ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2025
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. This year, 60,000+ young leaders applied to join the Class of 2025 on 7,000+ campuses across 170 nations. 290+ campuses worldwide (less than 5%) were selected to host the 4,500+ Millennium Fellows.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT EMILY LI HONG, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2025.
Brown University | Rhode Island, United States | Advancing SDG 5, SDG 4 & UNAI 1
" “As a young woman, I know the confusion and stigma surrounding menstruation is a nearly universal experience. It’s essential to talk about it openly, empower young menstruators with knowledge about their bodies, and advocate for universal access to menstrual products — just as we expect toilet paper in bathrooms. There is so much work to be done, and the Millennium Fellowship offers an incredible community and platform to drive this change together.” "
Millennium Fellowship Project: Period Equity Youth Education Program
Unfortunately, menstrual education today is widely ineffective. The stigma and language used when talking about menstruation often encourages secrecy and leaves many young women in the dark about their own bodies - battling with misinformation and self-awareness. Moreover, access to menstrual products poses a real issue for students, even in areas like Providence, Rhode Island. As a result, we created the Period Equity Youth Education Program, an ongoing project that aims to fight the stigmatization of menstruation through youth education. Specifically, with the help of academic experts, we designed a holistic curriculum that teaches menstruation from both an anatomical and social equity perspective. We then recruited university students, many of whom are young women from our club Period Equity @ Brown, to volunteer weekly and teach the curriculum to fifth graders at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Providence. This free program exists in collaboration with the teachers of MLK Elementary, who have identified a gap in resources when it comes to menstruation awareness. We tested our first curriculum cycle in spring 2024, and have been continuously revising our interactive workshops since then. We hope to continue growing our program to more schools in Providence.
About the Millennium Fellow
Emily Hong is studying Computer Science and Sociology at Brown University. Originally from Montreal, Canada, she is passionate about advancing international diplomacy and women’s rights, with a particular focus on period equity. She envisions a world where menstruation is understood without shame and sustainable products are accessible to all. As a Millennium Fellow, her project builds on her work with Period Equity @ Brown in creating a holistic menstrual health curriculum for local elementary schools, advocating for free period products on campus, and creating spaces for open, empowering conversations that lead toward stigmatization and lasting change. She has previously interned with the U.S. Department of State’s Political and Economic team in Montreal and conducted machine learning research on responsible technology.
