Ambassador
Ambassador Event
AMBASSADOR WAYNE HOSTS LUNCH FOR ARGENTINE WOMEN LEADERS AND VITAL VOICES SUMMIT DELEGATION
November 14, 2007
Ambassador Wayne hosted a lunch on November 14 for more than 20 Argentine women leaders from different sectors and the advance team of the NGO Vital Voices, who were visiting Buenos Aires to organize a major International Leadership Summit for Women in 2008. Argentina has been selected to host the 10th anniversary event. Vital Voices grew out of the United States government's successful Vital Voices Democracy Initiative to promote the advancement of women as a U.S. foreign policy goal. It was established after the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. Its fundamental mission is to harness the transformative power of women's participation in society by investing in emerging women leaders in the fields of politics, business, human rights, and civil society. The four-day conference in 2008 will bring together 300 women leaders from the hemisphere to create an action plan to improve the economic, political and social status of women everywhere. It will also bring 25 young women from five different countries in the region to participate in a one-day mentoring retreat with other woman leaders in the region just prior to the conference.
During the luncheon at the Ambassador’s residence, participants discussed topics to be addressed at the summit including how to harness woman's participation in civil society groups into systemic change, how to create economic opportunities for disadvantaged women in order to prevent exploitation, and how to develop an integrated approach to combat human trafficking and offer victim's assistance, among others.
The Vital Voices delegation included Alyse Nelson Bloom, Vice President and Co-founder; Eugenia Podesta, Program Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean and Anita Botti, Senior Advisor.