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.

This year, as we honor the 61^st anniversary of the historic signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Vital Voices Human Rights Program is, in collaboration with The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project, convening a global summit for women leaders in the city of peace and site of the signing, Geneva. The summit is designed to train and prepare young women leaders from nearly 30 countries to become positive agents of change. With a focus on access to adequate food and shelter, access to education and full political participation, and the eradication of human trafficking, the international gathering invited world-renowned women leaders and human rights organizations to mentor young women who have shown promise.

Renewing our commitment to public service, women’s leadership, and human rights, The Courage to Lead: A Global Summit for Women Leaders honors women who have championed human rights. The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project will on December 10 present U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with the Eleanor Roosevelt Lifetime Achievement Award in Human Rights for her commitment to ensuring that women’s rights are recognized as human rights. Vital Voices Global Leadership Award honoree and Cambodian Member of Parliament Mu Sochua will join Somali Peace Activist Asha Hagi in receiving the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Leadership Award.

September 15 marks the United Nation’s International Day of Democracy. In celebration of this date in Sweden, the Riksteatern theatre group and the University of Stockholm will present a performance of “SEVEN” on September 14.

The play celebrates women’s rights, democracy and global progress. The seven women portrayed in the play include Nigerian human rights advocate, Hafsat Abiola, Afghani peace builder, Farida Azizi, Guatemalan congresswoman, Annabella De Leon, Russian domestic violence fighter, Marina Pisklakova-Parker, Pakistani women’s rights leader, Mukhtar Mai, Irish social justice leader, Inez McCormack, and Cambodian member of parliament and human trafficking combatant, Mu Sochua.

The distinguished playwrights include Anna Deavere Smith, Ruth Margraff, Gail Kriegel, Paula Cizmar, Susan Yankowitz, Carol K. Mack, and Catherine Filloux.

Vital Voices President Alyse Nelson, Mu Sochua, Chair of the Board Susan Davis, Diane von Furstenburg, Pamela Hayes and Tina Brown at the launch of the Vital Voices New York Council

June 25 marked the launch of Vital Voices’ New York Council at an event hosted by media icon Tina Brown. Seventy women leaders representing the fields of media, government, business, fashion and the arts were in attendance to celebrate the launch of the council, established to support Vital Voices and its critical work advocating for women’s rights and fostering women’s leadership globally.

Addressing the gathering was Cambodian Parliamentarian and women’s rights activist Mu Sochua, who has served as a fearless advocate for the disadvantaged and forgotten of her native Cambodia. In the 2005 Global Leadership Awards, Vital Voices honored Sochua for her work to end child trafficking. Sochua visited the United States to meet with members of government and civil society to urge that foreign policy related to Cambodia be re-evaluated in an effort to advance human rights, especially those of the most vulnerable.

New York Council Chair and Board Member Jill Iscol, Vital Voices President and Co-Founder Alyse Nelson, and Board Members Diane von Furstenburg and Alice Kandell were among others in attendance to celebrate the exciting launch.

5 Ways Women Can Make Changes Across Generations

By Emmie Twombly, Rising Leaders essay contest winner 

The women of Vital Voices are dynamic, bold, daring risk takers, in fact even putting their lives on the line. The five award winners, Global Trailblazer Award winner and the women behind Vital Voices are transforming the notions of women, and most importantly, their connotations with power and leadership. These women were recently honored at the Kennedy Center by Ben Affleck, Candice Bergen, Sally Field and Diane Von Furstenberg because they are defining success on their own terms in their own countries, organizations and families. Each woman is championing her own cause, but the women who graced the stage showed that we are all individuals working together for a common goal. Hillary Clinton stated this goal in 1995 at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, “Human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights.” After attending such an inspirational event I felt that owed it to other generations to share 5 way women can make changes across generations.

Continue Reading »

The Vital Voices community mourns the loss of Meeme Ekanem, a successful entrepreneur and advocate for women’s political and economic empowerment in Nigeria.  With grace and strength, Meeme inspired and informed those around her to strive for excellence and to make a difference in the lives of others.

Meeme had a successful career in banking early on in life, yet she sought to apply that knowledge and experience to provide economic opportunities to other women. She did so by starting her own company, Montage Exotiques, a limited liability corporation employing 35 artisans, the majority of whom are women. She also founded an NGO, the SMALL& MEDIUM ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE (SMED-i), involved in training, counseling, business development, finance consulting, and networking for small and medium businesses. In 2008 Meeme participated in the Vital Voices African Women Artisans Export Development Program to provide further opportunities to women artisans through export. She most recently attended our Artisan training workshop in Ghana in February 2009, and was preparing to continue working with her fellow artisans in rural Nigeria to develop export-ready products. Continue Reading »

LA Times writes:

Back when Maria Bello was majoring in peace and justice studies at Villanova, she may have dreamed that she’d one day be a successful actress, but it’s hard to believe she ever imagined she’d one day help bring together an unprecedented summit of Africa’s first ladies.

That’s exactly what will occur Monday and Tuesday, when more than 20 of Africa’s first ladies will be in town to discuss a range of health and women’s rights issues that continue to obstruct development in their countries.

Bello — along with a number of other leading actresses — will help get the event off to a star-laden start as she joins California First Lady Maria Shriver at a welcoming luncheon at the Westside’s Skirball Cultural Center. Bello’s role in the summit is part of her long-standing interest in African issues, especially those that touch on the welfare of women.

Read the full article - LA Times

Vital Voices congratulates Melanne Verveer, Vital Voices Co-Founder and former CEO, on her recent confirmation as US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues.

Working with bilateral, multilateral, private sector and civil society partners, Ambassador Verveer will seek to advance women’s empowerment as a priority on the US foreign policy agenda. Melanne Verveer’s nomination to this newly created position in the U.S. State Department marks a tremendous milestone for women and communities across the globe. To this end, Ambassador Verveer stated:

“The position to which I have been nominated focuses on women, but the issues it addresses should not be considered solely or uniquely women’s issues. For if women’s potential is developed and women participate fully in their societies, our world as a whole will prosper. The major economic, security, governance and environmental challenges of our times cannot be solved without the participation of women at all levels of society. Investing in women is one of the most powerful and positive forces for reshaping the globe.”

In her new position, Ambassador Verveer will collaborate on priorities and activities with regional and functional bureaus, USAID and the President’s new White House Council on Women and Girls to better coordinate programs that can further women’s development and progress globally.

Over the past 10 years, Melanne Verveer’s unselfish devotion to empowering women has given hope to thousands of individuals and improved hundreds of communities. Vital Voices looks forward to Ambassador Verveer’s forthcoming achievements and thanks her with deep respect and heartfelt appreciation for investing in women to improve the world.

Read Ambassador Melanne Verveer’s statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, March 24, 2009 (.pdf)

Hafsat Abiola Speaking at Earthplace, March 2009

Hafsat Abiola, Harvard-educated Nigerian human rights, civil rights and democracy activist, was the guest speaker at Earthplace, The Nature Discovery Center, Westport, Connecticut on Friday, March 27, 2009. Vital Voices CT Council invited Hafsat to talk about her experiences in improving the lives of women in Nigeria. Alyse Nelson, President and co-founder of Vital Voices introduced Hafsat. This event was an opportunity for the Connecticut Council to increase awareness of the valuable work done by Vital Voices in empowering women leaders worldwide. Frank Grazinsky of Earthplace stated that the relationship between the two organizations was a natural one since both groups work towards improving the lives of individuals. Continue Reading »

Last night, Vital Voices hosted its eighth annual Global Leadership Awards.  As always, the event was festive and inspiring.  An excitement filled the air as 1,150 guests poured into the Kennedy Center to attend a reception before taking their seats in the Eisenhower Theater.  Audience members joined advocates like Nicholas Kristof, Maggie Grace, Maria Bello, Ben Affleck, Candace Bergen, and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), as well as board members Sally Field, Diane von Furstenberg, and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for an evening dedicated to the celebration of and struggle for women’s rights around the world. Continue Reading »