International Women's Health Coalition

January 2005 Gala

"Human rights are women's rights…and women's rights are human rights."
—Hillary Rodham Clinton, Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 1995

The gala was attended by over 500 people.

On January 11, 2005, the International Women's Health Coalition held its Fourth Annual Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. The event raised more than $1 million and was attended by over 500 guests. We honored Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for her groundbreaking leadership 10 years ago at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, and for her continuing efforts on behalf of women in the U.S. and globally.

Beyond commemorating the Beijing agreement (for more information on Beijing, go to the bottom of this page), the evening, which was hosted by actress Kathleen Turner, also drew attention to the importance of recognizing and fostering new generations of leadership in the struggle to promote women's and young people's health and rights worldwide. Nicole Bidegain, a 19-year-old activist from Uruguay, spoke on behalf of REDLAC, the Latin American Youth Network for Sexual and Reproductive Rights. And finally, we recognized New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof for his efforts to raise awareness of health and rights issues confronting women worldwide.

Nicole Bidegain Hillary Clinton and Elena Ponte

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton with Nicole Bidegain of REDLAC (left) and Nicole's mother, Elena Ponte of the Uruguayan Congress.

>>Remarks by Kati Marton, Chair, IWHC Board of Directors

>>Keynote address: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

>>Remarks by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof

>>Remarks by Adrienne Germain, President, IWHC

>>Remarks by Nicole Bidegain, Uruguay, on behalf of REDLAC (the Latin American and Caribbean Youth Network for Sexual and Reproductive Rights)

Coverage of IWHC's Fourth Annual Gala>>

Sen. Clinton Chides Bush on Women's Health Policy (Evelyn Leopold, Reuters, January 12, 2005)

Hillary Clinton Speaks Out for Women's Rights, Jabs Bush Policy (Edie Lederer, Associated Press, January 13, 2005)

Sen. Clinton Criticizes Bush Administration Policies on HIV Prevention Strategy, Access to Reproductive Health Services (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, January 12, 2005)

Adrienne Germain Hillary Rodham Clinton and Elaine Wolfensohn

IWHC President Adrienne Germain, U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Elaine Wolfensohn.

An Evening with the International Women's Health Coalition (David Patrick Columbia, New York Social Diary, January 12, 2005)

Senator Hillary Clinton Honored at the International Women's Health Coalition Gala (WireImage, January 12, 2005)

About the 1995 Beijing Conference

The Beijing Conference was a turning point in the world's understanding of women's realities, and an acknowledgment that women's issues are the world's issues. Representatives from 179 governments and 2,500 nongovernmental organizations agreed to a Platform for Action to secure women's human rights and to eliminate discrimination and violence from women's public and private lives. They recognized that when women's fundamental rights are respected and their health and educational needs are met, communities and nations grow stronger, safer, and more stable. IWHC and our colleagues from around the world played a crucial role in forging the Beijing agreement. And in the past decade, we and our colleagues have worked to ensure that principles of Beijing become the practices of the world.

Click here for more information about IWHC's role in the Beijing Conference.

Click here to read "Women Redrawing the Map," an IWHC article on how the Beijing Conference (and the International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo in 1994) changed the world.

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