Last year over 65,000 visited the International Women’s Day website http://www.internationalwomensday.com on 8 March alone. It is a feast of information about the events taking place around the world. A very important day in our calendar, the TIAW micro program was officially launched on this day ten years ago. Since that time TIAW has raised funds for over 100 banks in Africa, Asia, Central and South America.
In North America but particularly in Washington DC and Toronto, we are giving support to the CARE Half the Sky Live movie event. The initiative is inspired by moving stories from the critically acclaimed ‘Half the Sky’ by the Pulitzer Prize - winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn which follows extraordinary women around the world as they struggle to overcome oppression. They argue that empowering women is the key to alleviating poverty and uplifting communities in developing countries.
We have contributed to the souvenir publication of the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Associations in Nepal on the occasion of their IWD event which embraces the 2010 United nations theme “ Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all”. We wish them every success.
With the awards season upon us, we are calling for Nominations for the TIAW World of Difference 100 Awards. Our goal is to recognise all the regions in a wide range of endeavours that reflect TIAW’s mission regarding the economic empowerment of women. These awards will connect us together so we can celebrate again the power of the TIAW network. The Awards recognise women whose efforts have advanced the economic empowerment of women. It is really important to acknowledge those women who are making a contribution to the world’s economy. If women move ahead in terms of their earning power, investment ability, their financial knowledge and entrepreneurial skills, then the rest of society will benefit. We will be discussing these issues in London with members of City Women’s Network at our Symposium on Economic Empowerment on 20th April at the London campus of the University of Chicago Booth Business School. I encourage you to send in your nominations, citing the women you know and admire for what they have achieved.
As we hear the news about the earthquake in Chile, our thoughts are with 2009 Award winner Ingrid Antonijevic along with our members and all of the Chilean people. We have fond memories of meeting so many wonderful people during our International Conference and travel there in 2006, at the TIAW Global Forum in Toronto and at the Global Summit for Women in Santiago last year. Maxine Westaway, our Executive Director, has been contacting our members and many friends there to ensure they and their families are safe as well as sending out messages of support to women leaders there. We wish them the very best as they cope with rebuilding their lives and businesses there.
