Women in Public Service Training Forum

The answer to the last post? Sec. Madeleine Albright!

So I promise I will give my thoughts on the Women in Public Service Project (WPSP) Inaugural Event soon!  But I wanted to give a quick update about the program I went to today. Rangita de Silva de Alwis opened the Women in Public Service training forum this morning by welcoming the “foremothers of the summer institute.”

I felt very honored to be a part of this group, which included about 40 emerging women leaders from all over the world. The purpose of the 2-day forum (I will be tweeting @AliIcenhower tomorrow too!) is to bring these women from around the world together to identify the barriers that women face internationally when seeking positions of power.  Then, they will discuss ways to break down those barriers.

Rangita quoted Queen Rania of Jordan who has said, “we are wiser when we listen and wiser when we share…” That’s what today was all about, listening and sharing. Throughout this forum, I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to hear from some amazing women.  Each woman has had a story either about themselves or a fellow woman who fought through opposition to pave pathways for women of the future.

I hope to one day be able to tell anecdotes like these about my experiences as a woman.  More about this later.  Right now, I need to go to sleep. The past few days have been life-changing, but also exhausting.

P.S. What was my favorite moment today? Participating in a skit about the need for women’s coalitions with the delegates from Africa — I’m in pink 🙂

Acting in a skit with delegates from Africa