This is the moment each year when we celebrate, when we remember all that has been achieved and all the people whose lives we’ve shared over the past year. We look back on what we’ve learned, and we also look forward to the new year and all that it will bring. One year merges seamlessly into the next, and thus we start again. What we’ve accomplished becomes the energy for what we dream still to do.
2011 has been a wonderful year for IREX. With our generous donors’ [19] support, it has been possible to do more good for more people than ever before. We’ve had more projects than ever before, and we’re working in more countries than ever before. We’ve thought of new ways to improve people’s lives. 300,000 people have been touched this last year because an IREX’er - in the U.S. and around the world - was there to help.
For each of our staff in twenty offices over the globe and in our sister organization IREX Europe [20], we see the challenges clearly. We don’t ask for absolute certainty in the tasks we undertake, we don’t expect to work in easy environments, we don’t ask that it be done without difficulty, and we don’t ask that all the pain and suffering that flows from injustice be righted in a day, a month or a year. What we ask for is the chance to make a positive difference in the lives of people who can multiply that good over and over again in their own societies.
Every country, every society, offers up its heroes for change. No one ever foresees the moment when change begins, and no one can predict what will follow. One year ago exactly, the desperate courage of a young Tunisian, Mohamed Bouazizi, launched an explosive chain of events that has brought down four authoritarian rulers. In Yemen, a young Muslim woman, Tawakkol Karman, known as the “Mother of the Revolution” is a co-recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. What happened in the Middle East in 2011 now cannot be undone, whatever setbacks and wrong turns may lie ahead.
No matter how long it takes, the voice of citizens ultimately will be heard. Even in the waning days of 2011, we are reminded of the truth of this statement as we mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union and celebrate the life of Vaclav Havel.
Our challenge lies in how to lend our strength to the much greater effort of these champions. I don’t mean greater solely by the scale of their activities. I mean greater by the scale of their courage. Courage that is not the absence of fear but the overcoming of fear to push ahead whatever the odds. We are proud to collaborate in amplifying the voices of activists, journalists, and bloggers by helping harness the power of technology and providing opportunities to connect with their peers across the globe.
IREX is grateful that we have achievements to record for 2011. We see how that experience is an added strength to give more and do more for others. The ending is the beginning. We dedicate 2012 to our donors, our partners and our supporters, and we promise to be ready for the challenges. Have a wonderful Holiday Season and a very happy New Year from all of us in the IREX family!