We’re delighted to welcome Chrissy Cattle as Irise’s new CEO!  Chrissy, who will join Irise in April 2024, is moving on from her role as Foundation Manager of the Old Dart Foundation, a grantmaking organisation partnering with social change actors in Peru and Papua New Guinea. Since graduating from a Masters in Environmental Change and International Development at the University of Sheffield, Chrissy has worked with small international organisations for over a decade, collaborating to develop strategy, fundraising and communications. She is a Trustee of Papua Partners, an organisati ..read more

After a decade of service, our founding CEO, Emily Wilson, is moving on to new adventures and it is time for the Irise community to choose their next CEO. Irise was set-up to enable the voice and power of the people most held back by period inequality and injustice. Since day 1 our incredible team of staff, board, volunteers, local activists and donors have been working to build a resilient institution that could belong to and channel the leadership of these groups. We always knew that a critical stepping stone on this journey would be enabling Irise to move beyond its founders. As we come to ..read more

Irise was started in response to a Kenyan schoolgirl, given a chance to tell stakeholders what she wanted and needed, sharing that periods were holding her back in school and that no one would listen. We dreamt of creating an institution that could champion the voice and leadership of the people most sidelined by this issue. An institution that could make people listen to the voice of a Kenyan schoolgirl and that could help her find the courage to speak out in the first place. I believe that our Kenyan school girl would be proud of what her testimony has achieved over the last decade. As I pre ..read more

We’re looking for new partners to join our Empower Period South Yorkshire Programme.  Partners receive: training to deliver peer-led period support in their community or school paid support for 2 youth champions to deliver peer-led activities can claim for up to £500 of staff time to help them participate in the programme. Click here to find out more. The deadline for EOIs is 1st Oct. The post Call for organisations to join Empower Period South Yorkshire appeared first on Irise ..read more

On the 28th May, hundreds of young activist and period campaigners took to the streets of Westminster to raise awareness of the 148,675,312 lessons that are being missed every year due to a lack of access to period products and the shame surrounding periods in schools as part of the Every Period Counts campaign’s Period Parade. To realise period dignity in schools, Irise International brought together young activists across the UK to launch campaign Every Period Counts, to shift the shame from young students back to those in power to bring a much-needed end to period poverty through shame-free ..read more

Young activists across the UK have come together to campaign to make period dignity a reality in schools A third of young girls are missing school due to a lack of care or access to period products – that’s over 3.5 million days missed every year  Nearly half of all school girls are struggling to access period products at school  61% of girls have had issues accessing toilets in lessons when on their period To realise period dignity in schools, Irise International has brought together young activists across the UK to launch its campaign Every Period Counts, to shift the shame from ..read more

We are excited to introduce our new Empower Period Committee with diverse backgrounds and experiences. They will be representing the Empower Period network and the wider youth-led movement and making decisions with and for the network about joint campaigns, advocacy and events. Molly Fenton    (Co-chair)                                                 ..read more

We’re pleased to be launching the new Our Voice Heard space, a new online space and discussion platform for young feminists keen to lead change in their communities. The space is the result of a collaboration between Irise, Chula Education, & Chol and will also be hosting an ongoing discussion space for our new Every Period Counts campaign to tackle period poverty and stigma in UK schools. Click the button below to join the space and find out more. Join the space The post Our Voice Heard appeared first on Irise ..read more

Are you passionate about period equality? Are you unhappy with the slow progress toward period dignity for all in UK schools? Do you want to gain experience of designing and delivering a national advocacy campaign whilst creating lasting change? If you’re under 30 and have/have had/will have experience of menstruation and/or have experience trying to end period poverty in your school or community, then the Empower Period Committee would love to hear from you. For more information, you can access details of what the  Empower Period Committee will get up to (terms of reference) in 2023 ..read more

On 16th October 22 we brought together young people and their allies to plan their next big campaign for Period Justice in the UK. A masssive thank you to The Blagrave Trust for helping to make this happen. View the agenda and line-up for the event View a write-up of the event View a short video featuring interviews with young activists who attended the event The post The Empower Period Summit appeared first on Irise ..read more