International Women’s Day 2020

For International Women’s Day 2020, we want to celebrate and recognize some of the amazing women the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness is fortunate to work with. While they work in diverse fields, what these women have in common are their ambitious goals, tireless efforts, and leadership in creating a world where everyone has a right to belong.

Bethany Brown
Researcher, Rights of Older People, Human Rights Watch

Bethany is a researcher at Human Rights Watch conducting critical work at the intersection of age discrimination and human rights. Bethany, who has powerfully described human rights as the “standard below which dignity cannot survive,” has long been an advocate for older people’s rights to be embodied and upheld within international legal frameworks. And that cultures of respect and reverence for older people are laudable, but are no substitute for enforceable rights. SCSC collaborated with Human Rights Watch and Bethany on her latest report, “‘Fading Away’: How Aged Care Facilities in Australia Chemically Restrain Older People with Dementia,” which uncovered the prevalent use of drugs—many of which were dangerous antipsychotics—to control older people with dementia. Bethany’s research has been a great inspiration for SCSC’s work, and we continue to work together to identify and remedy areas where older people’s rights are being violated. 

Follow Bethany: @Bethany_L_Brown

Jennifer Corriero
Co-Founder and Executive Director, TakingITGlobal

Recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network, Jennifer co-founded TakingITGlobal (TIG) in 1999 to create a space to bring together young people from around the world to facilitate youth-led change. Since that time, TIG has grown to become one of the world’s leading networks empowering young people to understand and act on the world’s greatest challenges. TIG has been honored with various awards including the Digital Transformation Award (2017) and Intercultural Innovation Award (2013), among others.

As a longtime partner of SCSC, Jennifer has been a key contributor in many of our events, programs and Symposia over the years. Most recently, TIG organized a Creativity Night for our 2019 Global Symposium, highlighting youth artists from Canada and around the world, and worked with a 2019 Social Connectedness Fellow to examine the barriers youth face when participating in leadership initiatives in Canada. 

Follow Jennifer: @jenergy

Angel Hsu, PhD
Founder and Director, Data-Driven EnviroLab

Angel is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Yale-NUS College and the Founder and Principal Investigator of the Data-Driven Lab. Data-Driven Lab houses a multidisciplinary research team of data scientists, programmers, policy researchers, and visual communicators who use data-driven approaches to examine environmental sustainability. In partnership with SCSC, Data-Driven Lab developed the Urban Environment and Social Inclusion Index (UESI), which uses satellite remote sensing and large-scale data sets to map cities’ distribution of environmental burdens and benefits across neighborhoods in over 160 cities to track the ways income inequality and environmental inequality intersect. Angel and her team have presented findings from the UESI at various international gatherings including the UN Climate Change Conference, ICLEI Resilient Cities Forum, Sustainable Development Impact Summit, World Urban Forum, and World Economic Forum.

Over the past two years, four Social Connectedness Fellows have worked with Data-Driven Lab to examine how environmental indicators featured in the UESI impact people on the ground. 

Follow Angel: @ecoangelhsu

Nujeen Mustafa
Refugee and Disability Rights Advocate

Nujeen is an inspiring young woman who fled the Syrian Civil War at age 16 and traveled 5,600 km by wheelchair with her sister Nisreen, before resettling in Germany. Nujeen has since become an ardent advocate and activist in the field of refugee and disability rights, co-authoring two books recounting her experiences, and becoming the first woman with a disability to address the United Nations Security Council in 2019.  Nujeen has been outspoken about inadequate policy support for disabled persons, and highlighted the day-to-day challenges that refugees face, even within the borders of nations that aim to be welcoming to refugees. Nujeen and Nisreen spoke at our 2019 Global Symposium, highlighting the importance of belonging in understanding the refugee crisis and the acute challenges of refugees with disabilities. 

Follow Nujeen: @NujeenMustafa