Co-Chair, former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright gave the keynote address at the Breakthrough Summit. Photo: Donovan Marks for Washington National Cathedral

Three pieces of cloth woven together to symbolize the unification of the three organizational sectors in the new alliance. Photo: Tony Brown for Washington National Cathedral

MAy 12, 2008

On April 13, Church World Service (CWS) took part in Breakthrough: the Women, Faith and Development Summit to End Global Poverty at Washington D.C.’s National Cathedral. Participants included 90 non-governmental organizations that focus on eradicating poverty through women’s empowerment. CWS member denominations and affiliated organizations also participated, including the Disciples of Christ, United Church of Christ, The United Methodist Church, Church Women United, National Council of Churches and the Young Women’s Christian Association.

The Summit was launched by a partnership of women’s, international and faith-based organizations known as the Women, Faith, and Development Alliance (WFDA). As part of the Summit several organizations made commitments to ensure that women and girls are fully included in efforts to eradicate poverty and that their equal and just rights are respected throughout the world.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright gave the keynote address, calling participants to greater action: “Appalling abuses are still being committed against women. These include domestic violence and rape, coerced abortions, ritual mutilations, dowry murders, honor crimes and even the killing of infants simply because they are female.  Some say all this is cultural and there's nothing anybody can do about it.  I say it's criminal and we each have an obligation to stop it.”

Among those answering Dr. Albright’s call were CWS Executive Director and CEO Rev. John L. McCullough and Rajyashri Waghray, CWS Director of Education and Advocacy. “CWS commits to the Women, Faith and Development Alliance to breakthrough the barriers that keep women from quality and basic needs, by building on its successful education and advocacy model that demonstrates pragmatic inspiration for mobilizing political will, community empowerment and citizen engagement. We do this through the “Enough for All” campaign, which establishes an important link with climate change," said Waghray. To read the full CWS commitment, visit: http://www.wfd-alliance.org/EVcommit2.htm.

The event concluded with a symbolic weaving of three pieces of cloth to unite the three representative organizational sectors in the alliance. And financial commitments made by participants at the Summit are estimated to be worth US $1 billion and to impact as many as 1.2 billion women and girls.

Following the Summit, co-chairs and leadership council members were invited to participate in a dialogue to draw up future actions for the WFDA.

To learn more about the Summit and WFDA visit their website at http://www.wfd-alliance.org/.