Photos from Israel

All Photos by Sivan Farag, Property of the Shimon Peres Presidential Conference

Cecilia Attias in Israel

Cecilia took part in this year's Shimon Peres Presidential Conference in Jerusalem, Israel, as part of a plenary session, Dan Shilon Hosts. The other participants in the plenary session were President Shimon Peres, Andre Azoulay of Morocco, Guma Aguiar of Israel, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of India and Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, from America.

You can click the link above to see a video of the plenary session.

First Iraqi Females Graduate from Elite Police Corp

50 women recently graduated from Iraq's most prestigious police academy for the first time in history. The women studied and were trained in separate quarters from the men, under the surveillance of American colonels.

“Everyone says men are able to do everything, but that’s not true,” Leiutenant Hameed, one of the graduates, said. “In investigations, especially with women, women use their compassion with victims to get them to answer questions clearly.”

The Police Academy hopes to have double the amount of female graduates next year.

Humble Work in Ukraine

Faith, Hope and Love, one of our partner organizations based in Odessa, Ukraine works tirelessly to rehabilitate victims of human trafficking. By taking to the streets of Ukraine (one of the most popular human trafficking origins in Europe due to its loosely monitored shipping ports) with pamphlets and flyers, it has identified and rehabilitated more than 700 victims since 2001. Providing food, shelter, clothing and educational resources to empower women who have lost everything, Faith, Hope and Love is a stellar example of the type of organizations that The Cecilia Attias Foundation seeks to assist. Faith, Hope and Love operates on a budget of less than 20,000 euros a year - donate to The Cecilia Attias Foundation today to ensure that organizations like this are allowed to prosper as they should!

Aid Workers Released

On October 18th, two female aid workers were released from their kidnappers in Darfur after 7 months in capture. Hilda Kawuki and Sharon Commins, workers for Irish GOAL were welcomed by the top United Nations humanitarian official, Sudan Ameera Haq in Sudan last week. Their release reminds us of the violent conflict in Darfur that began in 2003 and continues to wage today. To learn more about the conflict in Darfur and how we can help, visit Oxfam.

Looking Ahead

As the American Administration debates how to proceed with the controversial war in Afghanistan, several journalists and activists are weighing in on how the different strategies will effect Afghan women. Jill Lawrence, a columnist for Politics Daily believes that no matter how many US troops are sent to the country, it will not influence the way that the Taliban treat women. Esther Hyneman, a board member of Women for Afghan Women, believes that a strong US presence in Afghanistan is the only way that women can improve their status in society. There is no doubt that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Ambassador at Large to Global Women’s Issues, Melanne Verveer, are incorporating women’s issues into their foreign policy. We trust that they will continue their crucial efforts to improve the global condition of women in this country where it is so desperately needed.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the four female recipients of the Nobel Prize: Carol Greider and Elisabeth Blackburn, scientists who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine, Ada Yonath, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, and Herta Muller, who received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Last week's announcement marked the first time in history that multiple women received the Nobel prize in Science - quite the accomplishment!