The second day of the Vital Voices Summit is referred to as Human Rights Day, with a longer official title of “Women Safeguarding Human Rights: A Necessary Foundation for a Stable and Prosperous Society.” It began with a keynote address from the Honorable Jolanta Kwasniewski, Former First Lady of Poland. She delivered a very moving and personal address about her feelings with regard to human rights and candidly shared some of her experiences as First Lady over the past decade. She admitted to having an epiphany with regard to relating to those in need and now has a true sensitivity to those around her who have less money and less mobility and those who exist on the fringes of society. She is committed to being a catalyst for change. One of the most poignant beliefs she shared was her firmly held belief that every single human being is entitled to the same rights and the most important right of all is the right to dignity. She touched us all with her candor and her ability to connect with everyone in the audience.

Following the keynote address was an extraordinary panel of “human rights experts” who each contributed to a compelling lesson about the need to utilize various tools when addressing human rights abuses in the region. The panel was skillfully led by Melanne Verveer and the panelists were: Lisa Carty of UNAIDS who talked about the sobering statistics of AIDS in the Eurasia region, what’s being done and what still needs to be done to get it under control. The biggest challenge is to address the increase of HIV/AIDS among women. Peter Charchalis, VP of Horizon Capital and an investor in MTV, spoke about the use of TV to communicate with a young and vulnerable audience about HIV/AIDS and Human Trafficking. Natalia Karbowska, Chair of the Ukrainian Women’s Fund, talked about the extraordinary improvements they have been able to make with very small grants…as low as $50. It was very impressive. Elizabeth Rector of LexusNexis USA spoke about the role they play in providing NGOs and Lawyers research on the Rule of Law with regard to specific human rights in specific jurisdictions. Jeanette Kehoe-Perkinson, VP of MEXX in the Netherlands, spoke about their corporate commitment to protecting women’s human rights…and, finally, Ambassador Connie Morella put on her former Congresswoman’s hat and spoke about the complicated path of a making a bill a law, in the case of Domestic Violence legislation which she pioneered beginning in the late 80’s.

In keeping with the theme, the afternoon was filled with strategy sessions addressing the skills and best practices associated with the advancement of Human Rights. I led a session on Social Marketing for a very engaged group who shared their own experiences and learned from each other reinforcing the value of these convenings.

During the afternoon I spent some time with a young woman from Georgia named Gvantsa, who sought me out and I have agreed to mentor. She has all the enthusiasm required to succeed as an entrepreneur, but could use a few breaks.

There is something about being away in an foreign country with lots of history and being stuck in a hotel (a nice hotel, but still a hotel) that is smothering after awhile. So, Connie Morella and I escaped for awhile to take a walk and were joined by Jill Dougherty from CNN who has covered this region for many years (including the time period of the Orange Revolution) before recently returning to the US bureau. We went to the Maiden (Independence Square) where the Orange Revolution took place. Jill gave us a crash course in recent history. While there, we were stopped by a man who asked where we from and when we said the United States, he said, “yes…New York, Michael Jackson, McDonalds, World Train Center” That was his frame of reference! It was also a beautiful day, sunny and not as cold as it has been. It felt good to be out.

This evening we attended a lovely reception at the residence of Ambassador Bill Taylor and his wife Deb. Ambassador Taylor has been in Kiev for about a year after having been our Ambassador in Iraq and before that in Afghanistan. What a guy!

We were able to take advantage of Fashion Week in Ukraine and attend “The” Kiev Fashion Show featuring the top designers of the region. Very interesting!

Mary D. Yerrick
Vice Chair
Vital Voices Global Partnership