United Nations · CSW70
CSW70 Jamaica Focus
Elevating Jamaica's community-led recovery experience at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
Inspire and Serve at the Commission on the Status of Women 70
The 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) convened in New York in March 2026, bringing together governments, civil society organizations, and advocates from around the world to address the theme of innovation and technological change in the context of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.
Inspire and Serve was proud to participate as an NGO representative, bringing Jamaica's grassroots recovery experience to the global stage. Our presence at CSW70 was not ceremonial — it was a deliberate act of advocacy, ensuring that the voices of women in Western Jamaica shaped the conversations happening in the halls of the United Nations.
About CSW70
Commission on the Status of Women
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.
CSW70 convened in New York in March 2026, with a priority theme of innovation and technological change in the context of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.
Inspire and Serve participated as an NGO representative, hosting a side event that centered Jamaica's community-led recovery experience.
Our CSW70 Side Event
Voices After the Storm: Community-Led Disaster Response for Women and Girls
Inspire and Serve convened a powerful side event at CSW70 that brought together global partners, practitioners, and advocates to examine how women-led, partnership-driven approaches strengthen resilience, dignity, and long-term recovery in crisis-affected communities.
Grounded in post-hurricane recovery efforts in Western Jamaica, the session highlighted how local women leaders, grassroots organizations, government agencies, and international partners can work together to build more equitable and sustainable recovery systems.
"We went to the United Nations ensure that the women rebuilding Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa were heard — and that their strategies became part of the global conversation on recovery."
Women-Led Recovery Toolkit
The practical resource launched at this event — free to download and use.
Download the Toolkit →What We Brought to the Table
Key Themes from Our CSW70 Engagement
Women as First Responders
In Jamaica and across the Caribbean, women are consistently the first to mobilize in crisis — organizing neighbors, distributing resources, and holding communities together. CSW70 gave us a platform to name and resource this reality.
Partnership-Driven Recovery
No single organization can rebuild a community alone. Our CSW70 presentation showcased how cross-sector partnerships — between NGOs, government, diaspora, and international bodies — multiply impact and sustain recovery over the long term.
Gender-Responsive Policy
We advocated for disaster response frameworks that explicitly recognize and resource women's leadership — moving beyond token inclusion toward structural change in how recovery is planned, funded, and evaluated.
Small Island Developing States
Jamaica's experience as a SIDS nation — facing compounding climate vulnerability, limited resources, and deep community cohesion — offers a model that is both unique and scalable for other island and coastal communities worldwide.
Featured SPEAKERS
From Community Experience to Global Conversation
As a panelist with Zonta International during the 70th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) in New York, Jewel Daniels Radford brought a Jamaica-centered perspective to the global conversation on women's leadership, climate resilience and sustainable development.
Drawing from Inspire and Serve's work with women, girls, families and community partners across Jamaica, she emphasized a fundamental shift in climate action: women must be recognized not simply as populations vulnerable to crisis, but as leaders, innovators and architects of resilience. Gender-responsive solutions are strongest when women help shape the blueprint from the beginning — from policy and financing to implementation and recovery.
The conversation highlighted the critical role women already play as connectors within their communities — identifying needs, mobilizing support and bridging families, community organizations and public systems. Experiences following Hurricane Melissa further demonstrated that meaningful recovery must address not only immediate needs such as housing, food and clean water, but also the longer-term social and emotional well-being of communities.
Jewel also underscored the importance of bringing community voices into spaces where decisions are made. Through partnerships with organizations deeply rooted in Jamaica, Inspire and Serve helps elevate lived experiences from the community level to policymakers, international partners and global platforms such as CSW — helping ensure that conversations about gender equality, climate justice and resilience reflect the realities women and girls face every day.
At the heart of the discussion was the power of partnership. Governments, civil society, international organizations and the private sector each bring essential resources and expertise, but sustainable progress depends on keeping local knowledge and leadership at the center.
"The message was clear: global allies can bring resources, but local women must help provide the compass. And true resilience begins when women are not simply invited into the conversation — they help shape the decisions from the start."
Voices for Change: Shaping a Resilient and Equal Future for Women and Girls — Zonta International · CSW70, New York
Collaborate With Us
Let's Bring Meaningful Voices to the Table
Each year, Inspire and Serve welcomes opportunities to collaborate with organizations, thought leaders, practitioners and presenters interested in contributing to our engagement surrounding the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York. If your work, research, programs or advocacy intersect with the issues we are advancing, we would love to learn more about you and explore where our interests and impact may align.
We invite you to share what you're working on, tell us what you hope to bring to the conversation, and identify areas where our agendas connect. From co-hosting and presenting to program partnerships, sponsorship and other creative collaborations, meaningful partnerships often begin with a conversation. Let's explore what we might do together.
Related Resources
Voices After the Storm™
The community-led disaster response initiative at the heart of our CSW70 work.
Learn more →Continue the Conversation
The work that began at CSW70 continues in communities across Jamaica and beyond. Join us as we translate global commitments into local action.