“Local Leaders form Strong Global Partnerships”

On Tuesday, March 3rd WCI will celebrate International Women’s Day  2009 with co-sponsors from the University of Pennsylvania as well as Philadelphia’s International House and United Nations Association.  This global panel will feature speakers from around the world, from Afghanistan to Philadelphia, as they discuss the status of women worldwide and their concerns for how the global recession will disproportionately impact women.

Guests sign into the 2009 International Women's Day Panel

WCI President Marjorie Margolies speaks on the panel

Panelists:

Suraya Pakzad

Executive Director of the Voice of Women Organization. VWO is one of the leading and most effective NGOs in Afghanistan. The charity’s main goal is to strive for the freedom and empowerment of women in Afghan societies.

Marjorie Margolies

President, Women’s Campaign International. WCI is a U.S.-based, nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to increasing the participation of a diverse population of women in political and democratic processes worldwide. WCI works towards this goal by providing women of all groups with the skills and knowledge needed to participate fully in decision-making and policy formation activities.

Aldo E. Magazzeni

Aldo created Traveling Mercies, a non-profit foundation that is dedicated to helping others, while creating a vehicle to remove barriers between cultures so that individuals can share their strengths, assets and blessings with each other. Aldo has traveled to, and worked, with communities in Italy, Jamaica, Haiti, Mexico, South America, Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Kenya, Ethiopia and others.  His affiliation with volunteer groups include local churches, The Salvation Army, The Women of Hope, and The Nyumbani Children’s Home, to name a few.

Raphia Noumbissi

Raphiatou Noumbissi is a Bilingual HIV Case Manager working with Action AIDS. Her case load consists of 40% immigrant families. Prior to this job she worked for 5 years in Belgium as a social worker with physically and sexually abused women from North Africa. Raphiatou was born and raised in Cameroon located at the intersection of West and Central Africa; she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and Family & Sexuality in Belgium before moving to Philadelphia in 1999.  Four years ago she started a medical outreach in Foumban Cameroon where each year she leads a team of 6 people including pediatric and adult nurse practitioners, dentist and social workers to provide free medical consultation and education for 4 weeks. The next trip is being plan for May 09.

Moderator:

Connie Hoe

Project Coordinator, SP2 Feldman Initiative – Hancock County. Connie is responsible for the overall coordination and implementation of the SP2 Feldman Initiative-a project to rebuild the mental health service system of Hancock County, Mississippi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She achieves this by developing excellent relations with key players in the region, recruiting and managing student volunteers and ensuring University participation and collaboration.

Please join us!  7pm at Philadelphia’s International House: 3701  Chestnut Street, Ibrahim Theater.  Free admission and refreshments.

Sponsored by: African Studies Center www.africa.upenn.edu, Middle East Center www.mec.sas.upenn.edu,South Asia Center www.southasiacenter.upenn.edu, International House Philadelphia www.ihousephilly.org, Women’s Campaign International www.womenscampaigninternational.org, United Nations Association of Greater Philadelphia www.una-gp.org/

March 7-9, 2009

Monrovia, Liberia

As part of the celebration for International Women’s Day on March 8, the female presidents of Liberia, Madame Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf and Finland, President Tarja Halonen, have co-convened an international colloquium to discuss women’s empowerment, leadership development, international peace and security. The conference is expected to draw more than 400 international participants and 400 Liberian national participants including female heads of state and government, ministers, CEOs, NGO, community, and religious leaders.  WCI is honored to be participating in the colloquium as invited guests and will also be featured in an interactive talk show discussing WCI’s experiences training female elected leaders and the obstacles they overcome.  Read more about the Colloquium here: http://womenscolloquium.org/col.html