Numéro 13 (novembre)

Dear Friends,

As 2005 draws to a close, we look back at WLP's work during the last year with great pride. In addition to our ongoing program of leadership workshops for women’s empowerment, we have organized three Regional Learning Institutes for Women’s Leadership. The first took place in Calabar, Nigeria in February 2005, bringing together 24 women leaders from eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the second was held in Shymkent, Kazakhstan in August 2005, with 19 activists from five countries in the Central Asia region. As you read this, a third Institute is taking place in Beirut, Lebanon for women leaders in the Middle East-Gulf region, hosted by our Lebanese partner organization with the support of our Moroccan partner. Our "Leading to Choices" leadership training curriculum is now available in 14 languages, with a further five languages and new curriculum on political participation and organizational capacity building underway. We have developed a successful model for eCourses on leadership and conducted courses in both Persian and Arabic this year. Our symposium, “Leading to Change: Eliminating Violence Against Women in Muslim Societies,” brought leading women activists from Muslim-majority societies together to exchange strategies and to develop an agenda for future action.

We are proud of this work. But we consider our greatest achievement to be the solidarity, strength, and dynamic nature of our partnership. Our Partners Meeting last month in Bangkok proved to us once again that the relationship of trust, respect, and cooperation that builds the foundation of our partnership is the most significant outcome of our work. In fact, it is the synergy that is created by this interaction that makes the astonishing growth of our programs possible. Our shared vision, nurtured through five years of collaborative effort and sustained communication, has helped to create a system through which 18 autonomous and independent organizations on three continents, functioning under diverse circumstances, can work closely together, thereby significantly increasing their impact on their socio-political environment.

Thank you for the encouragement and support you have given the collaborative work of the WLP Partnership.

Mahnaz Afkhami
President
Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace

In this Issue

• Articles
• WLP Convenes Transnational Partners Meeting in Bangkok
• Strong WLP Partnership Presence at the AWID International Forum
• Launch of Translation Series: New Advocacy Tool for the Reform of Family Law in Muslim-Majority Societies
• Regional Learning Institute for Women's Leadership in Central Asia

• Latest News
• Order Now: New Curriculum in the Leading to Choices Leadership Training Series
• WLP President Attends Women Ministers of Culture Meeting in Reykjavik
• WLP Welcomes New Staff Members
• Five-Year Report Now Available
• Support Our Work Today!