Sharon Bhagwan Rolls

Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls is a second generation Fiji Island feminist working on the intersection of gender, media, communications and peace by supporting the development and production of appropriate and accessible media. Currently she is the Chairperson and Gender Liaison of the Board of Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), the Co- Chair of Global Fund for Women Board of Directors and a member of the Feminist Alliance on Rights, coordinated by the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL). Sharon was a member of the UNWomen convened Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG) on UNSCR1325+10 (2009-2010), the first UN Women Global Civil Society Advisory Group (2012-2014) and the High Level Advisory Group for the Global Study on UNSCR1325+15 (2014-2015). Between 2010 –2012 she coordinated civil society input into the development of the Pacific Regional Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (2012-2015) as well as the GEAR campaign. She is a co-founder of FemLINKpacific which emerged from the women led Blue Ribbon Peace Vigil initiative in Fiji in 2000. Through her leadership FemLINK has developed a programme infrastructure applying peacebuilding practice and a people's communications for development approach to a regional women's community media network. This has included localizing and application to support women's participation and leadership in all levels of decision making including disaster risk reduction and humanitarian crises. The media network now supports the development and management of a range of media initiatives including the Pacific's first women-led community radio network FemTALK 89FM as well as the innovative inter-operable Women's Weather Watch information-communication system. Women’s Weather Watch.

Sharon contributes to several global media and communications networks – as an adviser to the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS, 2011 - 2015), a founding member of the Asia Pacific Regional Board of AMARC (World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters) and as an Ambassador for the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP). In 2004 she was a member of the UN Expert Group on Women and the Media.

Sharon was included in the 1000Peacewomen for the Nobel Peace Prize (2005) and was the recipient of the 2014 NGO CSW Forum Woman of Distinction award in recognition of her dedication to enable and empower community media production in print, digital story-telling, online/social media and television to increase visibility of women and young women’s viewpoints and realities.