aaus-list @ ukrainianstudies.org -- [aaus-list] U.S. Commitment to Women in Europe and Eurasia (fwd)

[Max Pyziur <pyz@brama.com>]

fyi,

MP
pyz@brama.com

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 14:56:37 -0500
From: statelists@STATE.GOV
To: DOSFACTS@LISTS.STATE.GOV
Subject: U.S. Commitment to Women in Europe and Eurasia

   Fact Sheet
   Office of the Senior Coordinator for International Women's Issues
   Washington, DC
   January 19, 2006


   U.S. Commitment to Women in Europe and Eurasia


   Political Participation and Civil Society

   Leadership Training. The Department of State and the U.S. Agency for
   International Development (USAID) have supported numerous leadership training
   programs for women from Kosovo, Georgia, and Turkey. The Hope Fellowship
   Program hosted two month seminars for eight Kosovar women in the United States.
   The program was designed to help them gain leadership, technical and practical
   skills to apply to their own work in rebuilding Kosovo. In Georgia, women
   participated in a women's leadership program funded by the Freedom Support Act.
   The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) awarded a grant to Kent
   State University to conduct a women's leadership exchange program between the
   United States and Southeastern Turkey and conducted seminars on leadership
   skill-building, decision-making and conflict resolution.

   Women in Politics. In June 2005, participants from various regions and
   political parties in Russia attended a "Women in Politics" conference in
   Moscow. The International Republican Institute, with support from USAID,
   sponsored the two-day event, which highlighted women's regional roles in
   political parties. During the conference, the Association Coordination Council
   was elected and will meet monthly to plan activities and facilitate information
   exchange across the country.

   Three women parliamentarians from Turkey participated in a three week
   International Visitor Leadership Program on "Women in U.S. Politics," in
   September 2004. The program was designed to broaden their understanding of the
   value of diversity, networking with grassroots organizations, volunteerism, and
   the role of women's organizations in shaping political dialogue and developing
   and electing candidates.

   Economic Opportunity

   Public-Private Partnerships. Fifty women business owners from small- and
   medium-sized enterprises from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Russia,
   Ukraine, and Belarus joined 50 U.S. women business leaders at the September
   2004 Riga Women Business Leaders Summit hosted by The U.S. Embassy in Riga and
   Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga. The Summit's aim was to help build
   economic relationships between the Baltic States, their neighbors, and the
   United States. For the second portion of the Riga Summit, the women traveled to
   the United States in December 2004 to attend a conference at Georgetown
   University to continue their partnerships, exchange business best practices and
   build management skills.

   Entrepreneurial Training. A conference entitled "The Role of Women in
   Mono-Profile Cities" was held in Slavutych, Kiev, Ukraine, to address the
   economic status of women in that area since the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Station
   tragedy. Participants discussed gender equality, legislation, elections, and
   the role of women in business and government. Participants sent a resolution to
   the Ukrainian government asking them to address these issues.

   Microenterprise Development. For several decades, the United States has been
   helping those who depend on microenterprises for their survival to gain access
   to capital, information, inputs, technologies, and markets. Women are major
   beneficiaries of microloans. In Azerbaijan, Mercy Corps is raising the incomes
   of rural women by making high quality and reasonably priced veterinary and
   animal husbandry services available for livestock and poultry. Such programs
   also help veterinarians expand their client base and improve their ability to
   diagnose and treat.

   Business Development. Eight women business leaders and entrepreneurs from
   Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Latvia, Norway, Romania, and Switzerland
   participated in a three-week European Regional International Visitor Leadership
   Program on "Business Development Issues for Women Business Leaders" in June
   2004. The program provided practical insights into initiatives that promote the
   development of women business owners, introduced federal, state, and local
   policies designed to advance women's prominence in business leadership, and
   provided opportunities for visitors to meet with women business leaders and
   owners from the United States.

   Combating Violence Against Women

   Training. Social advocates from women's crisis centers across Russia came
   together in August 2005 for skills training by the USAID-supported Gender
   Justice Program. Trainees were taught how to better assist victims of domestic
   violence, access the judicial system, and prepare for court proceedings.
   Throughout 2003-04 the U.S. supported training for 150 civil servants, medical
   workers, educators, and law-enforcement officers on how to combat domestic
   violence in Russia. USAID in Romania sponsored similar projects and supports a
   large coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGO) that runs shelters and
   offers legal support to victims.

   Anti-Trafficking Efforts

   A comprehensive list of the many United States Government-supported programs to
   combat human trafficking can be obtained at the Trafficking In Persons Office
   website www.state.gov/g/tip.

   Raising Awareness of Trafficking. The United States has provided resources to
   the public library at the Estonian Women's Studies and Resource Center to
   educate police and border guard officials, youth workers, social workers,
   teachers, and vocational counselors about the causes and consequences of
   prostitution and trafficking in women. In Albania, the U.S. Embassy Tirana's
   Democracy Commission Small Grants Program supported the production of a short
   drama by high school students depicting the tragedy of human trafficking. In
   Bosnia and Herzegovina, the U.S. government has supported a number of local
   NGOs to provide assistance to victims in trafficking as well as to conduct
   public awareness campaigns to prevent the spread of trafficking, such as the
   Lara Women's Organization of Bijeljina to launch a public awareness campaign
   about the trafficking problem in that region.

   Trafficking Prevention Centers. In Ukraine, the United States funded seven
   women's Trafficking Prevention Centers. The Centers have hotlines and offer
   referral services for health, legal, and psychological counseling. The Centers
   also provide job skills training, legal consulting services, and a public
   education campaign.

   Legal Reform. In July 2004, five representatives from the Finnish Parliament,
   Ministries, and NGO's participated in a 1-week Voluntary Visitor Program in
   Washington, DC, and Atlanta, Georgia, focusing on U.S. Governmental and
   non-governmental efforts in combating trafficking and assisting victims. The
   program gave the participants the opportunity to learn about U.S. legislation
   and strategies and NGOs' efforts in victim identification and assistance. It
   prepared them with models and ideas to help implement Finland's new
   anti-trafficking program.

   Media Gets Results. The Office of Citizen Exchanges at the State Department
   sponsored an anti-trafficking training program for members of the media in
   Tajikistan. As a result of the training, reporter Adiba Umarova made a
   television documentary about trafficking and urged government officials to take
   action. Because of her efforts, investigations into trafficking rings were
   opened by local law enforcement.

   Healthcare

   New Medical Equipment. The U.S. Government donated $500,000 in equipment and
   supplies to Uzbekistan to improve healthcare for women and children. New
   medical equipment will help twelve central hospitals, two maternity clinics and
   selected rural medical points in the regions of Kashkadarya and Surkhandarya.
   Training programs on the new equipment will ensure that maternity wards and
   pediatric departments provide better care for their patients.

   Training. A first-of-its-kind conference was held in Moscow in July 2005 to
   prevent the abandonment of HIV/AIDS affected children. The USAID-funded
   Assistance to Russian Orphans (ARO) and worked with the Russian Ministry of
   Health and Social Development and the Ministry of Education and Science to
   gather over 150 government officials, technical experts, and service providers
   from 11 regions with the highest HIV/AIDS rates in Russia. The conference
   focused on social, psychological, and medical assistance to HIV-positive
   mothers, in addition to placement programs for HIV orphans.

   Awareness and Information. The Center of Women Suffering from Breast Cancer in
   Kosovo established the first Women's center in May 2005 to help women diagnosed
   with breast cancer, regardless of their ethnicity or religion. The center will
   promote public awareness, treatment options and assistance to cancer patients.
   It intends on publishing a booklet that will address problems facing women with
   breast cancer.

   Education

   Partnerships. A 2004-05 Department of State program under the auspices of the
   Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs sponsored JFDP Fellow developed a
   new "Sociology of Gender" course for the Faculty of Philosophy at the
   University of Montenegro (in the former Yugoslavia). The course was developed
   in consultation with the Director of the Nordic Institute for Women's Studies
   and Gender Research at the University of Oslo. A Boston University-Tomsk State
   University (Russia) partnership has established a legal clinic through which
   law students give free legal advice to clients, many of whom are victims of
   domestic violence. In Ukraine, Iowa State University and the Center for Gender
   Studies at Kharkiv National University are developing a Master's program in
   Gender Studies. The program included 15 exchanges in 2005 and eight new
   curriculum modules covering gender stereotypes, gender identity, trafficking,
   and globalization.


   Office of the Senior Coordinator for International Women's Issues
   (phone) 202-312-9664
   http://www.state.gov/g/wi/
   January 2006



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