The Oakland University Student Congress organized and hosted a university-wide symposium titled “Empowering Women in the Global Community” on Wednesday, March 21, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The event opened with a short speech made by Associate Provost and Associate Professor of Political Science, Michelle Pikulich.

“As global citizens, we all have a responsibility to understand the problems in our own society and the problems of societies around the world,” Pikulich said.

The “problems” that were discussed throughout the duration of the symposium included sex trafficking, poverty, the under-education of women and girls, abuse and lack of opportunity.

World renowned reporter, author and activist, Sheryl WuDunn was the keynote speaker for the symposium.

Along side of her husband Nicholas Kristof, the couple wrote and published their book “Half the Sky,” which discusses the idea of educating and empowering women worldwide.

“We think that one of the best ways to fight poverty and to fight terrorism is to educate girls and bring them into a formal labor force,” WuDunn said.

WuDunn’s goal is to motivate as many people as she can to recognize the issues surrounding impoverished and uneducated women both in foreign countries and in the U.S.

“In terms of how far you get in school in lots of rural places in the world, it’s not so much how many IQ points you have, but what chromosomes you have. That’s why we think the moral challenge of our century is gender inequity,” WuDunn said.

Besides educating women, another topic that was discussed throughout the event was sex trafficking.

Speaker for the “Not for Sale II” Workshop that began at 10:45 a.m., Bridgette Carr J.D., is the Director for the University of Michigan Law School’s Human Trafficking Clinic and Clinical Assistant Professor of Law.

Carr is dedicated to assisting victims of sex trafficking in Michigan.

“Human trafficking is when someone is compelled into service. That can happen in both a labor context and a sex trafficking context. In the United States, under our law(s), the line between those two types of situations are not as clear as you think,” Carr said.

Carr explained that the law criminalizes young girls and women for the acts of forming sexual relations with an older man and prostitution. Instead of prosecuting women for these illegal actions, Carr urges state governments to understand that many women are forced into the sex trafficking industry.

Other speakers who participated in the symposium were Lisa Brown, Pastoral Associate for St. John Fisher University Parish; Dr. Charles Mabee, Advisor to the Religious Studies Program at OU; Laya Saatchi, Lecturer of Islamic Studies at Wayne State and OU; Anne Doyle, Auburn Hills City Councilwoman and Author of POWERING UP!;  Beth Morrison, President and CEO of Haven; Denise McConkey, Career Consultant of Oakland University Career Services Office; Jocelyn Giangrande, a career expert, coach, and author; Joanna VanRaaphorst, Candidate for State Representative, and Carol Anne Ketelsen, Career Consultant of OU Career Services Office.

Emma Hunko-Haynack, a freshman at OU, was an attendee of the symposium.

“What I found to be most inspiring was that women, all over the globe, continue to fight for their freedom and rights, even though they continue to face many setbacks,” Hunko-Haynack said.

During the symposium lunch break, WuDunn joined students in the honors college for food and a Q&A session.

“(WuDunn) is a powerful woman who has made a name and a reputation for herself in the global community, and I was excited to see such a successful and worldly woman at Oakland. I felt extremely lucky and fortunate to meet her,” Hunko-Haynack said.

In response to what students can do to help women who are uneducated, impoverished, have been abused, or are victims of sex trafficking, WuDunn and Carr said that making others aware of the situation, as well as paying attention to what is going in the government, is a positive step towards empowering women.

“You, me, we have all won the lottery of life. The question is how you take charge of that responsibility. There are very few things in life that can elevate your level of happiness. One of those things is contributing to a cause larger than yourself,” WuDunn said.