On March 12, 2025, Zhang Yinjun, Founder and Chairperson of the Beijing Changier Education Foundation, delivered a keynote speech during the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69). She participated in the seminar "Full Partnership: Women's Progress as a Prerequisite for Peaceful Societies," hosted by the Bahá’í International Community. This seminar was a significant event during CSW69, focusing on how social transformation can achieve gender equality and lay the foundation for lasting peace.

The seminar was held in a hybrid format, reflecting on the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and looking ahead to future progress. In her speech, Zhang Yinjun deeply analyzed the intrinsic link between women's education and global peace and shared China's practical experiences in this field.

The seminar attracted broad participation from representatives of UN agencies and civil society organizations. Zhang Yinjun’s speech resonated strongly with attendees, who recognized that her insights not only highlighted China’s achievements in women's education and peace-building but also provided valuable experiences for global gender equality efforts. Her powerful words emphasized the importance of the topic: “The progress of women is not an option but a fundamental question for human survival.”

On March 14, Zhang Yinjun and the Beijing Changier Education Foundation delegation held in-depth discussions with representatives of the Bahá’í International Community. Their shared concerns closely aligned, covering education, women's empowerment, and youth development. Given their common values and vision, both parties expressed their willingness to collaborate within the UN framework and across multiple countries to advance shared priorities, deepen partnerships, and implement meaningful initiatives.

The Bahá’í International Community is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting global peace, social progress, and human solidarity. Its core principles include gender equality, universal education, and social justice. With a permanent representative office at the United Nations, the organization has long been engaged in global discussions and initiatives on these critical issues.

Group photo of guest speakers

Below is the full text of Zhang Yinjun’s keynote speech in both Chinese and English for the readers.

My name is Zhang Yinjun, and I am the founder and persident of the Beijing Changier Education Foundation. For the past 20 years, I have been dedicated to AIDS prevention education in China. Before that, I was a journalist at the Ministry of Health of China, where I personally witnessed the ignorance that led to HIV infections among women and young people. That experience was life-changing for me—I knew I had to take action.

This is why I initiated China’s Youth HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Program. Our goal is simple: to spread knowledge, prevent infections, and empower women and young people through comprehensive sex education. The UNAIDS once described our work as “turning off the tap at the source” because we don’t just act after the problem arises—we strive to prevent it before it happens.

Our approach is straightforward. We have established Changier Huts in schools and Maternal Love Academies in communities. Over the past two decades, my team and I have expanded our work to all 31 provincial-level regions across China. To date, our programs have directly benefited 40 million people and indirectly reached over 400 million.

Today, as we mark the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration, we must ask an important question: How can we build a peaceful world when 62% of the world’s illiterate people are women? How can peace be secure when women continue to suffer the most in times of war?

China’s experience has shown us a simple but powerful truth: When we give mothers priority in education, and when China’s illiteracy rate drops from 80% to just 2.67%, we do more than lift 1.4 billion people out of poverty—we also prove that women’s education is the key to progress. Just as Congolese women turn bullet casings into farming tools, giving women the power to shape resources can turn weapons of war into tools for peace.

The United Nations’ Pact for the Future gives us a clear path forward: We must rethink education—putting family education before school education and mothers’ education before children’s education. Imagine a world where every girl holds the power of knowledge, and every woman takes part in big decisions. That world will not be a dream—it will be the future. It will fulfill the Bahá’í vision of a New Era of gender equality.

I make this promise in the name of all mothers: The day women’s wisdom fills the halls of leadership will be the day peace takes root across the world. It is up to us to build the power of education together, break the limits of the past, and help every daughter become a leader of tomorrow.

History is watching us. Women’s progress is not a choice—it is the true test of humanity.

Thank you!