During Visby Political Week in Sweden, a stage reading of Vital Voices’ documentary play - SEVEN - featured male members of parliament. Theater company Riksteatern produced the play in collaboration with Kvinna till Kvinna, an organization supporting women in conflict areas.

Producer and Director Hedda Krausz Sjögren writes about the performance in a recent post:

“The MPs’ identification with their ”voices” was evident, as was their refreshed concern for human rights issues.”

Read the full post: Continued success for SEVEN.

Vital Voices Network member Danielle Saint-Lot was recently interviewed by NPR’s Tony Cox on Talk of the Nation. Danielle is a co-founder of our Haiti chapter, Femmes en Democratie. During her interview, she spoke about the critical role that women must play in the reconstruction of her home country. With elections in the near future, Danielle says that women must vie for seats in the national congress.

“[women] have to be the ones rebuilding the country. And there’s, you know, quite a few groups of young women, emerging leaders that are going to run. For the moment, our organization, Femmes en Democratie, we’re supporting 50 women candidates for Congress.”

Listen to the full interview or read the transcript on NPR: “The Role Of Women In Rebuilding Haiti.”

The following is a post writen by Vital Voices Human Rights Program intern, Kait Talley.

On July 14, the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing on forced child marriage to garner support for the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2009.

Speaking at the hearing, Congresswoman Betty McCollum, who authored the bill, said, “A girl is not a commodity, but a person who has the right to grow, become an educated and productive citizen and eventually chose her own husband.”

Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, Melanne Verveer, urged those present to “put child marriage in the dustbin of history.”

Vital Voices Global Leadership Award honoree Kakenya Ntaiya of Kenya offered testimony on her experience with child marriage. Engaged to be married at age five, Kakenya managed to negotiate with her father and attend school instead of entering into marriage. She said involving fathers in their daughters’ education can make a great difference in preventing child marriage. Watch Kakenya’s video to learn more.

In her remarks, she emphasized the role of education:

“Education is the key—the key to not only a better future for an individual, but also for a better nation at large. Education brings development to a home, a community, a nation and to the whole world. And most importantly it prevents early marriage. Education is the key to empowerment.”

Kakenya explained how she was able to achieve her own dreams through education. In 2009, she opened a school, Kakenya’s Center for Excellence, where she provides education to girls who might otherwise be forced into marriage.

UNICEF Senior Child Protection Specialist, Francesca Moneti, commented on the connection between forced child marriage and women’s health: “child pregnancy is the single most important problem in nutrition. A 19-year-old mother has a 60 percent greater chance of dying than a woman in her twenties.”

Stephanie Baric, senior technical advisor of CARE USA, said that “[change] requires a holistic view of the situation and the patience and long-term focus to work with communities to create change from within.”

After the testimonies, Congressman McGovern said, “I end this hearing with hope,” and thanked the panelists and those who attended for their continued efforts to bring an end to forced child marriage.

On June 21, Vital Voices partnered with Priority Films to host the world premiere red-carpet screening of REDLIGHT, an inspiring and powerful feature documentary about child sexploitation. Produced and narrated by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Lucy Liu, REDLIGHT focuses on the personal stories of the victims and two of Vital Voices’ remarkable network women from Cambodia, grassroots activist Somaly Mam and parliamentarian Mu Sochua. Both women, who have worked with Vital Voices for many years, have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and have won numerous human rights awards around the world.

Sadiqa Basiri Saleem, 2009 Vital Voices Rising Voices Award honoree, has been awarded the 2010 Patricia Blunt Koldyke Fellowship in Social Entrepreneurship by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations.

The fellowship was created in 2006 by Patricia Blunt and Martin J. Koldyke to recognize emerging leaders who focus on alleviating the social perils that ail children and youth. As a fellow, Sadiqa has been awarded $12,500 as well as a week’s stay in Chicago.

While in Chicago, she will meet with local organizations, businesses and government institutions, and will be given the opportunity to learn from these programs as well as provide insight from her own projects. The fellowship enables the flow of best practices and innovative ideas. Sadiqa will be honored by The Chicago Council’s Board and other leading figures from Chicago and will deliver the annual Patricia Blunt Koldyke Lecture.

Sadiqa is Co-Founder of the Oruj Learning Center. Established in 2002 by three women refugees living in Pakistan, the Oruj Learning Center is the solitary local organization operating in the Wardak province of eastern Afghanistan, located just three hours from Kabul.

The Center seeks to provide education and combat violence against women. In her current position as Co-Founder of the Oruj Learning Center, Sadiqa hopes to establish two new schools for returning Afghan citizens and Internally Displaced Persons. She also looks to establish an Afghan Women’s Leadership Institute to train high school graduates on business management and leadership skills. Sadiqa holds an undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College, where she enrolled as a prestigious Francis Perkins Scholar. She is an active member of the Vital Voices Global Leadership Network and was a supporter of the Vital Voices 2002 program, ‘Back to Work, Back to School Afghan Uniform Project to Support Women and Girls’.

Vital Voices is partnering with YouTube for an exciting women’s empowerment social media campaign and we want you to join us!

In honor of Mother’s Day, YouTube Video Volunteers and Vital Voices board member Diane von Furstenberg will shine a spotlight on women’s issues by calling out to volunteer filmmakers to create a short video about a women’s organization they care about.

The top three videos will be chosen by Vital Voices and Diane von Furstenberg, and they will appear on the homepage of YouTube for one day on May 30.

Get involved! Watch to learn more:

Over 11 million people visit YouTube on any given day. Share this opportunity with your networks and invite them to make a film about your work. The deadline for submissions is May 26.

As partners in women’s empowerment initiatives around the globe, help us and spread the word about this amazing opportunity to raise awareness and showcase our collective work in making the world a better place for women and girls.

Learn more about YouTube Video Volunteers »

Get your organization listed on YouTube, so when video volunteers are looking for great women’s organizations to profile, they’ll find you!

The following is a post written by Global Programs Intern, Montana Mathieu.

Alyse Nelson, President and CEO of Vital Voices, speaks to a group of women entrepreneurs

Over the last day and a half, a group of women entrepreneurs, all of whom lead businesses that are ready to export to the United States, have gathered in Miami, FL to network, attend capacity-building sessions, and speak with potential buyers for their products. The program marks the beginning of a new partnership between Vital Voices and FedEx. Titled Building Businesses Across Borders: A Training Program for Women Entrepreneurs, the program invited trade-ready women entrepreneurs from across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to participate in a two-day training seminar and become part of the Vital Voices global women’s network.

While the program opened with a cocktail reception on Monday, it began in earnest on Tuesday. Following introductions, participants heard from Gina Adams, Corporate Vice President of Government Affairs at FedEx, who spoke about her progression up the corporate ladder and the unique challenges faced by women in business. The following sessions addressed negotiation techniques, procurement best practices, and the do’s and don’ts of approaching a company. The day ended with the mentoring session, done in partnership with the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).

For many participants, meeting with other women business owners, both from across the region and from Miami, represented a valuable opportunity to learn from others’ experiences and to gain insight into the different strategies that can be pursued when looking to export to the US. Without a doubt, all the women who attended have dynamic businesses and a vision for promoting their growth. Different countries present different challenges, and understanding each entrepreneur’s unique context will be key as we continue to support their efforts.

As we prepare to launch the LAC Businesswomen’s Network, we are reminded of the need for a platform on which women entrepreneurs from the region can connect with each other. The region is home to countries ranging from small island nations, such as The Bahamas and Haiti, to large, developed economies, such as Argentina and Brazil. Even within these sub-regions, however, domestic barriers, ranging from legal requirements to transportation costs, vary considerably. Because of this, information sharing will be an essential component of the network.

On Wednesday, the program continued with a session on leadership by Vital Voices President and CEO Alyse Nelson, whose presentation prompted participants to define leadership and identify their personal leadership qualities.

“All of you are here because you are emerging business leaders, but as you all look around the room, you are also all having a great impact on your society, which is truly what great leadership is about,” she said.

Her session was followed by a presentation by a representative from US Commercial Services. The day concluded with a trade fair where the entrepreneurs were able to speak with potential buyers of their products.

A pilot program, Building Businesses Across Borders showed the promise that trade fairs represent for women entrepreneurs with small- and medium-sized enterprises. In the coming years, we hope to replicate such programs in different countries from Latin America, making it local and more accessible to different women. Moving forward, as women’s entrepreneurship continues to gain ground as a viable development strategy in countries around the world, it is clear that there is a need to connect such emerging women business leaders, identify their most pressing necessities, and continue our work to support them.

Yesterday, an exciting new initiative and partnership between Vital Voices and FedEx was launched with the opening cocktail reception of a pilot seminar and program in Miami, FL, Building Business Across Borders: A Trading Program for Women Entrepreneurs. The program, which will continue through today and Wednesday, is aimed towards women entrepreneurs from Latin America and the Caribbean who are export/trade ready and who wish to build their trade capacity and connect with potential U.S. markets.

Participants represent a variety of countries, from Argentina and Brazil, to the Bahamas and Haiti, to El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. Their products, from Phelicia Dell’s award-winning artisan handbags to Wendy Martinez’s naturally-flavored liquors, one of two brands made in all of Honduras, to Lorena Piazze’s tempered glass, demonstrate the wide range of industries in which women excel and defy assumptions about what constitutes a “woman’s business”.

Undeniably, the women who have come to Miami embody the entrepreneurial spirit and social responsibility that exemplify women business owners around the world: a deep desire to prosper and, in doing so, to help their communities.

The reception took place at the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove, site of the program, and featured remarks by Alyse Nelson, President and CEO of Vital Voices and Gina Adams, Corporate Vice President of Government Affairs at Federal Express. Ms. Nelson addressed the strategic value of investing in women entrepreneurs and the great reservoir of potential growth women’s businesses represent.

We welcomed representatives from FedEx, the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) chapter in Miami, and the Vital Voices network, among others. Amid food and drinks, entrepreneurs, supporters, and colleagues were able to connect and mingle while participants showed attendees the high caliber of their businesses through product displays.

The evening was an intimate and exciting beginning to a dynamic couple of days. Today, the program will focus on capacity building on areas such as procurement and negotiation and will conclude with a mentoring session with NAWBO members.

Vital Voices invites you to a special performance of Geraldine Hughes’ one-woman play BELFAST BLUES. April 19, 8PM at the Barrow Street Theater in New York.

Geraldine Hughes’ one-woman BELFAST BLUES is a true story told from her perspective as a little girl coming of age in the war-torn Belfast of the 1980s. Playwright and performer Hughes depicts over 20 characters in the multi-award winning performance, which has played to rave reviews in Chicago, Los Angeles, Belfast, London, and New York. Buy tickets here.