— Women’s organisations, women’s rights advocates and civil society organisations (CSOs) across the Commonwealth are being called upon to join a vital upcoming virtual pre-convening meeting series to mobilise Commonwealth civil society ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Women’s Forum (CWF) in November. Antigua and Barbuda-based nonprofit organisation, Integrated Health Outreach (IHO), has announced the three-part series and launched online registration.
The Commonwealth Women’s Forum (CWF) is one of several official stakeholder gatherings held alongside the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The 2026 CHOGM is happening in Antigua and Barbuda, and so too is the 2026 Women’s Forum. According to IHO, the virtual sessions, scheduled for October 9th, 13th, 14th and 23rd, aim to gather the Commonwealth’s women’s organisations, youth networks, community groups, and indigenous peoples’ organisations to collectively shape policy recommendations on critical issues related to women’s rights. These include key issues like violence against women and girls, women’s economic empowerment, and women in leadership.
In the upcoming virtual pre-convening series, IHO will guide participants through the process of drafting, refining, and adopting a formal joint civil society statement. This will be used directly to influence and inform high-level policymakers at the Women’s Forum, which itself will inform policymakers at the 2026 CHOGM. The three-part virtual series will be hosted on Zoom. Participants are strongly encouraged to participate in all three sessions.
SESSION 1
Date/Time: October 9, 2026 | 7:00 AM – 9:00 AM Atlantic Standard Time (AST)
Theme: Exploring the purpose of the Commonwealth Women’s Forum in addressing women’s rights and identifying how civil society can strategically contribute.
SESSION 2
(Repeated at two alternative times for global accessibility)
Date/Time for Session 2A: October 13, 2026 | 6 – 8 PM AST / 10 PM – 12 AM GMT
Date/Time for Session 2B: October 14, 2026 | 7 – 9 AM AST / 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM GMT
Theme: Collaborating interactively to develop specific recommendations for women’s rights to be drafted into the official civil society statement.
SESSION 3
Date/Time: October 23, 2026 | 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM AST
Theme: Reviewing and formally adopting the final civil society statement, alongside a final briefing on operational details ahead of the Forum.
Registration Link: https://tinyurl.com/99bv5srz
Within the Commonwealth, advancing women’s rights is not merely a social goal but a foundational pillar for sustainable development and democratic resilience. With women and girls making up more than half of the Commonwealth’s 2.7 billion citizens, addressing pervasive challenges such as gender-based violence, economic marginalisation, and systemic inequality requires robust, targeted cooperation between government and civil society. This virtual series provides a critical platform to ensure that commitments made at the CWF are realistic, relevant and attainable.
Vibrant civil society participation is indispensable to ensuring that high-level global policies reflect the actual needs of local communities. Advocates and civil society groups possess the lived experiences and frontline expertise necessary to bridge the gap between policy design and community impact. By mobilising these diverse voices, IHO is ensuring that the civil society statement presented at the CWF is both inclusive and authoritative. Empowering civil society to actively shape the agenda guarantees that the resulting frameworks are democratically sound, highly relevant, and capable of driving transformative change.
Integrated Health Outreach (IHO) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to gender, climate, and health justice, working to empower vulnerable populations, promote human rights, and ensure that the voices of grassroots civil society are integrated into national and international policy frameworks. IHO has a strong track record of advocacy for civil society participation and contribution to international forums, including significant civil society coordination at SIDS4 in Antigua, as well as participation at COP30 in Brazil, and the 55th OAS General Assembly, also in Antigua. IHO is proudly supported by Equality Fund and Global Affairs Canada.
Media Contact:
Integrated Health Outreach (IHO)
info@ihoab.com | +1 268 778 4446 | www.ihoab.com
This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: IHO Leads Commonwealth Civil Society Mobilisation Ahead of 2026 Commonwealth Women’s Forum.