Spokeswoman for the St. Petersburg Yabloko Took Part in the Annual Conference of the Women's Democracy Network

By Ksenia Vakrusheva
Press Office of the St. Petersburg Yabloko
March 9, 2011
(Translated by Google)

On the eve of March 8 - International Women's Day - in Washington, D.C. the Women's Democratic Network (WDN) hosted a conference.  About 20 women from emerging democracies including: Albania, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Guatemala, Jordan, Cambodia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Moldova and Russia were invited.  From Russia the deputy chairman of the St. Petersburg Youth Yabloko, Ksenia Vakhrusheva, participated in the conference.

The central event of the conference was the annual dinner for the international and U.S. WDN members at which awards are presented to those who over the past year have had the greatest influence in the advancement of women as political and civic leaders.  This year the prize went to Frances Fragos Townsend, a former aide to President Bush on homeland security and combating terrorism, and Sherry Rehman, deputy of the National Assembly of Pakistan and a member of the National Security Committee.  Both women have achieved a successful career in politics in their countries, actively promoting the involvement of more women in senior management.  Sherry Rehman, however, was unable to personally attend the event because of the unfavorable political situation in Pakistan.

In addition to the annual awards, an international delegation participated in a two-day training and Leadership Institute in Arlington, and also held several meetings with well-known female politicians: one of the youngest senators Kelly Ayotte, members of Congress Kay Granger and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and the international ambassador of the U.S. on women's issues Melanne Verveer.  This position was introduced recently by U.S. President Barack Obama, underscoring the importance of promoting women as political and civic leaders throughout the world.

At the end of the visit the delegation visited a school in Washington, where in 2009 the graduation ceremony was hosted by U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama.  Women delegates told teenagers about how life in their country differs from the U.S., about what their aspirations were, and why they thought those aspirations were important.

The WDN was founded with the support of the International Republican Institute in March 2006 in response to a growing interest in learning opportunities and interactions of women in countries going through transition to democracy. To date, WDN’s network is in 48 countries throughout Asia, Africa, Europe, Eurasia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North America, including Russia.

More information about the organization can be found at www.wdn.org.