The Network
The Unidas Women’s Network was founded on May 28, 2019, under the patronage of then Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, and is a central component of the Latin America and Caribbean Initiative of the German Federal Foreign Office.
Since then, more than 400 members from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Germany, as well as twelve partner organizations, have joined the network. Unidas brings together women’s rights activists, journalists, lawyers, scientists, entrepreneurs, artists, women in politics, and many more—each distinguished in their field, committed to social engagement, and aligned with Unidas’ goals.
Membership Criteria
The Unidas Women’s Network unites women from Germany, Latin America and the Caribbean, who:
- hold an outstanding position in their respective field and distinguish themselves through social commitment
- identify with the goals of the network and would like to be involved in the network
- have an interest and/or expertise in the topic of women's rights and gender equality and, where applicable, also deal with it professionally.
Governance Structure
The chair of Unidas is now held by the Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, Serap Güler. An advisory board of approximately 20 members provides strategic guidance and selects the recipient of the Unidas Award for Women’s Rights and Democracy.
Unidas also has Nodal Points—particularly engaged members who volunteer for the network’s objectives. Currently, Unidas has Nodal Points in 13 countries. Nodal Points support communication and information exchange among members and within thematic or regional groups, organize activities and coordinate meetings in their countries in collaboration with the Unidas Coordination Team, and serve as direct contacts for German diplomatic missions.
Below are some of our founding members throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, and Germany:
Founding Members
NATALIA GHERARDI
is an Argentine lawyer who holds a degree from the University of Buenos Aires. She has been CEO of ELA – Equipo Latinoamericano de Justicia y Género (Latin American Team for Justice and Gender) – since 2007. She also teaches at the University of Buenos Aires, the Universidad Nacional de Lanús and the Universidad Nacional de la Plata and has published on the topics of work, care policy, sexual and reproductive rights, and violence against women.
BETTINA METZ
is a political scientist and CEO of the UN Women Nationales Komitee Deutschland. She previously worked for UNIFEM (the United Nations Development Fund for Women) in New York and Bangkok and for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). She holds a postgraduate degree in adult education and worked as an advisor in municipal development, as a research fellow and trainer in further professional education, and as a career advisor.
SIBEL KEKILLI
is an actor and has been an ambassador for the women’s rights organisation Terre des Femmes since 2004. In March 2015, she received the Autorin der Freiheit (Author of Freedom) prize for her speech alongside then Federal President Joachim Gauck at an International Women’s Day event in Schloss Bellevue. In 2017, she was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. She is furthermore patron of the online counselling service SIBEL, set up by the organisation PAPATYA to help young women and girls who have problems with their families.
ASIYA MOHAMMED
is the founder and CEO of Conflict Women, a social enterprise that provides income, training and microfinancing to the survivors of rape and domestic violence in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and Barbados. She is a recipient of the Commonwealth Points of Light Prize, which was awarded by Queen Elizabeth II, and is also a TEDx speaker. Prior to her work with Conflict Women, she worked for UNICEF in Geneva and in the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago.
XÊNIA FRANÇA
is a singer from Bahia, Brazil. In 2018, her debut album “Xenia” and her song “Pra que me chamas?” was nominated for a Latin Grammy. She became a symbol of empowerment for Afro-Brazilian women thanks to her video for “Pra que me chamas?”, which focuses among other things on the preservation and dissemination of Afro-Brazilian culture.
SOLEDAD NUÑEZ
is a former Housing Minister of Paraguay who previously served as National Director of TECHO Paraguay, an NGO that promotes the construction of emergency housing and young people’s active involvement in political decision-making processes. She holds a degree in engineering, studied project management, and is a graduate of the Global Competitiveness Leadership programme at Georgetown University. She is currently studying for a Master of Public Policy at Oxford University.
YÉSICA SÁNCHEZ
is a human rights activist and a member of the management team of Consorcio para el Diálogo Parlamentario y la Equidad Oaxaca, an organisation that promotes respect for, recognition of, and the implementation of women’s human rights. It also advances gender equality, the development of civil-society networks, capacities for defending human rights, training on gender-specific rights, and participation in democratic processes. Yésica also represents the Central American network Iniciativa Mesoamericana de Mujeres Defensoras de Derechos Humanos.
TERESA BÜCKER
has worked as a freelance journalist, advisor and speaker since 2019. She speaks on television and in panel discussions on the transformation of the world of work, digital strategies for journalism and politics, participation, justice, representation, power and sexual self-determination. She began her career in 2008 as community editor of the magazine “Der Freitag” and went on to advise the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) on digital strategy. She is a former editor-in-chief of the online magazine “Edition F”. In 2017, she was awarded the Journalist of the Year Prize in the entrepreneur category.
