Manatū Wāhine Ministry for Women selected Aleisha Amohia, President of the Wellington Branch of the National Council of Women New Zealand, as the non-governmental delegate to join the official New Zealand Government delegation to the sixty-eight session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) from 11 – 22 March 2024. Applications were assessed by a selection panel comprising representatives from the International Women’s Caucus.

Aleisha earned two degrees from Victoria University of Wellington: a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence) and a Bachelor of Commerce (Management and Information Systems). She is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in the STEM (Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) sector. Much of her volunteer work is to ensure more women, Māori, and other marginalised groups, look for and stay in STEM careers.

As the NGO delegate, Aleisha will be at the decision-making table providing a voice from a non-government organisation perspective and act as a liaison between all New Zealand NGOs and the delegation. More information about the role and responsibilities of the NGO delegate can be found here (.pdf file).

Upon inquiry by this intrepid reporter for NCWNZ, Aleisha comments: "It's an incredible honour to have been selected to represent New Zealand NGOs at an event as important as CSW. I first heard about CSW in my time as a member of NCWNZ and to have the opportunity to now attend is surreal!"

To read more articles from The Circular (January-February 2024) issue 645, click on the tag below.