This past spring break, Orange Lutheran sophomore Caden Choi had the unique opportunity to attend the 69th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, Choi was able to engage with leaders and advocates from all over the world who are committed to advancing gender equality and empowerment for women and girls.

Choi’s path to attending CSW69 started here at home, where she is involved with the United Nations Association of Orange County, a local chapter of the United Nations Association of the USA. As part of UNA-OC, she serves on the Youth Council, a platform for high school and college students to engage in global issues.

“I have always wanted to go to the UN,” said Choi. “That's been one of my big dreams. I really want to be a photojournalist or anything to do with public policy. I’ve been really involved in my community and advocacy in that space.”

As a result of her passion for gender equality and her involvement with local UN organizations, Choi received an invitation from Cities for CEDAW to attend CSW69. A grassroots campaign, Cities for CEDAW, supports the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, an international treaty adopted by the United Nations in 1979. 

The theme of CSW69 focused on the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the 1995 global framework for advancing women’s rights in areas such as education, economic participation, and political leadership. The session also reviewed the 23rd special session of the General Assembly and addressed ongoing challenges to gender equality, aiming to accelerate progress toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Choi traveled to NYC March 8-12 to attend the in-person portion of the conference, then continued participating virtually from March 13–22. As the event marked the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration, she had the chance to connect with women who have been dedicated to this work for the past three decades.

“It was really cool to see women who were much older than me and had much more wisdom in that area, and to be able to speak with them and learn more about the topics they were interested in, too,” said Choi. “One of my bigger takeaways was that the Beijing Declaration isn't just a platform and declaration from the past. It's actually a promise for the future.”

While at the conference, Choi also attended several panel discussions, including one led by the Nordic countries that emphasized how active involvement from both men and women is needed to advance gender equality. 

“I got to learn about how deeply they're involved with advancing women's and girls' rights in terms of education,” said Choi, “specifically what they were doing (in areas) like providing parental leave and healthcare for women and girls. That was really amazing to see.”

Upon her return to OLu, Choi has shared her experience with her fellow Lancers, including friends, teachers, and her academic counselor, OLu Associate Director of College Planning, Doug Erickson. As a transfer student, she chose OLu for the school’s online program and the schedule flexibility it provides, and she’s looking forward to taking some OLO classes beginning next fall. 

Choi was also recently admitted to OLu’s Arts & Humanities Academy and will serve next year as an Engage Mentor, supporting Lancer transfer students like herself.

Looking ahead, Choi was recently selected to serve on the Youth Advisory Council of the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls.  Launched in 2022, YAC brings together diverse California youth from ages 12 to 19 to support youth voices in public policy, leadership, and advocacy, and she is excited to be able to contribute to this effort over the next year.

Choi isn’t certain yet of her path after high school, but she wants to remain in the women’s rights advocacy space by possibly pursuing gender studies alongside photojournalism. She has already been to Washington, D.C., in previous years representing UNA-OC and hopes to continue those endeavors in the future. 

As one of a very small group of youth attendees at CSW69, Choi was uncertain how she would be able to contribute to the gender equality conversation. But she found the experience to be welcoming, immersive, and inspiring, and she’s looking forward to continuing her advocacy work and using the insights gained from the conference to help make a difference locally and globally.

“I walked into it thinking, am I actually going to have a space to talk, or am I just going to be a bystander?” said Choi. “But I was actually able to participate in a lot of these conversations, and it was really cool because I was able to provide my youth perspective…They've all been doing this for so much longer, but I feel as a young person, and speaking for all young people in general, we bring really fresh perspectives to the table.”