I recently attended the Council of Leaders of the League of Women Voters of Florida “Viva La Liga” in Tampa, Florida, and was privileged to also sit in on the Board of Directors meeting. This year’s Council focused on the Cuban experience. Eighty-four League members attended the two day Council.
We’re excited to announce that we have finalized the location for our first meeting of the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative (BMENA) – we’ll be in Doha, Qatar, July 11 and 12!
The League of Women Voters of Florida, Oxfam Canada and the Global Democracy Programs of the League of Women Voters Education Fund have joined efforts to organize "Un dialogo entre mujeres: Cuba" (A Dialogue Among Women: Cuba). This dialogue will take place in Tampa, Florida on Friday, May 11 at 12:00 pm in the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel. The idea for this dialogue arose from the ongoing efforts of the LWVF's program "Sisters Across the Straits" and the LWVEF's ongoing efforts to highlight the importance of women in areas of decision-making. Our two guests from Cuba are Dr.
We have made a lot of progress since our post last week! We have reached out and secured a core group of friends and partners to work with us to complement our expertise by providing strategic advice on different themes.
The Broader Middle East and North Africa nations include Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, West Bank/Gaza and Yemen.
For the first time since 2004, the United States has assumed the G-8 Presidency for 2012 and, in that role, has co-chair responsibilities for the Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) initiative. The BMENA initiative is a multilateral effort to promote cooperation between the G-8 and BMENA governments and civil society to advance reform efforts throughout the region. The United States has invited Tunisia to serve as BMENA co-chair, marking the first time that two democracies have led the initiative.
To assist the government co-chairs in developing themes, agendas, and concrete efforts to promote reform in the MENA region, each country selects an NGO partner. The NGO partners coordinate closely with each other and with the co-chair governments in support of BMENA activities, culminating in the ministerial-level Forum for the Future, which will be held in Tunisia in December 2012.
The League has accepted the invitation to partner with the United States as its 2012 BMENA Initiative NGO partner. The role of the League is to organize 10 preparatory meetings that will take place in 8 different countries between April and October, efforts which will culminate with the ministerial meeting in December. The League efforts are going by a team of three headed by Zaida Arguedas. The League’s Global Democracy Program worked in Egypt and in Tunisia in 2011 and has strong ties with local organizations.
See the final publication of the 8th Forum for the Future 2011 below.
The Broader Middle East and North Africa nations include Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, West Bank/Gaza and Yemen.
I am sure many of you are wondering what does it mean to be the G8-BMENA NGO partner of the United States. Since the announcement of the selection of the League as the US NGO partner, I have been leading a team of three (myself included) in discussions about what our role should be.
The League of Women Voters and the Inter-American Dialogue are organizing a conference to address the growing role of women in positions of leadership in judicial branches across the region – as prominent attorneys general, prosecutors, supreme and superior court judges, ministers of justice, and top flight lawyers leading the charge for judicial and other reforms. These women often spearhead transparency initiatives in their countries and are responsible for bringing human rights abusers to justice where impunity previously prevailed.
Zaida Arguedas, Deputy Executive Director, speaks about the Role of Women as Activists, March 10, 2012.
Over 150 women from different cities in Serbia - all - leaders in different professions convened in Belgrade on March 9, 10 and 11 to discuss how to lead the way for positive change in Serbia. The official opening took place March 9th at the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia hosted by the speaker of the National Assembly, Prof. Dr. Slavica Dukic Dejanovic and attended by the U.S. Ambassador to Serbia, H. E. Mary Burce Warlick and Elizabeth Sullivan, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Global Women's Issues, U.S. Department of State.
