Last Thursday, I attended the first Dialogue for Action organized by the Cecilia Attias Foundation for Women.  The founder of the conference, Cecilia Attias, is the former first lady of France, and widely known for her intervention in successfully resolving the case against five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor facing death row in Libya. Global Goods Partners (GGP) colleague Sakena Yacoobi—Founder and Executive Director of the Afghan Institute of Learning, a nongovernmental organization touching the lives of over 7 million afghan women and families—invited me to attend the full day conference. Sakena was a featured panelist along with other women leaders and activists from around the world.  The Dialogue for Action brought together mostly female (a few male) activists, journalists, filmmakers and nonprofit leaders, all fighting for women's rights and the empowerment of women. The format of the conference was a tad unconventional; it included grassroots and nongovernmental leaders on one side of the panel, then a group of "experts" on the other side, with a journalist moderating each session. However, I never really figured out the need for the “experts” when all of the NGO leaders are already experts in their field. Nevertheless, the panelists each provided a unique perspective to the topic at hand. The first session focused on Africa and included my former colleague and friend, Molly Melching, Founder and Executive Director of Tostan, a pioneering human rights education NGO based in Senegal.  Through human rights education and community organizing, Tostan has successfully led thousands of communities in Senegal, and 8 neighboring countries, to stop the harmful practice of female genital cutting (FGC). The Americas session included women talking about domestic violence in the U.S., micro-credit in Bolivia, and discrimination faced by Muslim women primarily in the U.S.  Cindi Leive, Editor-in-Chief of Glamour Magazine did an excellent job moderating and expertly pulled together all the wide-ranging topics of the session. However, I was surprised that no one on the panel, neither the NGO leaders nor the experts or the moderator, brought up the situation of women in Haiti, a country that is ranked the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, even before the devastating earthquake in January. The Europe session addressed the devastating topic of human trafficking.  I recommend that everyone see the film, RedLight, a documentary by film director Guy Jacobson, which exposes the brothels of Cambodia where young girls are being forced into sexual slavery.  The film director took great personal risk to bring this horrific reality to larger audiences in a campaign to raise awareness and encourage people to take action. Like most conferences, their greatest value is in learning about new women's organizations, networking with attendees and catching up with former colleagues and friends.  I met up with some friends and new colleagues from GGP partner organizations including Partners in Health, Women for Afghan Women and BPeace.  I also met women who had recently produced a film about obstetric fistulas.  Next year's conference is scheduled to take place in Europe and I have lots of inspiring women leaders from GGP partnerships to recommend as potential speakers! -Catherine Check out highlights from the conference at http://www.ceciliaattiasfoundation.org/DialogueforAction/videos.php

Last Thursday, June 24^th, Global Goods Partners attended the Cecilia Attias Foundation for Women’s annual conference, Dialogue for Action. It was an incredible event and shed light on many aspects of global humanitarian work, especially with regards to women. One brief statement that stuck with me is the fact that one third (1/3) of the entire world’s population is under the age of 19 years old. It’s a hard number to conceptualize, especially if you’re a visual learner like me. So I took this ratio—and others—and applied them to more manageable numbers. If we shrink the global population to a village of approximately 100 people, then:

• 33 would be under 19 years old
• 48 would lack access to basic sanitation
• 16 would not be able to access safe drinking water
• Only 1 would have a college education

Undoubtedly, these additional statistics strike a chord of shock, but where do we go from here? The women of the world are at the core of Global Goods Partners. As women are largely in charge of raising children, focusing on the development, sustainability, health, and education of women in small communities has a greater impact on the lives of youths.   At the same time, this information shows the potential that young people have to leave an imprint. Whether it is to change a social stigma, fight injustices, and/or promote a greener lifestyle, this sector of society has great promise to join as one community and take action. Investing in women pays off: women spend nearly 90% of their income on their families whereas men only spend about 30%. To start the chain reaction, check out our website and realize the impact of your purchase as a socially-conscious consumer!

Source: http://www.creatinghope.org/sakenayacoobibiography In a recent commencement speech at Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, Dr. Sakena Yacoobi urged graduates to “reach out to others and give a gift to yourself.” Dr. Yacoobi leads by example; as the founder of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), she has built her life around reaching out to others. She started AIL in 1996 in the face of the Taliban regime, building underground schools for her fellow countrywomen at great personal risk. The organization now serves over 350,000 women in Afghanistan and Pakistan, empowering them through education. Dr. Yacoobi carries that message of education across borders through her speaking engagements worldwide, sharing her experiences in Afghanistan with the global community. In recognition of this, just last week, Dr. Yacoobi was awarded the 2010 Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights. As she herself has said, "Health and literacy are keys to human rights, empowerment and self sufficiency." AIL imparts basic literacy and health education to the women in its programs, as well as providing them with income-generating skills such as the development and sale of handicrafts featuring intricate Afghan embroidery. Through the production of embroidered bookmarks and clutches, these women gain the economic security needed to break free from their repressive circumstances. It is easy to incorporate Dr. Yacoobi's inspirational philosophy of outreach and giving into daily life. By simply choosing to support the work of organizations through socially-conscious consumption, global connections can be formed that are rewarding for all involved. For more on Dr. Yacoobi's work, visit: http://www.creatinghope.org/sakenayacoobibiograpy To view and purchase the creative products of the AIL women's embroidery skills, visit the Global Goods Partners website: http://www.globalgoodspartners.org

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During the war {with the Taliban] in Afghanistan we lost nurses, we lost doctors, we lost educated society.” Sakena Yacoobi Against great odds, Sakena Yacoobi has mobilized people, resources, donors and even some hard line opponents to create educational opportunities for women and girls in Afghanistan. During the Taliban regime, Sakena and the organization she leads, the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), created and managed a network of underground home schools for girls in Kabul, Herat and Logar. At the same time AIL was training teachers, shuttling mobile libraries between its secret schools, providing health services and building an income generation program for women. A new 7-minute video funded by the Skoll Foundation captures AIL’s tireless journey and heroic achievements. Narrated by Sakena, with brief interviews with students and AIL staff in Afghanistan, the video presents a snapshot of the broader scope of services that AIL now provides to more than 350,000 women and children throughout Afghanistan. Before founding GGP in 2005, Catherine Shimony and I each worked with AIL in our previous positions with other international grantmaking organizations.  AIL’s hand-embroidered fair trade bags and wallets were among the first products we offered. Its product line has expanded to include beautifully crafted bookmarks and accessories.  GGP remains the only US outlet for AIL products and expanded sales have continued to generate increased revenue for AIL’s women artisans. Joan Shifrin is co-founder of Global Goods Partners.