An agricultural engineer, a painter, a baker, a shoemaker, Jorge Domínguez is a modern day “Renaissance Man.” He is also a 63 year old Venezuelan migrant in Pamplona, Colombia that fled his country three years ago in search of a better life for his family.

2020 is a crucial year for women and girls, everywhere. We celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. It also marks the five-year milestone of the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals. This year’s 64th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was deemed to be the big commemoration and opportunity to reaffirm these mandates. There are still significant and pervasive gender gaps in the economic and political participation of women all over the world. Progress is sluggish and if we are serious about achieving the 2030 Agenda we must step up the pace.

They are both refugees. Einstein, considered one of the greatest geniuses in history, fled Nazi occupied Germany to the United States in 1933 after his civil liberties were revoked and he was barred from his professorship for being an outspoken opponent of the government. Fortunately, Princeton University recognized his intelligence and offered him a job. A fortuitous event that changed his life and ours, yet for many refugees today, such opportunities are scarce.