Regional Initiatives: Central and Eastern Europe

Albania

Sevim Arbana
President, Useful to Albanian Women
Shgrus@ngo.org.al

In January 1998, Sevim and her NGO established a Women’s Club. Through bringing together unemployed women, leading intellectuals, and political leaders, the Club enables women to share and discuss common problems and issues. It strives to assist women of all ages politically, economically, and socially. Evening meetings address issues such as education, women’s roles in parliament, and broader questions of gender. In collaboration with a French NGO, the Ministry of Labor, and the University of Tirana, the Club also runs a vocational training program for 60 children and youth.

Sevim constantly finds herself referring to the speeches of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Susanna Angelli, and many others. By bringing together so many inspiring women, the Vital Voices conference helped Sevim to understand the power of women. As a result, one of her goals is to link even more women together. In the future, Sevim would like to see a manual that is essentially a “how to” guide for organizing centers similar to hers. If you are interested in learning more about the project or would like to share your experiences, Sevim would love to hear from you!

Shpresa Arbi
Business Consultant, Land O’Lakes Dairy Improvement Campaign
Admin@aol.al

Shpresa is currently involved in micro-enterprise programs that have provided farm machinery and water purification systems. These improvements have helped to expand the opportunities available to women and have encouraged collaboration between different agencies, helping to ensure the a more efficient use of scarce resources. Given Shpresa’s successful initiatives, when a group of women decides to solve a particular problem, they now know whom to contact for the necessary resources and expertise.

Shpresa has also participated in a series of workshops that have brought together women’s NGOs and Albanian investors. The workshops have discussed different projects that the groups have been involved in and have explored opportunities for investors to provide credit.

Ariana Bajram Fullani
Executive Director, Women’s Advocacy Center

Aside from coordinating free legal services to women through the Women’s Advocacy Center in Tirana, Ariana has attended a conference aimed at increasing the awareness and understanding of women’s issues. The conference was especially significant in that it brought together, for the first time, representatives of the government and NGOs working primarily with women.

Through collaboration with other women’s groups, the Women’s Advocacy Center has received funding to organize an international conference on the trafficking of women entitled: “Trafficking: A Crime Without Borders." As for the future, Ariana plans to devote her time to training women in leadership and empowering women in politics. From our responses, we know that there are a lot of you out there who are interested in that same topic, so contact Ariana and keep your voices loud and unified!

Sonila Qirdaku Salillari
Executive Director, Women’s Center
Qirdaku@women-center.tirana.al

The Women’s Center runs a research and implementation program to determine the needs of women in order to increase their participation in reconstructing government. Following the Vital Voices conference, the Women’s Center received a one-year grant to help fund the establishment of a book collection and resource center. The center plans to collect and categorize gender statistics, maintain a database of women’s organizations in Albania, monitor ten daily newspapers, clip articles about women and children, distribute a quarterly newsletter, and produce an annual report and a booklet that translates articles and information from all over the world into Albanian. A second grant will fund a formal partnership with other women’s NGOs.

In addition to continuing her work at the Women’s Center, Sonia is interested in creating a women’s magazine and increasing regional networking between Vital Voices participants. Please contact Sonila if you are interested in her work or if you would like to assist in developing a magazine or regional networks.

Sala Valdete
Chairperson, Refleksione
Vsala@osfo.soros.al

Since returning from Vienna, Sala has been spending her time advocating for women. She is working on both the establishment of a shelter for women who have been victims of sexual violence, and on drafting a law against domestic violence. Sala has also organized a conference for NGOs, lawyers, and judges, and has advocated in parliament a bill to protect women’s rights. She is also involved in a project to increase and expand women’s crisis centers throughout Albania.

In the future, Sala would like to increase regional networking, information sharing, and dialogue (she would also like to see international dialogue). If you are interest in developing regional networking and keeping the Vital Voices web growing, please contact Sala.

Austria

Elfriede Fritz
Director General, Trade Policy at the Austrian Ministry of Finance

“The last day leaving the conference, I had the feeling that all of these women were able to change the world.” So wrote Elfriede Fritz, describing her impressions of the Vital Voices conference in Vienna. Although Elfriede stated that while no specific projects emerged from Vital Voices, the conference has certainly enhanced her job. In addition, she mentioned that she thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to make connections with women from other places-in the East and in the West. A special note for the U.S. participants: Elfriede encourages American women to reach out and build networks, as she thinks that European women can sometimes be shy and reserved.

Marijana Grandits

Marijana has been quite busy since Vienna. She has organized three seminars this past year: two in Slovenia and one in Croatia. The seminars ranged in size from one to twenty women participants, all political candidates at either the local or national level. Marijana and the other seminar organizers helped these candidates to design campaign strategies and tactics to decide which issues to focus on. The seminars emphasized practical skills and included mock interviews in front of cameras, and lessons on how to use technology and media to bring their messages to voters. Marijana used her Vital Voices contacts in both Slovenia and Croatia to help set-up these seminars.

In addition, Marijana was a guest plenary speaker at the conference, “Women, A New Political Future," held in Sarajevo in March 1998. Through her participation, Mirijana inspired some 200 current and aspiring political leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina to continue their important roles in democratization. This conference also helped to provide the extra ‘push’ needed for the Bosnia and Herzegovina Provisional Election Commission to pass the requirement for each party’s candidate list include at least three women equally distributed among the top ten candidates of each party.

In the future, Marijana would like to continue to organize more intimate seminars and possibly another large conference. If you are interested in hearing about Marijana’s work or helping her to organize similar seminars in your region, Marijana encourages you to contact her.

Lilian Hofmeister
Judge
Ministerial Working Group for Women's Affairs and Equal Treatment, Ministry of Justice

As a direct spin-off of the Vital Voices conference in Vienna, Lilian founded the Austrian Women Judges Association in October 1997, which has a working relationship with the International Women Judges Association. She describes her group as "a small one with a feminist approach." Dr. Hofmeister has also been busy attending several conferences on children as victims of abuse and neglect. Besides this, Dr. Hofmeister reported to be open to any new ideas!

Lucia Minecan
Austrian Women International

For Lucia, the Vital Voices conference helped to boost her organization’s activities. With the lessons and contacts, Austrian Women International’s projects have become more popular and its ideas are much improved.

Lucia recently hosted a conference funded by CARE, for Romanian social workers. In addition, she has been involved in “Project Luncani”, a castle that has been renovated as an educational center for orphans. The castle houses living quarters and classrooms for the children. In addition to traditional academic schooling, the curriculum includes farming and growing techniques, cooking, and computer instruction.

At present, the Project works only with boys, but Lucia hopes to bring girls to the center as well. The project’s goal is to combat “sexual trade activity” through education. Being that many orphans and disadvantaged children fall prey to sex offenders, Lucia believes that if children are educated to earn a living, as young adults they less likely to fall into that trap. Lucia also hopes that the Project will eventually become self-sustaining through agriculture. As Lucia continues her work at the castle, she would like to hear from others who work in similar fields for the prevention of trafficking of women and children.

Marlene Streeruwitz
Writer and Journalist, EMMA

Marlene, a native German living in Austria, works as a free-lance journalist, fiction writer, and feminist theorist. As a media/press attendee at Vital Voices, she was in a unique position to fully observe the nearly 300 participants and the full three days of activity. As a writer for EMMA, an Austrian magazine, she is interested in following the work of Vital Voices participants.

Archalus Tcheknavorian-Asenbauer
UNDP

Since her participation in the Vienna conference, Archalus has been busy continuing her work on environmental issues for UNDP. She is specifically involved with UNDP Gender Equality Program, which involves regional development of policies and legislation involving human rights and democracy. Archalus mentioned that the Program is encouraging political leaders to report annually on their progress in these two areas. If interested, contact your local leaders and get your voice heard!

Belarus

Valentina Polevikova
Chair, Belarus Women’s Party (“Nadzeye”)
Zmn@sfpd.belpak.minsk.by

Currently, Valentina is organizing an international symposium as a joint project with Japanese partners. The symposium, for women of Belarus and Japan, will focus on environmental protection and women’s roles in preserving the environment.

In her effort to make Vital Voices a part of everyone’s life and vocabulary in Belarus, Valentina has spread the work of the Vital Voices movement by using Vital Voices material in speeches to both national and international audiences.

As for the future, Valentina has quite a bit planned. She is currently working with many Vital Voices participants to develop a wide spectrum of projects including the establishment of a center for training and supporting women entrepreneurs, training seminars for women on “election tactics”, educating the public about women’s initiatives, and developing information-sharing projects that focus on the social protection of women. Valentina is also developing relationships with other women to share information about emerging democracies and to develop seminars and conferences. She would love to hear from anyone interested in working with her or from anyone with ideas for her projects.

Lyudmila Gryaznova
Deputy Supreme Council
Committee member, United Civil Party, “Party-97”
Ucp@altavista.net or ucp@ucp.minsk.by

Since Vienna, Lyudmila has been promoting women in politics and raising awareness of political prisoners. When not studying for her Ph.D. in Economics, or performing her duties as Deputy Supreme Council or committee member, Lyudmila is writing letters and submitting proposals. Following Vienna, Lyudmila received a U.S. Department of State grant for follow-up programming covering a wide range of projects dealing with politics. In particular, the grant supports the development of democracy in Belarus and the promotion and advancement of women in politics. In addition, it supports the families of political prisoners and helps to disseminate information about the political situation in Belarus.

If you are interested in sharing information with Lyudmila about emerging democracies and situations of political imprisonment, please contact her and keep the Vital Voices connection strong!

Elena Gapova
Associate Professor, Belarus State University
Director, Center on Gender Studies
Elena@psoft.belpak.minsk.by

Before Vienna, Elena believed that the government failed to recognize much of the work women and feminists have done. However, through Vital Voices, women’s issues have been brought into the public eye and women have gained the recognition and validation they need to effect public policy.

With this, Elena has sought to integrate academic studies with action-oriented projects. Following the Vienna conference, the Association of University Women and the Center on Gender Studies received a grant for the U.S. government to develop faculty seminars on gender issues and to publish a newsletter about women’s issues. Both the newsletter and the seminars use Vital Voices materials. Elena and her colleagues are currently seeking additional funding to publish a book on women’s history of Jewish, Lithuanian, Polish, and Belarusi women.

In the future, Elena would like to develop projects to prevent the trafficking of women and to educate women about reproductive health. She would very much like to hear from other VV participants who are working on projects similar to hers, especially those on gender issues. Please contact Elena if you are interested in sharing information about such projects.

Olga Abramova
Chairperson, “Yabloko”
Member, Deputy Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus
Belyabloko@hotmail.com

Since Vital Voices, Olga has written several articles about VV, and working collaboratively with Valentina Polevicova, has organized a “Women and Power” conference. Dedicated on International Women’s Day, the conference brought together Yabloko with “Nadezha”, the Women’s Party. They agreed to jointly plan a conference in Minsk to discuss pre-electoral cooperation and joint information policies.

In the future, Olga would very much like to raise money to build a memorial to Larisa Yudina, a journalist slain for her work. Olga would also like to create an award in Larisa’s name to honor brave women journalists in or from the NIS. If you are interested in assisting Olga in this venture or want to speak to her about her projects, please contact her-she would love to hear from you.

Irina Socolova
Femida Nova
Femida_n@yahoo.com

Femida Nova generally prints information for and about women, including legal advice, consultation, and women’s success stories. In fact, Irina is actively looking for VV input to include in her newspaper. Irina’s own words best describe her enthusiasm for the VV movement: “My newspaper could offer support for different women’s movement activities and projects of Vital Voices participants. We need concrete information to publish. It could be sent through the Internet or e-mail. With the current situation in Belarus, women would be very interested in such collaboration. We would provide any space…I could offer to use my newspaper as a clearinghouse for VV participants.”

Irina hopes that the future will bring her a lot of contact with the VV participants. She would like to create sections of Femida Nova devoted to “Women and the Law”. If you are interested in hearing more or in contributing to Femida-Nova, please do not hesitate to call Irina.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nzurdihana Dozic
Editor-in-Chief, Zena 21
Zena21-5a@zamir5a.apc.org

Nzurdihana, of the Bosnian Delegation, has successfully crusaded to increase women’s participation in politics and public policy. Zena 21 (Women 21) publishes stories of women who are good role models: successful lawyers, politicians, businesswomen, and activists.

Following Vienna, Nzurdihana helped to create the League of Women Voters of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serving as its first President, Nzurdihana helped the organization to establish itself and to grow into a well-respected, non-governmental organization. One of the League’s recent projects was the publishing of a book that identified, through pictures and text, women political candidates for the Fall 1998 elections in Bosnia. The League distributed some 20,000 free copies throughout the Bosnian Federation and the Republika Srpska. Nzurdihana was the book's editor-in-chief.

In the future, Nzurdihana will most likely continue to work on behalf of women political candidates and publish stories that inspire the women of Bosnia to be active and to believe in themselves.

Jelka Kebo
Center for Culture and Youth
Jelka-kebo@yahoo.com

Through her work in Mostar, Jelka is working hard and giving much to the many young people living in her town. Jelka viewed the conference in Vienna as “completely successful,” and the topic of women in democracy was a “good choice.” Jelka also commented on the formation of the League of Women Voters in Bosnia, an organization with which many of the VV Bosnian delegates are deeply involved.

If you would like to catch up with Jelka, please contact her-she would love to hear from you.

Galina Danilo
President, Duga (“Women Help Victims of War”)

Galina is currently seeking funding for a program that helps to rehabilitate victims of war. She has stated that the VV conference not only helped the world to hear women’s voices, but also helped the women to see that they themselves can be successful leaders. In addition, the VV movement helps to build a better future for women all over the world.

As Galina is first and foremost dedicated to helping the victims of war, she would like to hear from anyone interested in working with herself and Duga, or sharing information on similar experiences.

Vanesa Zecevic
Director, Public Relations Department for the Commission for Real Property Claims for Displaced People and Refugees

Formerly an employee at the U.S. Embassy, Vanesa now works with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on return policies and procedures.

Currently, Vanesa is working on establishing a network of women’s NGOs in Bosnia. She notes the importance of such groups not only because of the tremendous jobs that they do, but because “even in hard times they are able to think about tomorrow.” Vanesa points out that one of the strengths of the Vital Voices conference was that it brought outstanding women and women’s NGOs together to create an increased awareness of women’s power and abilities. Hopefully, the network she is establishing will thrive on their collective power.

In addition to the network of NGOs, Vanesa is busy currently organizing a meeting of women that will address topics including micro-credit, reconciliation, women’s foreign policy, and legal rights. She would like to organize conferences similar to Vital Voices, but much smaller and focused on professional topics such as those listed above. If you have experience or expertise in these areas, or if you simply want to share some information with Vanesa, she welcomes your exchange.

Bulgaria

Youlia Berberian

After returning from Vienna, Youlia organized a meeting in Bulgaria, which was attended by several Bulgarian VV participants, NGOs and over 100 women! Taking place in the Parliament building, Youlia was helping to fulfill one of the main purposes of the Vienna conference: for the participants to share their Vienna experiences with other women. From the comments received from every other Bulgarian VV participant in response to the follow-up project, it is clear that Youlia’s work is making quite an impact! Congratulations, Youlia.

Daniela Nikolova Bobeva
Bulgarian Ministry of Trade
Info@bstdb.gr

While Daniela has been focused on Bulgarian participation in the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, she has also been extremely involved the Poverty Project, a study of women and poverty. Supported by UNDP and the ILO, the study examined whether or not poverty in Bulgaria is a gender related issue. The study’s findings revealed that more than 60% of households headed by women are below the poverty line. Women are taking action to address these findings through legislation on divorce, property rights, insurance, and alimony.

If you are interested in learning more about Daniela’s work or are involved in similar work, please contact Daniela at her address in Greece.

Ginka Doytcheva Kapitanova
Executive Director, Foundation for Local Government Reform in Bulgaria
Flgr@LGT-BG.ORG

Ginka believes that the greatest achievement of the Vital Voices conference was the opportunity to establish new networks and strengthen existing ones, all while obtaining informational materials from around the globe.

Since her return from Vienna, Ginka has met with the U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria, along with other Bulgarian VV delegates, on several issues. The meeting also included women deputies and representatives of NGOs concerned with women’s issues.

In the future, Ginka would like to see more success stories about women published in newsletters and on the web. If you are interested in working with Ginka to help inspire women around the world, give her a call!

Albena Koycheva
Lawyer
Member, Sofia Bar Association & Bulgarian Women’s Union
Laudis@techno-link.com or laudis@enpro.bg

After returning from Vienna, Albena has been busy not only as a practicing attorney, but also working with NGOs, giving legal advice. In addition, she has partnerships with two other VV participants giving advice on the status of women and children and working on reformation of pertinent laws. If you are interested in hearing more about what Albena is doing, please contact her.

Irina Moulechkova
University for the National and World Economy
Vice Chair for Eastern Europe, International Board on Women in Law and Development
IRA.MOULECHKOVA@BULMAIL.GOCIS.BG

Since Vienna, Irina has not only met with parliamentarians, but has traveled with a group of women representing Bulgaria, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine to Washington, DC.

In the future, Irina would like to look into the gender aspects of privatization, examining the social and economic issues surrounding privatization as they relate to women. If you are interested in collaborating or sharing your experiences on this issue with Irina, please contact her.

Ivanka Petkova
Director, Institute for Economic Policy (EPI)
EPI@MAILCITY.COM

Since her return from Vienna, Ivanka has been busy networking. The EPI invited fellow VV participant and Steering Committee member Maria Rauch-Kallat to participate in the “Bulgaria’s Way to the EU” conference. This conference included an address by the president of Bulgaria. On her own, Ivanka has been working with the German Marshall Fund Fellowship to learn more about micro-credit. In June 1998, Ivanka traveled to the U.S. to expand her knowledge even further about micro-financing and credit schemes.

As for the future, Ivanka would like to connect with other women who are involved with or have information about micro-lending. If you would like to share your information or experiences, please contact Ivanka-she would very much like to hear from you!

Valentina Petrova Stamenova-Crumbie
Legal Officer, Bulgarian Center for Human Rights
VALYA@ASTER.NET or CRUMBIE@MBOX.CIT.BG

Currently, Valentina is working with young people on a project entitled “Civic Forum for the Dialogue with Members of Parliament”. Valentina recently registered her organization Human Dimension, which focuses on prisoners' rights, children at risk, and juvenile delinquents (ages 16-18). The organization’s work of studying child victims of crimes and children who commit crimes is supported by a grant from the Open Society Institute.

According to Valentina, “The Vital Voices conference paved the road for future cooperation and activities in the fields of politics, law, and business. These areas require tremendous and continuous everyday efforts.” Since Vienna, Valentina has participated in the events organized by Youlia Berberian and the U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria.

Canada

Susan Devine
President, International Association of Women Judges & International Women Judges Foundation
Iwjf@igc.apc.org

Susan stated that she enjoyed the “breadth and nature of the East-West networking” that happened during the Vital Voices conference in Vienna. According to her, she still enjoys the VV network and hopes to help keep it alive and well. Susan also reported that VV participants attended the IAWJ European Regional conference in Rome. This conference, which took place in November 1998, focused on sexual trafficking. Susan also included VV participants in the bi-annual conference of IAWJ in Ottawa in May 1998, which focused on children and violence.

If you are interested in learning more about Susan and the activities of her organization, please contact her-she would very much like to hear from you.

Croatia

Radmila Sucevic
Be Active Be Emancipated (BABE)
Babe@zamir.net

Radmila’s involvement with BEBA has included working on multiple projects that promote women and women’s rights. One such project is a free legal advice hotline that covers such issues as protection and safety, sexual violence, refugee rights, divorce, economic rights, child custody, and employment law. BEBA also lobbies for the legal, social, and political rights of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers. BEBA, Sisak, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, have also developed a cooperative program to give legal advice to displaced women and returnees.

Given Radmila’s concern about the current return policies, she would like to develop cooperative efforts to facilitate the process. If you are interested in working on issues similar to Radmila, this is a great opportunity to expand your network.

Marina Skrabalo
Program Coordinator, Center for Peace Studies
Cms@zamir.net or mskrab@zamir.net

Marina is currently working on training sessions that focus on the role of women in the process of peace-building. She is also involved in a project that addresses the state of the Croatian media by conducting media workshops for students, with approximately 45 students per session.

Marina’s plans for the future involve communication. She would like to see a partnership between local NGOs and the government in order to increase communication between the government and its citizens. She would also like to se a stronger network between VV participants and to hear from everyone about their current activities. Hopefully she has a good start, but if you would like to work with Marina on this issue or have any ideas about the projects she is working on, she would appreciate hearing from you.

Petra Klein
Head, Special Projects Unit of the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights
Hho@hho.tel.hr

Petra described that Vital Voices was a good opportunity to hear about what her colleagues’ needs are, and to explore ways to assist them in their search for funding. Additionally, her other work with the Committee includes providing legal assistance, investigating war crimes, and organizing roundtables and summer schools.

Petra’s future involves working from within the Committee to better address women’s rights. She would like to see the Helsinki Committee create a special department that deals with women's issues. Since the Committee is fairly large, powerful, and with a strong tradition, Petra believes that such a department might change the way governments view women’s issues. If you are interested in hearing more about her work or about the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, please contact Petra.

Vesna Kesic
BEBA
Babe@zamir.net

As a colleague of Radmila Sucevic, Vesna is involved in all of the Be Active Be Emancipated programs. She has also been part of a summer school program in Krakow that addresses the issues of democracy and women’s leadership. As Vesna will continue to work with these programs, please contact her if you are interested in learning more about them. While she can sometimes be hard to reach, you are encouraged to keep trying-she would love to hear from you.

Rada Boric
Center for Women War Victims
Cenzena_zg@zamir-zg.ztn.apc.org

Since Vienna, Rada and the Center for women War Victims have been on the move. Rada has been involved in projects to stop violence against women and to train women politicians. The Center has received funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and United States Information Service (USIS) for the campaign STOP Violence Against Women, and for a house to shelter women refugees. She has also helped to organize a women’s conference to discuss legal, political, and social issues.

In the future, Rada and Morana Polikovic-Gruden are interested in developing a program that promotes women in politics. One of the approaches they have in mind is to bring three women (possibly from the U.S. State Department) to talk to women in Croatia about being more politically visible. She is also interested in starting an organization for women in politics. For anyone who may be interested (including Americans) in volunteering your expertise and thoughts on such a program, please contact Rada.

Czech Republic

Karen Menglerova
Valtrova@alphanet.cz

Lucie Pilipova
Nadacs@mbox.vol.cz

Karen and Lucie have been working together on a project for the Women’s Forum, a coalition of artists, lawyers, politicians, businesswomen, and filmmakers that is planning a conference for the summer of 1999. The initiative came from the former Czech Ambassador to Spain and Italy, and is being planned by a board of “dynamic women in many different industries, from corporations to foundations.” While the follow-up project has not received an update on the planning process, both Karen and Lucie are looking at the Vital Voices conference as a potential model. Through correspondence with these women, their enthusiasm about their work is evident. Although we do not have the conference specifics, you may contact either Lucie or Karen, or the Women’s Forum for further information.

Dr. Jaraslava Moserova
Vice President, Czech Senate
Moserova@senak.cz

After returning home from Vienna, Jaraslava has organized two meetings on women’s issues at the Senate and has worked on legislation for NGOs. In addition to this, she has lectured several times in the U.S. at Wellesley College and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She has also appeared several times in New York City to meet with Vital Voices participants in the area, and to continue her work with the United Nations.

As for the future, Jara has noted that she is interested in an initiative on “women’s power” in education to help irradicate prejudice in pre-school and grammar school.

Lenka Pavilkova
Business Owner
Channel@ms.anet.cz

Lenka has noted that she had particularly enjoyed talking to the women of Poland and Hungary, who she believes face many of the same problems as Czech women. Lenka has been following up on business contacts made during her time in Vienna, and connecting women she met at Vital Voices to organizations that are working on similar projects in the Czech Republic.

Lenka has also noted that she would be more than happy to provide business help or resources to VV participants, and is interested in doing business with foreign groups. If you are interested in Lenk's work or would like to speak with her about business topics, please contact her--she would love to hear from you!

Jana Ryslinkova
Information Center for Foundations and NGOs
Janar@icn.cz

Since Vital Voices, Jana has accomplished a great deal! Jana’s organization, a clearinghouse of information in the Czech Republic, is currently in its fifth year. Housing twenty employees, a library, and databases for those seeking grants, it offers seminars on writing funding proposals. Jana has also worked with Jaraslava Moserova to generate get new legislation for NGOs, which was put in place last year. Jana has also expressed concern that one of the greatest challenges for NGOs is that “government information is not freely accessible, and a person can be denied access for no clear reason.”

In the future, Jana is interested in branching out from the Czech Republic and working in the Eastern European community. She mentions the need for technology and access to the Internet as a big challenge, and would like help in bringing more technology to Ukraine, Russia, and other areas in Eastern Europe where it could help women connect. If you are interested in working with Jana on such a project or want to hear more about the Information Center, please contact her.

Jirina Siklova
KARAT
Gender@ecn.cz

Formed one year ago in Warsaw, KARAT is a joint project with women from Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. Its focus is on developing grassroots business and agricultural exchanges. While we do not have specifics, Jirina says that they have a number of concrete proposals on developing such exchanges and the group hopes to expand into surrounding countries in the near future.

In the future, Jirina will continue to work with KARAT and hopefully some Vital Voices networking-she would like more VV participants in her organization. Please contact her.

Estonia

Marju Lauristin
Professor of journalism and public relations
Marjulau@ut_ee

Following the Vienna conference, Marju was awarded the 1998 Democracy Award from the U.S. and EU for her proposed Women’s Political Training Center. Following this, Marju learned of other groups of women who had the same vision and were already in the process of developing a similar center. Instead of reinventing the wheel, Marju and her grant joined forces with the other women and created the Center together. The board includes three women members of parliament-all from different parties-dedicated to preparing women for political office.

Marju told the follow-up project that women currently hold 10% of parliamentary seats, and that the Center does not believe in setting quotas as the best way to change that. Instead, the Center is focusing on building women’s confidence and breaking the media stereotype of politicians with the hope of making political life more appealing to women. To date, the Center has conducted three seminars and has provided courses on presenting ideas to the media, speaking out, and holding discussions with the EU, and women in social policy and politics.

As for the future, Marju would like to see the Center expand into the Baltic States and support women in that region. If you are interested in learning more or working with Marju on expansion possibilities, please contact her.

Mall Hellan
Executive Director, Estonian Open Society
Mall@oef.org.ee

Mall has stated that she came away from the VV conference feeling the enormous power of women when they unite. At present, she continues to do the work she did before Vienna, except that now she has the help of the contacts that she made during the conference. Mall has been in contact with VV participants from Poland and Yugoslavia, who are working on women’s political activity. She has also worked with Marju Lauristin, who established the Women’s Political Training Center in Estonia.

As for the future, Mall plans to continue her work at the Open Society and will hopefully keep up her ties with other VV participants. If you are interested in hearing more about the programs Mall is involved in, please contact her.

Maria Knjazeva
Dream@estpak.ee

After returning from Vienna, Marie wrote three articles about Vital Voices for an Estonian newspaper. She then headed to the United States to California, where she spent a year studying at the University of California at Irvine in the Graduate Business Management School. Maria was one of forty-seven people chosen for a very competitive international management fellowship. While studying in California, she delivered eleven speeches on the topic of women moving from socialism to capitalism. Maria’s thesis during that year focused on the Former Soviet Union, where people found themselves immigrants in their own countries even after liberation.

In the future, Maria hopes to turn her long papers into a book that addresses issues that arise for men, women, youth, and the elderly during the transition from socialism to capitalism. In addition, Maria is willing to write for a Vital Voices newsletter. If you are interested in hearing more about Maria’s studies or discussing writing assignments, please contact her.

France

Virginie Lasserre
Special Advisor, Urban Affairs Policy Mission

Unfortunately, Virginie was among the French delegates who were unable to attend the Vital Voices conference because of previous engagements. However, the good news is that the French delegation is still very interested in the movement of VV and its progress, and has subsequently taken the initiative of asking to be kept in contact with those who did participate in the conference.

Working alongside Marise Goldsmith-Dnasaert, Virginie has created a Vital Voices French Committee. Its goal is to “improve relationships between France and women in the rest of Europe.” This past fall, Virginie and Marise held a planning meeting for the Committee to discuss more specific goals and action plans for it. Virginie and Marise feel that they work good as a team together, as Virginie works in the suburbs of Paris (her work involves women, immigrants, and poverty), and Marise’s experience is within the city limits.

If you are interested in hearing more about the Committee or reaching out to the French women, please contact Virginie-she would be thrilled to hear from you!

Greece

Ekaterini Daskalaki
Deputy Mayor, Athens

After returning from Vienna, Ekaterini informed the Metropolitan Women’s Network and the Network of Women elected Municipal Counselors about Vital Voices. She believes that the ideals of the conference are important and that it should become inclusive of more topics. In addition, she would like to “propose and plan specific common programs of mutual interest for the future.”

Paulina Lampsa
Special Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
European Network of Greek Women Journalists
Lam1@otenet.gr

Members of the European Network of Greek Women Journalists recently held a three-day conference with about forty women from the Balkans. This conference focused on training women in technology and women’s issues. It was so successful that they hope to hold another one soon. In addition to these, Paulina’s group is planning a conference that will take place during the Greek elections-it will focus on increasing women’s participation in government and political parties.

Paulina’s future involves organizing a conference with the Network and women journalists from the Former Soviet Union. If you are interested in talking with Paulina about this opportunity, or simply want to touch base with her, please contact her.

Ekaterini “Ketty” Tzitzicosta
President, Association of Interbalkan Women’s Cooperation Societies

After Vienna, Ketty traveled to all of the countries that were represented at the conference. She helped to open branch offices of the Association in major cities such as Sofia, Sarajevo, Tirana, and Bucharest. This past year, Ketty’s organization held an international forum on rural women’s role in the development of the Balkan countries. Now, the Association is focusing on training rural women in technology as well as organizing a social development project.

Ketty also organized a “Festival of Women”, which was a celebration of 500 artists from countries on the Mediterranean and Black seas. Co-organized by UNESCO, the conference featured artists in the areas of fine arts, theater, and opera. In addition to these two projects, Ketty has been involved in roundtable discussions at Greek universities that have focused on re-writing children's textbooks. The conference’s goal is produce to textbooks that raise awareness and understanding of other cultures in Southeastern Europe.

As for the future, Ketty is planning a VV follow-up conference. The conference will involve, among many other topics, managerial training for NGOs. If you are interested in hearing more about Ketty’s work or would like to become involved in her activities, please contact her.

Hungary

Ildiko Biro
Media Officer, NGO Ombuds Woman Programme Office
Ildi@www.noivoksok.elbe.hu

After receiving a grant from USIS for a VV follow-up project, Ildiko’s current work involves a project based on the “Get Out The Vote” model which was presented at the VV conference. Ildiko is focusing her work in three main areas: creating a clearinghouse of information for women at universities, researching media about women and gender issues through the monitoring of electronic and printed studies, and conducting action-related sociological research.

If you are interested in talking more with Ildiko about her work and research, please contact her. She would very much appreciate hearing from you.

Marta Bonifert
Marketing and Sales Manager, Czipin and Partner
Mszboni@elender.hu

Marta believes that establishing networks, both internal and external, is one of the achievements of the VV conference. Since her return from Vienna, Marta has participated in the establishment of the Central and Eastern European Network for Gender Issues. In addition to this, Marta has been involved in a local conference for women entrepreneurs held in Budapest last fall. To top it off, Marta has also played an integral part in organizing an environmental workshop along with U.S., Hungarian, and Austrian VV participants.

As for the future, Marta is interested in additional regular interactions with VV participants, and exploring the possibility of setting up a monthly hotline forum for everyone to share their ideas. There is no doubt that such a hotline could work with everyone's dedication-contact Marta and make it happen!

Edit Herczog
Technical and Sales Manager, National Starch and Chemical
Hungarian Parliament
Edit.herzog@nsced.sprint.com

Through her work with National Starch and Chemical, Edit has traveled throughout Hungary, giving her the opportunity to meet with her constituents. Edit focuses on the food industry lobby and women’s issues. In her telephone interview, she stated that while the food industry is economically important to the country as a whole, it is especially important for women because of their involvement in food consumption and preparation.

At present, Edit is involved in a one-day conference designed to inform women about issues before the election. Some of the topics to be included are: local government, women in the political process, minorities, language, prostitution, and violence.

Lilla Matos
Cultural Affairs Specialist, United States Information Service (USIS)
Lilla@usis.hu

Upon their return from Vienna, USIS organized a lunch for the Hungarian delegation, provided grants to NGOs working on women’s issues, and organized seminars to discuss Vital Voices.

In the future, Lilla would like to obtain funding to send a group of women judges from Hungary to the U.S. to learn about the American legal system and court management, and to explore issues relevant to women in the judicial system. If you are interested in learning more about USIS programs or helping Lilla on future projects, she would certainly like to hear from you.

Latvia

Anita Mezinska
Director, Liepaja Enterprise Support Center
Gints@cs.lyu.lv

“I am receiving women’s magazines from the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Poland, and other countries!” Anita cites the networks as one of the greatest achievements of the VV conference.

Anita is currently planning to establish a Liepaja Women’s Organization (a two-year project), which will conduct seminars on problem-solving for entrepreneurs, managers, and NGO leaders. She is also working on a train-the-trainers program for women in development, to be funded by the British Council.

In the future, Anita plans to develop programs addressing the issues of personal and social development (for example, developing such practical skills as behavior during a job interview). She feels that this will be a concrete way to assist women in finding work. If you are working on a similar project, or would like to hear more about Anita’s projects, please contact her.

Zinta Gulena-Grava
Glg11@columbia.edu

Zinta confessed that since completing her assignment at the Latvian National Human Rights Office and moving back to New York, her contact with VV participants has not been as high as she would like to be. However, before she left Latvia, Zinta reached out to over 2000 people as the principal coordinator for the first Nordic-Baltic Conference on Gender Equality. Bringing participants from eleven different countries together, the conference enabled the participants to exchange knowledge, establish networks, plan projects, and devise plans of action to eradicate inequality. In addition to this, Zina co-founded the country’s first women’s shelter.

In the future, Zinta would like to continue to expand the networks of women and women’s work. Please connect with her!

Marina Grigorievna Kostenecka
Editor, Radio Latvia Russian Service
Marina.kostenecka@ratio.org.lv

Building bridges, while primarily between the Russian and Latvian communities, but also between the people and the government, has been Marina’s goal since the Vienna conference. Marina was involved in a conference (forgive us if the translation is not exact) entitled, “Russia and Latvia is Not a Simple Neighborhood.” The goal of this conference was to continue to build bridges between the two communities. In addition, Marina is an elected member of a “special kind of parliament.” Consisting of twenty-five people (none of whom are politicians), six of whom are women, the members are selected and respected by the citizens.

Being that Marina has fifteen years of experience working with abandoned children and children with drug problems, in the future she hopes to continue her research and to eventually organize a foster home for these children. Please let Marina hear your vital voice if you are interested in any of her projects.

Lithuania

Vilija Aleknaite-Abramikiene
Lithuanian Parliament
Chair, Family and Child’s Affairs Commission

While we did not have the opportunity to speak to Vilija directly, we received a host of articles about conferences and legislation from several participants. In June 1998, Vilija spoke at an international conference that focused on finding solutions to the serious problem of domestic violence. She was also involved in drafting a law on equal opportunities that was presented to the Lithuanian Parliament. Please contact Vilija if you are interested in hearing more about the legislation or her work in parliament.

Liudmila Arsenjevna Mecajeva
Managing Director, Social Innovation Fund
L.mecajeva@LPF.LT

Liudmila and the Fund have had their hands in just about everything related to women and women’s rights. Since Vienna, Liudmila has kept the VV Vienna conference organizers up-to-date on several of the Fund’s projects. These projects have included collaboration with the Network of East-West Women in organizing an international, on-line discussion about how other countries have helped unemployed women enter the labor market, and an active dialogue involving the entire Lithuanian delegation, which focused on new laws to promote and protect women. Another project Liudmila has been active in for two years is the PHARE project, a European Union initiative operated in conjunction with the Netherlands, that establishes training centers for women.

In the future, Liudmila would like to continue running at her current pace, while also building the Fund’s programming through seeking financial support for a variety of projects. The first will promote women’s rights, the second will focus on equitable rights and opportunities for women in the labor market, the third will seek to influence legislators to amend the law to promote and protect women and their rights, and the fourth will seek to increase women’s influence in the decision-making process. If you can help Liudmila with any of these projects, or if you would like to hear more about the Fund, please contact her. She is waiting to hear from you!

Ruta Pruseviciene
Foreign Relations Division for the National Philharmonic Society of Lithuania
Liuka@post.omnitel.net

When Ruta returned home from Vienna, she joined the entire Lithuanian delegation for a press conference to tell others about VV and its results, and to inform Lithuanian women about the services available to them. What a way to spread the Vital Voices movement!

Macedonia

Teuta Arifi
Lecturer, University of St. Cyrilius
Board Member, Center for Multicultural Education

The Center for Multicultural Education holds seminars for women at the local level in cities throughout Macedonia. The purpose of the seminars is to increase the number of women Members of Parliament. According to Teuta, the Center has included in its seminars local NGOs as well as business leaders, political party leaders, and heads of medical centers. These guests are invited to speak about parliamentary procedures, the media, and campaigning. Teuta is also putting together a trilingual publication about these seminars so that the Macedonian, Albanian, and English-speaking populations will have access to the information at the center.

In the future, Teuta would like to see some regional Vital Voices activity, possibly in a conference format. If you would like to hear more about Teuta’s activities, or are interested in developing regional VV activities, please contact her.

Verica Hadzi Vasileva-Markovska
Director, Privatization Agency
Verica@mpa.org.mu

Verica’s agency is currently working to privatize some 1600 businesses in Macedonia. When we last spoke to Verica, the Agency had already completed 1300 cases! She also mentioned that at the end of the privatization process, her own agency will transform itself into a private investment promotion and advertising agency. In addition to this, Verica also mentioned that she helps women in the non-profit sector with business issues and keeps in touch with a few of the VV participants involved in business.

Moldova

Corina Cepoi
Director, Independent Journalism Center
Director@ijc.moldnet.md

With an interest in furthering the Vital Voices movement, the Center is looking for trainers to lead a series of seminars for women leaders. The seminars will focus on various communication strategies.

Although the follow-up project did not have the pleasure of speaking with Corina personally, she will undoubtedly continue working hard at the Center and promoting women’s issues through her position. However, she did write to us that she would very much like to hear from other participants.

Natalia Gheorghe Vrabi
Chair, CB Agroind Bank
Aib@cni.md

Natalia is currently involved in micro-lending programs for women. In her questionnaire, Natalia mentioned that women have been employed as a result of this program and are receiving financial support for their projects-projects that strengthen peace in Europe. She also wrote that she would like to hear from other VV participants who are working in similar areas.

Poland

Urszula Nowakowksa
New School for Social Research in New York City
Temida@medianet.com.pl

Since her return from Vienna, Urszula has been supporting various programs for women and NGOs involved in development and democracy. She recently attended a conference in Krakow, which was organized by fellow VV participant Elzbieta Matynia. In addition to this, Urszula has also been involved in the production and dissemination of the East-West Legal Coalition Bulletin-several copies of which were distributed to Urszula’s Vital Voices connections. In her telephone interview, Urszula also mentioned a conference in November 1998 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. The conference was in tribunal format with ten women testifying to the abuses they have endured.

In the future, Urszula would like to hold workshops on violence against women and gender sensitivity training for police and prosecutors. If you are interested in working with Urszula, please contact her and keep the movement going.

Dagmara Barahiewska
Women’s Program Coordinator, Stefan Batory Foundation
Dbarahiewska@batory.org.pl

Dagmara points out that one of the greatest achievements of the VV conference was that women from different countries with similar challenges had the opportunity to get together to hear each other’s experiences. Since Vienna, Dagmara has been involved in organizing tribunals to bring attention to the issues of abuse that women face. If you are interested in hearing more about the tribunal or Dagmara’s work, please contact her-she would enjoy hearing from Vital Voices participants around the world.

Romania

Lily Boeykens
Belgian Advisor on UN Affairs, Board of the International Council of Women (ICW)
Loly.boeykens@skynet.be

After returning from Vienna, Lily found that VV had helped to elaborate a project that she had been working on in Romania. Writing in her follow-up questionnaire that “the contacts with so many women from CEE gave me better insight into their mentalities, attitudes, and needs,”

Lily describes that the program, “World Trafficking in Women and Children,” concerns the prevention of trafficking for the purposes of prostitution. Spearheaded by UNICEF, the project organizers have asked the ICW to focus on Romania. The project also urges the EU to aid Central and Eastern Europe on trafficking issues. However, fundraising remains a major problem-the program is still in need of more sponsors to carry out the designed two-year program.

In the future, Lily is interested in working more collaboratively with other VV participants, in addition to the project’s current partners. She also hopes to launch similar projects in Ukraine and Belarus, and would like to see the use of VV contacts and resources in those areas as well. If you are interested in working with Lily or hearing more about her experiences, please get in touch with her.

Liliane Trienpont
Chair, Amazone

Through her work with Amazone, a community social welfare center for children and families, Liliane is working with the Romanian Minister of Social Welfare to develop an institute for advanced training of Romanian civil servants. The training will include civil servants from all of the 52 provinces who work with children through the age of eighteen. However, in order for the training to have a significant impact, Liliane had to first convince the various government officials that advance training would add value to society. Through her success in doing this, the Minister of Education agreed to pay the civil servants while they attended the training, which started last fall. Liliane plans for the institute to address such problems as abandoned children, orphanages, street planning, and family planning.

If you are interested in hearing more about Liliane’s projects or simply want to catch up, please contact her.

Russia

Giedre Purvaneckiene
Gender in Development Advisor, UNDP-Lithuania

Giedre has been keeping very busy since her return from Vienna. Giedre’s organization has been planning to purchase 200 books, Women in Transitions: Voices from Lithuania, a collection of articles from researchers and students. Giedre states that this collection gives a very good overall picture of gender issues in Lithuania. In addition, Giedre’s organization publishes a monthly newsletter in English and Lithuanian called “Women’s World,” and organizes a variety of training workshops for women.

As for the future, Geidre is thinking about how to create a credit union to provide women in business with financing. She would very much like to hear about the experiences other women have had in starting micro-credit programs

Nadezhda Azhgikhina
Association of Women Journalists
Aradia@glasnet.ru

Following the Vital Voices conference, Nadezhda has continued to promote women and their roles in journalism. After returning from Vienna, Nadezhda was chosen to participate in a conference in Moscow titled, “Human/Women’s Rights and Journalism.” In addition, Nadezhda’s organization has been conducting training workshops on gender in politics and promoting women’s initiatives through the media throughout Russia, Ukraine, and Armenia. She is also part of a group of women from Russia, Armenia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan who hold regional meetings on women’s empowerment.

In the future, Nadezhda would like to establish a network of women through an Internet newsletter that could be used for sharing information and experiences of women from different countries. She has already spoken to women from Lithuania, Ukraine, Armenia, Slovakia, and a few other countries about this idea. If you want to help make it work, Nadezha would love to hear from you!

Alla Gerber
President, Museum Foundation
Altman@glasnet.ru

In order to protect the memory of women, Alla’s special project, “Women and the Holocaust,” is now an official part of the new Holocaust Museum in Moscow. While we did not have the pleasure of speaking with Alla personally, she did indicate that she would very much like to hear from other VV participants, so contact her and keep the movement rolling!

Valentina Konstantinova
Senior Researcher, Moscow Center for Gender Studies
Svlskonst@glas.apc.org

Currently, Valentina is working on a few collaborative projects, one of which is a series of seminars on women’s empowerment and women’s leadership , which is to be held in three cities throughout Russia.

In the future, Valentina would like to organize a conference in Russia similar to the model of Vital Voices: Women in Democracy. In addition, she would also like to have more training for both highly educated and less educated women in Russia. Valentina believes that there are different needs between the two groups-one needs more self-confidence and leadership training, while the other needs training on basic rights. If you work or would like to work in either of these areas of training, please contact Valentina-she would like to hear your vital voice.

Marina Malysheva
Moscow Center for Gender Studies
Isepp@glas.apc.org

After the Vienna conference, Marina attended a conference in November 1997 on trafficking of Russian women abroad. The conference was a collaboration of the Global Survivor Network and the International League of Human Rights. Vital Voices participant Gillian Caldwell also participated by showing her film on women and trafficking. In addition to the conference, Marina has also presented papers at the U.S. State Department, the Washington Women’s Rights project, and at organization in Minnesota. Also, the McArthur Foundation funded a joint project with VV participant Valentina Konstantinova that centered around researching the problems women in Russia face.

In the future, Marina would like to learn more about integrating the European community and would like to work with the Baltic States, as she feel they have made progressive steps in the process of integration. Marina would also like to get together and discuss the strategic steps that the Baltic States have taken thus far. This sounds like a perfect opportunity for those of you in that region to share your experiences-send Marina an e-mail!

Lili Sibeldina
General Director, SIC ORION

Since her return from Vienna, Lili has been working on defining an emerging women’s movement in Russia. According to her questionnaire, she has been collaborating with participant Ms. Ezshova, and the two have been learning about the plans of several different women’s organizations and movements throughout the country. In addition, Lili is also in the process of seeking a grant to fund small enterprises.

As for the future, Lili is interested in organizing a conference on women and administration in Moscow. Based on the responses we have received from all of you, we know that there are others who are interested in this topic too. Contact Lili and keep the VV movement alive!

Slovakia

Brigita Schmognerova
Member, Parliament
Vice Chair, Democratic Left Party
Hovorca@sde.sk

For Brigita, Vital Voices was a “great push” in her realizing the full importance of increasing women’s participation in politics. She told the follow-up project that because her party is relatively new, they do not have many women participants. However, after Brigita introduced a resolution to have a quota for women participants, women now have quota of 15%. While not ideal, she says that the quota is a major improvement. This year, Brigita also held one and two day seminars for women political candidates, which included media and communication training. She also renewed an organization for women of left-wing orientation and organized a meeting of women from all different parties-fourteen in all.

Brigita’s future includes much more political activity. She is also interested in exploring the possibility of a having a Vital Voices regional conference in a year or two. If you are interested in working with Brigita in planning another VV conference, please contact her.



Ukraine

Neonila Bashchynarska
Rovne Agricultural Vocational School

For Neonila, one of the greatest achievements of the Vital Voices conference in Vienna was the fact that it established an open atmosphere, encouraging all participants to share their experiences and lives. Neonila believes that such an atmosphere “helps to create an important feeling of unity and community with all women around the world.” In addition, it allows women to see problems that are specific in nature, including problems specific to Ukrainian women, as well as more general challenges faced by women worldwide.

Since her return from Vienna, Neonila has surely been making her voice heard despite some difficulties in communication and research. She has been working on a variety of projects which support homeless children and elderly Ukrainians. She has also been devoting time to prevent the trafficking of women and children. In addition, Neonila is in the process of developing programs to train unemployed women to care for children in orphanages.

In the future, Neonila has a number of projects planned. She would like to bring new agricultural technology to the Ukraine in order to process food properly so that the people can have “clean food”. She would also like to create a law college to provide women with basic training on legislation and to introduce the principles of the rule of law. Additionally, Neonila is interested in hearing about stories of successful international women from the VV community, and potentially hold seminars bringing these women together with successful Ukrainian women. She wants the Ukrainian women to realize that their future is in their own hands and hopes that good role models will help. As she lacks technical equipment, Neonila has difficulty communicating outside of the Ukraine. However, if you would like to talk with her, there is the phone and post service (check with your Vital Voices’ Participants List). Neonila is incredibly dedicated and would like to hear from anyone with information regarding similar projects or anyone who may be able to offer technical assistance.

Oksana Gorbunova
La Strata
Oksana@logrus.rada.kiev.ua

Since returning from Vienna, Oksana’s organization has harnessed the energy created in Vienna and gone to work preventing the trafficking of women and girls and supporting victims of trafficking. While Oksana was in Vienna, she hooked up with the Global Survival Network, which is based in the United States. Once Oksana returned from the Ukraine, the two groups stayed in contact. She subsequently aired their film on trafficking of women, “Bought and Sold.” Aired on national television, the film spurred the Ukrainian parliament to pass laws against trafficking. In 1997 and 1998, Oksana’s organization worked on a joint project with the Netherlands, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic to stop trafficking, support victims of trafficking, and lobby for legislation against trafficking. She has also been in contact with members from the Belarusi, Bulgarian, American, and Russian delegations. In addition to this, Oksana is working with La Strada to develop a consultation center for trafficking prevention.

In the future, Oksana will continue her work on the trafficking of women. She would also like to organize a conference for women in post-communist countries. Oksana believes that because many women in these countries may be pessimistic, she would like to bring them together to raise their spirits and plan for a better life. Oksana is interested in hearing from any Vital Voices participants who may be interested in this project or who would like to share their experiences.

Oksana Kuts
President, Gender in Development
Oksana@iprinet.kiev.ua

In March 1998, Oksana’s organization hosted four conferences focussing on women and the parliamentary election campaign in the Ukraine. In addition to this, her association has organized seminars for journalists on gender equality and gender mainstreaming as well as seminars specifically for women journalists to increase their technical skills (i.e. how to use the internet, e-mail, etc.). On top of this, Gender in Development publishes a yearly journal, “Through Women’s Eyes,” that addresses politics and women’s issues.

In the future, Oksana will not only continue her work with Gender in Development, but she hopes to establish a network of women who have the ability to communicate through the internet. If you are interested in helping Oksana build this network, please contact her!

Katerina Levchenko
Coordinator, La Strada
Lastrada@fati.gluk.apc.org

“I am convinced that we have enough good resources worldwide to discuss our problems and find solutions.” So says Katerina, who not only works on preventing the trafficking of women, but who also translates literature on women’s issues. Katerina tells us that it is difficult to find books written in Russian about gender issues, so her program takes literature written elsewhere and translates it into Russian to make it more accessible to Ukrainian women. Katerina is also working on a type of ‘encyclopedia’ of gender issues, which will be available in Russian as soon as La Strada receives translation permission.

As for the future, Katerina enjoyed meeting so many highly intelligent women in Vienna that she hopes the follow-up report will help bring the VV women together again to share experiences, face challenges, and solve common problems. Also, Katerina would very much like to organize a conference on women’s rights and suggests doing so in Kiev because of “the serious lack of concern about women’s rights in the Ukraine.” Such a conference could help change that. This sounds like a perfect opportunity for all of you legal and political experts to help a fellow VV participant.

Olha Shved
Director and Manager of Educational Programs, La Strada
Shved@shved.ah.kiev.ua

Olha fully believes that power flows from knowledge and information. She states that coming from a closed society, the Vital Voices conference created a unique environment that encouraged exchanges of experiences and discussions of solutions to problems all women face.

After VV, La Strada applied for and received a USIS grant for a project dealing with unemployed women. The grant sponsors the development of a three-month course on computer skills, resume writing, and interview skills. The project’s primary goal is to provide these women with the skills and tools necessary to find jobs in the market economy.

In the future, Olha would like to help not only women, but children as well. She is planning to establish a center for women and children as part of La Strada. According to Olha, “street children” are a very big problem in the Ukraine. The center for children would work closely with children with the hope of keeping them out of trouble and away from a life of crime.

Liudmila Lysenko
Reporter, National Television Company of Ukraine

Since her return from Vienna, Liudmila has participated in a project called “Women and Democracy”. This televised program helped to form a stronger bridge between the women of the Ukraine, and women of the United States. U.S. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke, as did the French Minister of Culture. Liudmila has also been busy writing about the adaptation of U.S. social-commercial advertisement to Ukrainian condition. Besides that, she hosts a television show called “Everything in not so Bad at Our House”, which airs on national television.

In the future, Liudmila would like to make her television program into a series, and is willing to volunteer her time and skills to do so. She would also like to gather information about emerging and transitioning democracies to publish a brochure containing case studies. She believes that women in these traditional countries face similar problems and could benefit from such a brochure. Please contact Liudmila and keep the VV movement going!

Natalia Vereshchynska

Following the Vital Voices conference in Vienna, political changes in Ukraine led Natalia to leave the public sector, and begin work in the private sector. She has participated in a seminar for women and business, as well as La Strada’s TACIS program, which helps women to get oriented and further established in business.

Now Natalia would like to organize seminars to help women become more politically active, especially in light of the Ukraine’s 1999 presidential election. If you would like to assist Natalia, please contact her. She also asked to be contacted by VV participants who are working on similar projects, because she wants to be more active with her VV contacts. Let’s keep the movement going!

USA

Barbara Ferris
President, International Women’s Center for Democracy

Barbara has been working on a series of workshops addressing a variety of topics related to election campaigns. She believes that if women receive training on how to run campaigns, communicate with people, and deal with the mass media, then their electoral participation will increase. This particular series has also been adapted to systems of several countries with different government structures.

Recently, the Center hosted a conference in London that focussed on identifying the reasons why women join certain political parties. The conference evaluated different political strategies to identify patterns that reveal why women join certain political parties. A similar project was also scheduled for this past fall in Poland. In addition to the project, the Center will explore the Polish political climate and conduct a study and training for Polish women. Also, the Center conducts seminars for NGOs on many topics including sustainability, defining a mission statement, finding resources, and building coalitions and networks.

In the future, the Center would like to conduct seminars in Latvia and Ukraine regarding campaigns, elections, proposal writing, and women in leadership. Contact Barbara if you are interested in collaborating to make this project a reality.

Joyce Sibson Dove
President, Foundation for Children

Support for businesses and training in writing business plans is what Joyce has been focussing on recently. While continuing her work in the business sector, Joyce is also interested in working to educate Americans about the need for equipment and materials in the Ukraine.

Alice Cardona
Board of Trustees, National Latino Caucus

Alice enjoyed the VV conference in Vienna so much that she suggested a similar program for Latin America. Last fall, the U.S. State Department, in a joint initiative with the Inter-American Development Bank, hosted the third Vital Voices in Montevideo, Uruguay! Congratulations, Alice, for your part in making this happen.

On a more local note, Alice has been organizing conferences in four of New York’s five boroughs. The focus of these conferences was on the creation of HACER: The Hispanic Women’s Exchange Network. The purpose of the network is for Latin American Women to share experiences with other women, and not simply to teach women about the North American way. Alice is looking forward to building on the work of other Latino women’s organizations, and is very interested in promoting women who are working at the grassroots level.

Sally Brandel
Bureau for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs

Although Sally attended the VV conference as Deputy Director for International Criminal Justice, she has since moved into a new position that she seems very excited about. However, in our conversation with Sally, she did give us some information to pass on to other VV participants:

Carla Menares-Bury is now the woman to contact in Sally's former office. The ICJ received a grant from United States Agency for International Development for programs focusing on preventing trafficking of women in the Newly Independent States (NIS). There is a specific focus within those programs on police training. Sally recommended that those women from the NIS who are working in this area should contact Carla if their programs contain elements of training for local police. She also suggested contacting U.S.-Russia Connect, a U.S. based organization that the State Department has been working with. For all of you VV participants who are working to prevent the trafficking of women (and we know there are a lot of you), this is a great tip. Good luck!

Bonnie Campbell
Violence Against Women Office, Department of Justice

Bonnie's department has been working on a number of projects addressing the trafficking of women and children across the world. In April 1997, Bonnie was named one of the most twenty-five influential people in America, and was credited as being the "force behind a grassroots shift in the way Americans view the victims--and perhaps, more importantly, the perpetrators--of crimes against women."

For those of you who are working to prevent the trafficking of women and children, Bonnie is an excellent contact.

Sandra Featherman
President, University of New England

Sandra is currently exploring the possibility of hosting a VV follow-up conference on the UNE campus located in Biddeford, Maine. Being from the academic community, Sandra is also interested in exploring exchange programs between UNE and universities in Central and Eastern Europe. She would like to bring both professors and students to UNE to share their experiences and talk about their countries. She hopes that they would also enjoy experiencing and learning about the United States.

Sandra is looking for more contacts with women from the NIS and Central and Eastern Europe. If you are interested in any of these potential projects, she would love to hear from you!

Frances Friedman
Editorial and Public Relations Consultant

When Frances returned from Vienna, she wrote an article, "The Zoo Syndrome," which was published in the Litchfield County Times. She based the article on the speech by Jaroslava Moserova, Vice President of the Czech Senate, on the opening day of the Vienna conference. The editorial article is educational in nature, and discusses the difficulties that women have encountered in emerging democracies, the prevalence of violence against women, and the lack of acknowledgement that women politicians receive.

Freddie is often seen in New York City and Washington, D.C., connecting with several members of the U.S. delegation. She also has offered to act as a media consultant to women in Eastern and Central Europe. All who are planning seminars that deal with the media, and are interested in learning from American experience, please contact Freddie--she would be very glad to help!

Yugoslavia

Sevdije Ahmeti
Center for the Protection of Women and Children
Sevdie.a@eunet.yu

Sevdije lives and works in the Kosovo region and is living in a war, which not only affects the way she lives, but also her access to communication. She wrote to the follow-up project that through her work at the Center, she is consumed in dealing with the war. She also writes weekly chronicles about the war for the Network of East-West Women, which can be read at their website.

In the future, Sevdije would like to see an international conference, held in Pristina, focusing on women and conflict. She would like to see such a conference work closely with the issue of internally displaced women and children. Sevdije would also like to stress the importance of the need for the international community to "support and raise the voice of reason" to help end the current situation.

Vesna Pesic
President, Civic Alliance of Serbia
Gss@merkur.bits.net

In addition to her regular political duties, Vesna is participating in a United States Information Agency project called "Women's Leadership Training for Women from Croatia and Serbia/Montenegro." The project, run by Dr. Julie Mostov, apparently has a Vital Voices connection, as several of the women participated in the conference. Vesna will be leading the project for Serbia along with Dr. Dasa Duhack from the Center for Women's Studies.

Ireland

Roz Crowley
President, Network Ireland
Onstream@indigo.ie

Roz was very moved by many of the women she met in Vienna from Central and Eastern Europe. She said that she learned a great deal by listening to their experiences.

Roz has been quite busy with Network Ireland. She told the follow-up project that women currently make up only 7% of upper management in Ireland, and that by sharing the few success stories of these women, the Network hopes to encourage and help other women aspiring to be business leaders. Network Ireland has over 1000 members, and also runs courses on business management. They have recently started to include women from Northern Ireland as well--expanding the network!

Roz mentioned that Ireland is, for the first time, experiencing an immigration influx, especially from Romania and Croatia. She thinks that with her journalism and publishing background, she may be able to help the immigrants in some way. If you have any ideas on how Roz can help, please contact her--she is very open to hearing about them.

Ethel Power
Head of Communications, Ryan Air
Powere@ryanair.ie

Although Ethel recently left her position as Head of Youth Development for the political party Fine Gael, she is still politically active. She continues to work with 18-25 year olds, in order to involve them in their senior parties. Last year, Ethel helped to organize seminars which groomed young people for parliament and to coordinate policy panels. Ethel was also asked by the Prime Minister to be a part of a four-person panel which planned for the European elections.

In the future, between her full time work with Ryan Air and her commitment to youth development, Ethel will be very busy. She would also like to see small VV conferences on single issues. Ethel enjoyed Vienna very much, but said that is also illustrated how far we have yet to go. If you are interested in hearing more about Ethel's activities, or simply in catching up with her, please contact her.