Local Leader Honored for 50 years of Service

[Recipient’s name] Receives National Recognition

[YOUR TOWN]– Achieving a 50-year milestone is always an accomplishment. This year marks the 50^th anniversary of [insert name of recipient] membership in the League of Women Voters of [insert local League name]. [Recipient’s name] joined the League of Women Voters in [date].

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                 Contact: [YOUR NAME]
April 2012                                                            [YOUR PHONE]
[YOUR URL]                                                                             [YOUR EMAIL]

The League joined coalition partners in calling for the President to respond and take action on the effort to nominate new commissioners to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The effort collected over 27,000 signatures through the "We the People" petition process on WhiteHouse.gov. Petitions are required to reach at 25,000 signature threshold in order to solicit a response from the Administration and the FEC petition hit that goal 2 months ago.

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.