Champions for Innovation
On 7 March 2018, UN Women announced Champions for Innovation, which include fashion designer Rachel Roy, actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, actress Zoe Saldana, former NFL Player Wade Davis, inventor Joy Mangano, gender equality champion and CEO Claudia Chan, technology expert Shaloo Garg, and historian Nina Ansary.
These champions will use their platforms to support the flagship innovation programmes of the Global Innovation Coalition for Change (GICC) throughout 2018 and 2020. The GICC is a dynamic partnership between UN Women and key representatives from the private sector, academic and not-for-profit institutions focused on ensuring women and girls can fully benefit from technological innovation in our increasingly digitally driven world.
Specifically, the UN Women Champions for Innovation will support the work of the GICC through the following activities:
- Advocating for UN Women’s activities that support women’s and girls’ opportunities in areas related to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and innovation;
- Raise awareness of the barriers to women’s and girls’ increased participation in innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship;
- Provide substantive input and expertise to the Global Innovation Coalition for Change flagship initiatives;
- Use their respective platforms to share and promote UN Women’s works on innovation.
Through the engagement of the Champions for Innovation, UN Women expects to further help women and girls to design, shape, and benefit from the technological transformations and innovations changing our world.