World Women's Observatory (WWO) of the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations (WUCWO) 

Results of listening and networking 

On the 29th of May, from 2:30 to 4:30 pm, in the Pius XI hall of Palazzo San Calisto, we will present the latest results of the World Women´s Observatory (WWO) of the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations (WUCWO), the only Catholic Church's global observatory focusing on women's voices.

The event will be chaired by Mónica Santamarina, President General of WUCWO and its WWO. In the first part: “The mission of women in the Synodal Church: Listening to the Spirit: challenges and contributions”, Ana Martiarena, WWO Project Director, will present some of the most important results, including the first steps of “The WUCWO School of Synodality”, such as the conclusions of the “Conversations in the Spirit”, via Zoom, in which more than 670 people from 78 countries, mostly women, participated to delve into certain points of Chapter 9 of the Synthesis Document of the first session of the Synodal Assembly. Father Giacomo Costa, Special Secretary of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, will speak in this first block.

In the second block, "Eradicating violence and discrimination against women in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, through networking" project results and reports in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean will be presented. Among them we will present the networks that have been created in 22 African countries, thanks to the support of the Hilton Foundation, to prevent and eliminate discrimination and violence against women, particularly domestic violence, economic violence and lack of access to quality education, as well as the documentary In-visibles, with great international projection, and the social campaign ‘#InvisiblesNoMore’. The results of the project ‘Women's participation in the Church and in Society’, developed together with CELAM during 2023 in Latin America and the Caribbean, will also be presented. Finally, some results of the projects that are currently being developed on migrant women in the same region will be shown.

In this second part, Sr. Maureen Adhiambo Ogunde, educator and trainer in Nairobi, involved as community manager in the Africa project, will share the experience lived through the WWO. This will be followed by the intervention of Cristiane Murray, Vice Director, Holy See Press Office, who will delve into the importance of a Catholic world observatory for women to give them a voice, raise awareness, create networks and bring about change. Finally, Agustín Salvia, an international scientist and WWO consultant, will talk about the scientific importance of a World Observatory for Women and its real possibility of having an impact in the medium and long term.

As Mónica Santamarina says, “the Observatory allows us to give voice and make the most vulnerable women visible, in order to raise awareness, build networks and promote local, national and international strategies to transform their lives”. For her part, Ana Martiarena points out that the results obtained in these last years "are a tool of evidence and service that encourages us to continue and deepen our listening to women all over the world". 

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