The Power of Powerful Women

Donating time and resources to improve the world is an important tenent in many traditions and cultures, including Islam (Zakat). The collective power of a group of people to make a difference is astounding. To leverage donations to women and girls throughout the world, a group of visionary female donors created Women Moving Millions.

Partnering with the Women's Fund Network, Women Moving Millions invests in strategic, sustainable approaches that will improve the quality of life for females in the world, and bring safety, equality, and justice around the globe.

Projects include eradicating poverty, improving literacy, increasing access to health care, youth empowerment -- the same issues our Seminar students covered in the Vision Poster Session!

Women Moving Millions is currently in Africa, Asia and Oceana, Europe, Latin America, and North America.

Some food-for-thought:

• How can women in the Middle East become part of this movement?

• Or, how can women in the Middle East adapt this best practice of pooling funds together to invest in common concerns for women and girls?

I dare you.

I have been so moved by the "Girl Effect" campaign, that I did some research. Apparently, the Girl Effect is rooted in the NIKE Foundation, which has linked up with the NoVo Foundation in a "shared mission to create opportunities for girls..." The campaign is implemented in collaboration with:

The UN Foundation
The International Center for Research on Women
The Population Council
CARE
The Center for Global Development
Plan
BRAC


And here's the data:

• FACT SHEET
• A GLOBAL INVESTMENT & ACTION AGENDA
  

Bridging stereotypes- Obama's latest appointee

Dalia Mogahed, a veiled Egyptian American, was appointed this month to Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, where she will advise President Obama on prejudices and problems faced by Muslims.

Dalia Mogahed is a senior analyst and executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies.

A commentator on Al Masry al Youm website said: "Dalia Mogahed is the best example of a successful Muslim woman. She proves that the Muslim should be successful in all fields, at least in [her] area of specialization."

Al Arabiya satellite news channel quoted the Ms. Mogahed as saying:

"... I should tell the president about their problems and needs, especially that lately Muslims have been perceived as a source of problems and as incapable of taking part in solving international problems and that they should work on themselves. Now we want to say that Muslims are capable of providing solutions."

Image courtesy of: LA Times

The Girl Effect...

And in case that wasn't enough... here's a quick clip from a girl at the crossroads:




Visit the website to learn more

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BBC: World Challenge 09

In it's fifth year of competition, World Challenge 09 is a global competition aimed at finding projects or small businesses showing enterprise and innovation at grassroots level from around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots level. It is about championing and rewarding projects and businesses which have made a real difference.

If you have any nominations, make them HERE!

Obama's Townhall with Turkish students...

"You can choose to build new bridges instead of building new walls. You can choose to put aside longstanding divisions in pursuit of lasting peace. You can choose to advance a prosperity that is shared by all people and not just the wealthy few. "

See it here:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Full transcript here

Remember...

As Dr. Suhair said during our opening session:

"Wear a smile - learn with humor - it will make all the difference."

Pink Collars in a Global World

In the U.S.-Saudi Women's Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, we are learning a lot of new terms and concepts, and how to apply them to improving the community. Here are a few more from female social entrepreneur Leila Chirayath Janah to add to your list:

• Pink Collar jobs refers to employing women in responsible ways
  
• Shelancers refers to women sharing their knowledge online, especially in areas with barriers to employment.

Leila uses these terms to refer to employing women in remote areas through technology training and access. How do these concepts transfer to Jeddah's urban environment? Can we apply these to address a community opportunity or need? If so, how? What do you think?

Michelle Obama on women, education, and passion.

Students- is there anything about Michelle's speech that you think ties into what we are learning at the Seminar?

Panel Discussions... continued...

Dear students,

As we mentioned last Thursday, the panel created so much excitement and conversation, that we did not want to leave the energy in the auditorium!

So- we wanted to encourage you all to continue your conversation here. At the bottom of this post there is a comments button- click on it, and let your voice be heard!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to all the women participating in the Introductory Seminar on Social Entrepreneurship!

After months of planning and coordination with the forward-thinking faculty at Dar Al Hekma College and our partners in the United States, the first event of the US-Saudi Women's Forum on Social Entrepreneurship has become a reality.

The implementing team of the Forum has had the priviledge of working with an incredibly dynamic and creative group of women in Jeddah, on this program, and we look forward to a successful and productive year.