The International Convocation of Unitarian Universalist Women (ICUUW) is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to women’s empowerment, leadership development, education, international partnership-building, and social justice within the worldwide Unitarian and Unitarian Universalist community. Founded after the first international convocation in Houston in 2009, the organization became an important platform connecting women from diverse Unitarian and progressive religious communities across the world.
Hungarian and Transylvanian Unitarians have played a particularly important role within the history and development of the ICUUW. The relationship became especially significant during the Second International Convocation, held in Marosvásárhely / Târgu Mureș, Romania, in 2012. The event represented a major moment in international Unitarian cooperation in Eastern Europe and led to the development of several long-term international initiatives.
One of the most important outcomes was the establishment of the Transylvanian Women’s Leadership School in 2014, organized in partnership with local Unitarian women’s organizations. The program provided leadership training and community development opportunities for women from Transylvania and Hungary, and later inspired similar initiatives internationally, including among the Khasi Unitarians of Northeast India.
Hungarian and Transylvanian Unitarians also became increasingly represented within the organization’s international leadership. Rev. Mária Zsuzsánna Bartha, originally from Transylvania and later serving in Hungary, became Secretary of the ICUUW Board of Directors and contributed actively to strengthening international cooperation among Unitarian women’s organizations.
The importance of Transylvania within the international Unitarian world was further reaffirmed during the Fourth International Convocation, held in Kolozsvár / Cluj in 2024. The gathering brought together participants from numerous countries and focused on themes including peace, resilience, community-building, and global cooperation.
Today, the relationship between ICUUW and the Hungarian Unitarian Church continues to reflect a shared commitment to leadership development, education, women’s empowerment, international dialogue, and the strengthening of global Unitarian community life.
For more information about the International Convocation of Unitarian Universalist Women and its international initiatives, please visit the official ICUUW website: https://icuuw.org/