IGHNxEU – Empowering Women for a Healthier Europe

Welcome to IGHNx EU: Empowering Women for a Healthier Europe! 

IGHNx EU: Empowering Women for a Healthier Europe is co-hosted with Women in Global Health Ireland and the European Institute of Women’s Health. The event will be held in the RDS, Dublin on Friday 14th November 2025. 

Student tickets available at a discounted rate – bring your student ID! Use the promo code STUDENT20 at checkout!

As an Irish community committed and passionate about equity, humanity, and inclusivity, we bring to you our very own version of a TEDx event; IGHNx. We first held this type of event in 2023, and more recently in February 2024, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive, so we came back to do it all again! 

The event consists of a variety of short TED-format talks on a range of topics related to global health. The talks will be interspersed with creative performances including music, poetry, comedy, storytelling, and more.  

Not forgetting our Global Health Village; set up like a village, with individual stalls representing NGO’s, higher education institutions, and various other organisations, it is a vibrant place for knowledge sharing and exchange of ideas. Additionally, the event provides wonderful opportunities for networking. 

Check out our past events! 

The IGHNxEU event is anchored around four thematic pillars that collectively explore the complex, intersectional challenges faced by women and underserved populations in health systems worldwide. These pillars recognize that advancing gender equity and health justice requires a holistic approach—one that moves beyond mere representation to confront systemic barriers, affirm health as a fundamental human right, and empower the next generation of leaders.

1. Women and Leadership

Women health workers, despite being the backbone of health systems, remain underrepresented in decision-making roles. This theme amplifies diverse forms of women’s leadership—from grassroots advocacy to policy influence—and addresses the systemic barriers faced by marginalised women in contributing to decision-making in health.

Leadership is interpreted broadly to include not only formal institutional roles but also grassroots, movement-building, and community-based leadership.

Objective
To elevate and advance women’s leadership in health systems by identifying and dismantling structural barriers to leadership roles, amplifying the contributions of marginalized women, and developing actionable policy recommendations that promote gender equity, fair recognition, and inclusive leadership practices across Ireland, Europe, and globally.

Target Groups

• Women in health systems (including nurses, carers, community health workers)

• Women from marginalised backgrounds (e.g. migrant women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ women)

• Female activists and advocates from Ireland, Europe, and the Global South

2. Health for Underserved Populations

This theme explores how health systems can better serve communities who are consistently excluded from mainstream care. Discussions will focus on practical barriers and inclusive service design for groups such as migrants, refugees, Roma, Travellers, and people living in poverty or remote areas.

Objective
To address the complex, intersectional barriers that underserved populations face in accessing health and social services by centering their lived experiences, identifying systemic gaps such as institutional racism and poverty, and producing targeted policy recommendations to improve inclusion and advance health equity for marginalized communities.

Target Groups

• Migrants and asylum seekers (including undocumented individuals)

• Refugees

• Travellers and Roma communities

• People experiencing homelessness

• People living in poverty or in rural/remote areas

3. Health as a Human Right

Across the world, hard-won human rights are being rolled back. From the removal of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the United States, to restrictions on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in parts of Europe, to shrinking civic space for advocacy globally, the erosion of rights threatens the foundations of equality and justice. The right to health—enshrined in multiple international human rights treaties—faces growing political, legal, and ideological challenges. Governments have binding obligations to respect, protect, and fulfil this right, yet many are failing to do so.

The discussion centres on survivors, advocates, and frontline workers, connecting personal experience with systemic gaps to build rights-based, and inclusive health systems.

Objective
To defend and advance the right to health in an era when fundamental rights are being eroded worldwide. This theme seeks to challenge the political, legal, and ideological attacks that are undermining equality. At its core, the theme reinforces that governments have binding obligations under international human rights treaties to respect, protect, and fulfil the right to health, and that these obligations are not optional.

Target Groups

• Women and girls, especially in reproductive and maternal health contexts

• LGBTQ+ communities

• People with disabilities

• People affected by conflict, climate change, and colonial legacies

• Migrants, asylum seekers, and ethnic minorities

4. Youth Shaping the Future of Health

Youth are not just the future of health—they are essential leaders in the present. This theme centres youth as co-creators of health policy, systems, and innovation. With participation from young health advocates, student leaders, and youth organisations, this theme showcases how inclusive, youth-led solutions can strengthen systems at every level.

Objective
To empower youth—especially from marginalized and intersectional backgrounds—as active co-creators and leaders in health system innovation and policy development, fostering meaningful youth participation that drives gender-responsive, equitable, and sustainable health solutions.

Target Groups

• Young people aged 16–25

• Marginalised youth (e.g. disabled, LGBTQ+, ethnic minority, migrant youth)

• Youth advisory groups and activist networks

• Students of health-related disciplines and global health

  Download the Event Information