Special Edition of Policy News Roundup: Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day

Courtesy of IWD

International Women’s Day has been observed since in the early 1900’s, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies. In 1908, women’s oppression and inequality was spurring women to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change. 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. In 1909, the Socialist Party of America declared the first National Woman’s Day (NWD) and it was to be observed across the United States on February 28. Women continued to celebrate NWD on the last Sunday of February until 1913 when IWD was transferred to March 8.

IWD is now an official holiday in China, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The tradition sees men honoring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother’s Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

President Obama gives recognition to International Women’s Day
Crediting their role in the American story, President Barack Obama on Monday praised the nation’s “daring, indomitable” women — including the one-time political rival who is now his secretary of state. Obama praised Clinton for her long-standing work on women’s rights. Furthermore, President Obama said, “we’re doing all of this not only because promoting women’s empowerment is one of the best ways to promote economic development and economic success. We are doing it because it’s the right thing to do. I say that not only as a president, but also as the father of two daughters, as a son and a grandson, and as a husband.”

This week, Global Washington would like to honor International Women’s Day by showcasing our members that are advocating women’s and girl’s rights around the world:

One in Three Women

One in Three Women Campaign has a bold vision: A World Where Women and Girls Are Safe

Courtesy of Americans for UNFPA

from Violence in Their Homes and Communities. One in Three Women is a simple yet powerful message. It is the statistic used in the 2003 United Nations Women’s Development Fund’s (UNIFEM) report on violence against women worldwide. One in Three Women in the world will be raped, beaten, sexually coerced, trafficked or otherwise abused in her lifetime.

One in Three Women brings attention to a long-running pandemic that is a culturally ingrained oppression. The organization is about the prevalence of violence against women globally; that prevalence is the campaign cornerstone. The United Nations Women’s Development Fund (UNIFEM) firmly calls for more governmental intervention against the global problem of violence against women. As the longest, most pervasive and one of most dangerous forms of oppression, gender violence continues at an alarming rate. One in Three Women globally will be affected by violence because of her gender.

Americans for UNFPA

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programs to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect. They build moral, political and financial support within the United States for UNFPA. UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, provides women’s health and promotes the rights of women in 150 countries. It is the largest international source of such assistance. Americans for UNFPA’s outreach has generated tens of thousands of supporters for global women’s health and channeled their passion into advocacy on behalf of UNFPA’s program.

Bahia Street

Bahia Street breaks cycles of poverty and violence through quality education for impoverished girls and young women living in Salvador, Brazil. Globally, Bahia Street brings people from all backgrounds together for discussions and actions that promote equality. Founded in 1997, Bahia Street is registered as a non-profit organization in Brazil, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The infrastructure of Bahia Street is a partnership that combines the knowledge and dedication of a grassroots organization with the accountability and financial strength of an international one.

The Bo M. Karlsson Foundation

The Bo M. Karlsson Foundation believes that by helping one individual at a time, they can make a positive change in the world and have a meaningful connection with that individual. The women they support awaken us to our global connectivity and the universal desire for peace and goodwill. The rippling effect is monumental. As the Bo M. Karlsson Foundation support women in their educational pursuits, their desire is that this also helps them build character and strength, making them self-reliant, confident, and productive citizens in their own country.

Mona Foundation

Mona Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting grassroots educational initiatives and raising the status of women and girls worldwide. Mona Foundation serves its mission through development of human resources, promoting service learning and volunteerism, bridging the digital divide and supporting their adopted projects through financial grants and material resources that these projects need for their everyday operation or for their development plans.

Smiles Forever

Smiles Forever is an American and Bolivian non-profit foundation that works to give opportunity to young indigenous women in Bolivia and to improve the overall oral health of the communities in which they live. The students of Smiles Forever are taught the importance of serving their communities through community service work, which represents a large part of Smiles Forever’s educational program. Their students are also leading the way in introducing the profession of dental hygiene to Bolivia, where as of yet it does not exist.

Heal Africa

HEAL Africa’s hospital and community development work address the root causes of illness and poverty for the people of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The hospital and the 28 women’s houses in Maniema and North Kivu have provided a safe place for many victims of the war, and have been a motor for combating poverty and promoting community cohesion over the past 14 years.

Women’s Enterprises International

Women’s Enterprises International is dedicated to creating opportunities that equip women in developing countries to overcome poverty and transform their lives and communities. They do this by partnering with indigenous women’s groups in development projects that provide solutions to three systemic causes of poverty; lack of access to water, lack of access to business capital and limited access to education for girls.

USAID Policy News:

USAID Sends Assistance in Response to Chile Earthquake

In response to the earthquake in Chile the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided $1 million to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), to help with emergency assistance needs. In addition, USAID is providing shelter material and mobile water treatment units to assist the people of Chile.

USAID is asking Congress for supplemental emergency funding for disaster relief, after much of its International Disaster Assistance fund has been spent on Haiti.

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah testified before Congress last week to defend the President’s budget request for international development.  The Center for Global Development analyzes his testimony and assesses his first couple of months on the job.

FY2011 International Affairs Budget Makes Progress

Three weeks ago, Global Washington posted a blog summarizing the Fiscal Year 2011 International Affairs Budget request. Today, we are pleased to report that the budget is moving forward as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified before four Congressional Committees in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

In her testimony, Secretary Clinton highlighted the main priorities in this year’s budget, as we reported previously: increasing civilian capacity in the “frontline states,” and renewed investments in health, food security, and climate change. In focusing on these priorities, Secretary Clinton argued the aim of the United States “is not to create dependency, but to help our partners devise solutions they can sustain over the long term.”

Secretary Clinton also brought attention to three other aspects of the FY 2011 budget. First, “as the key drivers of economic and social progress in the developing world,” women and girls will be a focal point in American foreign policy in an effort to extend equality and opportunity to all.

An expansion of the Foreign Service of the State Department and USAID will also be a central goal of this budget. In an effort to curb the United States’ reliance on contractors in the implementation of foreign policy goals, the budget will increase the State Department’s Foreign Service by 410 and USAID’s by 200.

The FY 2011 International Affairs Budget would also seek to focus on results and efficiency in implementing United States foreign policy and national security goals. The Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development review, which should be completed at the end of this summer, gives the United States the “opportunity to define the capabilities we need and to match resources with priorities.” In line with the goals of the QDDR, Secretary Clinton went on to say “this budget aligns our investments with the strategic imperatives of our time.”

The International Affairs Budget was also received well by congressional leaders during the four hearings. Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hailed the budget as “the backbone of our civilian efforts worldwide,” believing it “secures the tools we need for an effective foreign policy.” Congressman Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee committed himself and, with hopes, the rest of his committee to “do everything we can to maintain the overall funding level” of the International Affairs Budget.

To read Secretary Clinton’s transcripts, as well as the transcripts of the Members of Congress and video of the hearings, please refer to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, House Foreign Affairs Committee, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on  State, Foreign Operations. For more information on the Fiscal Year 2011 International Affairs Budget, please visit USGLC’s budget center and Global Washington’s blog.

Global Education News – March 3, 2010

Ethiopian pharmacy trainees show off the textbooks that UW pharmacy professors delivered on behalf of UW pharmacy students, who raised the funds to donate the books. Refer to article below.

University of Washington:

Teams bring sustainable solutions to address poverty to UW in annual international competition
University of Washington students compete in the sixth annual Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC) to pitch business plans for commercially sustainable solutions that address issues of poverty in the developing world. Student teams from around the world will be in Seattle to compete and their plans will be judged on three criteria: effect on the quality of life and poverty alleviation in the developing economies; financial sustainability; and, feasibility of implementation.

Pharmacist’s role in patient care advanced in Ethiopia
UW pharmacy professor Andy Stergachis, and UW pharmacy students conducted five days of training for almost 40 pharmacy and health care representatives — including faculty members, students and deans from the four Ethiopian schools of pharmacy, government officials from Ethiopia’s equivalent of the Food and Drug Administration, and the president of the Ethiopian Pharmacy Association. They also donated more than $1,100 worth of textbooks to the Ethiopian pharmacy students, thanks to a fundraiser that UW pharmacy students had organized back at home. Stergachis is collaborating with colleagues from the UW and other institutions to implement various programs — from drug safety initiatives to medication-access programs — in multiple developing nations, including Ethiopia, Namibia, Rwanda and Vietnam.

Seattle University:

Seattle University’s “Hoops for Haiti” benefit raises $3,600 for relief efforts
Coach Cameron Dollar called on the Seattle University community to help Haiti and they responded in a big way at Saturday’s men’s basketball game. Fans at the “Hoops for Haiti” benefit game donated more than $3,600 to support the work of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Haiti.

Washington State University:

Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations for the Asia Society to lecture at WSU Pullman

Famous lecturer concerning US-China, Schell, a Fellow at the East Asian Institute at Columbia University and the director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations for the Asia Society, will present a public lecture titled “Is China’s New Development Model More Competitive than Our Own?”

Other Global Education News:

Symposium: Global awareness an increasingly important skill
Educators need to rethink how they look at the global community, said Francesc Pedró during the ninth annual Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) International Symposium: Do they view other countries as competition, or as an opportunity for collaboration?

A Chance to Reinvigorate the Global Community Around Education
2010 has all the makings of being “The Year of Global Education.”  Important events throughout the year include the G8 chairmanship by Canada, a country that historically has been a champion of global education; the FIFA partnership with the 1GOAL campaign, which endeavors to ensure that education for children in Africa and throughout the developing world will be the lasting legacy of this summer’s World Cup in South Africa; news that South African President Zuma will invite fellow heads of state to commit to coordinated action on education on the eve of the World Cup; the UN secretary-general’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Review Summit () prior to the UN General Assembly in September, which will assess the reality of achieving education for all; and South Korea deciding that core development issues including education must be part of the newly-empowered G20’s top-line agenda for November.

Study shows global education is key to reducing apathy
DEA, a coalition which promotes global learning, brings together development and environment NGOs, as well as education NGOs, conducted a study that suggests people who learn about global issues feel more empowered to tackle them, rather than being overwhelmed by the extent of the problems. DEA’s Chief Executive, Hetan Shah said, “learning about the wider world leads to people who are more open-minded towards each other in the UK, but also encourages care for the rest of the world.”  Their full report will be available online here.

Initiative for Global Development publishes new report on foreign aid reform
US-based business alliance Initiative for Global Development published a report that draws connections between the economic growth of developing country markets and the economic health of the U.S. The organization also observed how foreign-assisted programs on health, education and poverty eradication in developing countries helped uplift the quality of lives in the world’s poorer states, eventually creating markets for US’s export industry.