On behalf of IREX, I am pleased to extend our congratulations to the U.S. Agency for International Development [24] on its 50th Anniversary [25]. With less than one half of one percent of the federal budget to work with across the globe, USAID has saved millions of lives from devastating disease while helping people and countries develop into more prosperous, peaceful, and democratic societies.
IREX is privileged to be one of the agency’s key strategic partners since 1994, working to strengthen civil society, establish independent media, and apply technological advances in post-Communism, post-conflict, and developing countries around the world.
Thanks to USAID and the generosity of the American people over the years, some of our achievements together have:
• Helped minority populations [26] receive news and information about their own local communities
• Built up independent media [27] sectors in Eastern European countries that now serve as watchdogs against corruption and allow citizens to engage with their governments.
• Challenged child-marriage [28] and promoted girls education in areas where most women leave school after 9th grade
• Developed the Media Sustainability Index [29] that gives an in-depth look at conditions for independent media in 80 countries
• Made it possible for foreign youth to embrace cutting-edge technologies [30] and use them for community development projects
These are just a few of the results USAID has made possible. We look forward to another 50 years of development that makes the world a better place by building peace and prosperity together.