Blog Post

April 25th is Girls in ICT Day, and the Beyond Access Team is excited to join the conversation and highlight the vital role of libraries in promoting ICT use among girls. Below, we’ve gathered some great resources and events to help you get involved. Stay tuned for more from Beyond Access on how libraries can use ICT to empower women and girls.

In honor of Earth Day 2013 and the theme: The Face of Climate Change, IREX is pleased to recognize the work of our Community Solutions leaders in the field of environmental issues. Over the past two years, 18 environmental leaders from 13 countries have come to the US for practical hands on experience and leadership training.

A recent Pew Research poll showed that the three budget accounts that Americans most wanted to cut were foreign assistance, the State Department and unemployment benefits. This may be based in part on the wide misperception and overestimation of the overall amount of foreign aid in the US budget. (It is less than 1%.)

The images told a story, one of confusion, misunderstanding and the stark reality that confronts the men in this room on a daily basis. It’s a reality that poses a challenge for IREX and its partners. At issue: mainstreaming gender in community radio programs and policies. The 19 men here were in the central Liberian city of Gbarnga for a CSML-run gender awareness training for community radio managers and news directors. They had been asked to draw images of their understanding of gender, and their drawings spoke volumes.

“You know there’s hundreds of thousands of girls like you, you’re not alone in this revolution,” Ms. Yaman Al Qadri, then 18, reminded herself after being arrested by police, detained, and tortured with electric shocks. Al Qadri, a peaceful Syrian activist, was held in detention for 23 days in 2011 for throwing pamphlets from the roof of a Damascus University building. While extraordinary, countless Syrian women share similar experiences, efforts, and determination. Along with the mounting lessons from history, this brings to light an important truth: Mainstreaming women’s voices is critical to the inclusive transition that Syria needs.

We’re going to celebrate International Women’s Day this week, and when we do, the ceremonies will focus on outstanding women. These women will be heroes for all of us - every man, woman and child around the world. When women are able to play more useful and important roles in our societies, everyone benefits, and our horizons keep expanding.

Between International Women’s Day on the 8th and March being Women’s History Month, this is a time for IREX to reaffirm our ongoing commitment to gender equality and to examine how we and our partners around the world are advancing “The Gender Agenda.”

Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is a serious and significant dimension of the conflict in Syria. The Syria Justice and Accountability Center (SJAC) recognizes the unique challenges this presents and is prioritizing training and documentation around SGBV. Documenting these crimes is important, but unfortunately they are especially difficult to prosecute.

I just participated, via Skype, in the Starobelsk Library's grand celebration of getting computers from the Bibliomist project. It was wonderful to see the library filled with friends and people from the community. A special day.

On International Corporate Philanthropy Day, we at IREX salute our corporate partners by recognizing the important roles that businesses can play in making a better world. Whether through fully funded programs, innovative public-private partnerships, direct technical assistance, or a combination of all three, corporate support is a vital complement to our mix of foundation and government funding.