and took every effort to perfectly prepare all the details. The Manual created as the result of the Conference seems very promising and I hope it will be useful in addressing concrete problems related to women’s health in European countries.
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Published: January 26, 2021
Written by Ewa Rejman, a WYA Poland chapter coordinator and ELC 2020 participant
