Celebrating International Women's Day 2020

ESD Global & El HaLev celebrated International Women’s Day with a collaborative webinar on empowerment self-defense entitled: “Violence Prevention Strategies for Women & Children”. This year’s theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) is: “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights”.

Ellen Krause-Grosman, Executive Director of ESD Global, envisions a gender equal world where people do not feel intimidated or threatened based on their gender: “If you are vulnerable to violence based on your gender your position in society, work, home or school, then you are not equal. You can’t have a gender equal world if people feel vulnerable due to their gender. Gender based violence is a global epidemic, with at least 1 in 3 women experiencing violence. In order to have a gender equal world, we have to end gender-based violence. ESD Global strives to achieve this by training people to teach empowerment self-defense skills to women and children in vulnerable populations in their communities”.

The International Women's Day 2020 campaign theme is drawn from the notion of 'Collective Individualism.' Collective action for driving gender parity can have a ripple effect on our larger society because collectively, we can make the needed changes to create a gender equal world. ESD Global trainings rely on collective individualism and empowerment because it takes a collective effort to make a profound impact. ESD Global teaches individuals life-saving self-defense skills so that they can go back to their home communities and teach their community members how to protect themselves and the people they love. Ellen says:“Collective individualism is our methodology. It takes individuals who are passionate and committed about sharing empowerment self-defense skills with their friends and community. Many individuals who become ESD instructors do so because they are so excited about how the ESD skills make them feel in the world: stronger, bolder and healthier. They get excited to share this knowledge

with everyone they know. Becoming ESD instructors is a way for them to reduce inequality, and increase the well-being among women in their home communities”.

Yehudit (Yudit) Zicklin-Sidikman,Co-Founder and CEO of El HaLev and Founder and President of ESD Global shares what 'Each for Equal' means to her: "Every human being is born into this world with an equal amount to be potentially the best human being they can be. Not everybody has an equal opportunity of equal safety, or equal skills. That has to change, and that's why I believe in 'equal' for everyone".