First week in Ecuador

Hello Everyone! My name is Becca and I am from CMU. I just started my internship at the Ministry of the Environment in Ecuador on Monday. Although I have only just begun to become acquainted with the Environmental Policies here, it has been really interesting. Did you know that Ecuador is the first constitution to actually identify the rights of nature? The constitution was just written in 2008 with much influence from now President Correa, a PhD in economics. It reads like a modern foundation's mission statement. I can't even count how many times the word "sustainable" is used. It is truly revolutionary in so many ways. This constitution has also given so much leverage to the Ministry of the environment. Besides that the office culture is young, passionate and dynamic. It will certainly be an exciting place to work this summer!

I included this picture of the intersection where I catch the bus. This was an unusual day because it wasn't completely overly laden with traffic like it usually is. It was a national holiday! I think it captures the essence of a modern city nestled in the mountains, with unofficial housing developments (squatters) ascending up the mountainside.

Cape Town Greetings

Hi everyone!  My name is Jenn and I am a graduate student at the Columbia University School of Social Work in New York City.  I arrived in Cape Town, South Africa this past Sunday to begin my CWWL Gender & Public Policy Fellowship with the FW de Klerk Foundation.  The mission of the Foundation is to uphold the Constitution, work towards harmonious relations in multicultural societies, promote peaceful and negotiated resolutions of disputes, and to mobilize resources for underprivileged children.  More information on the Foundation can be found here: http://www.fwdeklerk.org/.  I begin working next week, so will discuss the details of my specific project with Mr. David Steward, the Executive Director and my supervisor, at that time.

Until then, I will explore Cape Town!  It is winter here so the weather is quite chilly and temperamental: one minute it will be bright and sunny, and the next minute there will be torrential rain.  However, I have been bundling up with warm layers and waterproof gear, and have been adventuring on.  Today I walked to the V&A Waterfront and then, at my roommate's suggestion, took a City Bus Tour.  Although views of Table Mountain were obscured by heavy rainclouds, I was able to get a good overview of the city.  Tomorrow, I look forward to discovering the nooks and crannies of the city by foot.

I have attached a couple of pictures below of my apartment and the city. 

This is my room in the apartment that I share with Marion, a Dutch student at the University of Cape Town, and Thati, a South African young professional.  The apartment is located in Green Point, right behind the World Cup stadium and directly in front of the rump of Lion's Head.  It is a nice area, close to the waterfront.  So far, the living arrangement has been great - I have already had interesting conversations with my flatmates about apartheid, welfare states, and gender roles, and we are planning hikes and other fun outings.

This is a view of Cape Town from Table Mountain.  Despite the overcast, the city is beautiful.

I look forward to hearing about all of your experiences as well!

Greetings from DC... and Costa Rica!

I hope this post finds the Fellows well!
I started my Fellowship at the Council of Women World Leaders in Washington, DC just over two weeks ago. On the Friday of my first week we hosted a breakfast with President Laura Chinchilla of Costa Rica. It was a successful event, a priceless introduction to the work of the Council, and pretty cool welcome party!

As the Council's newest member, President Chinchilla had incredible insight on everything from bilateral diplomacy to the media's portrayal of her Presidency. She was accompanied by an expert panel including Jane Holl Lute (Deputy Secretary, Department of Homeland Security), Kathleen Sebelius (Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services), Muni Figueres (Ambassador of Costa Rica to the United States), and Jane Harman (President, Director & CEO, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars). Together, their statements and discussion spanned myriad topics such as the environment, national security, foreign trade and public health.

The liveliest part of the discussion was triggered from Liza Gross, Executive Director of the International Women’s Media Foundation. She asked about President Chinchilla’s relationship with the media. President Chinchilla’s response was echoed by nearly every public figure in the room. Each of them has had their political and policy agendas overlooked by questions about their personal lives, relationships and even wardrobes because of their gender. The Honorable Jane Harman of the Woodrow Wilson Institute told of her first time speaking in front of Congress. The first constituent response she got to her speech was a compliment on her outfit – not a word about the content of her message.

Overall, President Chinchilla's breakfast event aligned my perspective of gender issues as priority points of discussion at the highest levels of government and industry. So often I frame gender issues as grassroots, development initiatives. The Council's charge is to elevate the conversation toward actionable change in the landscape of leaders and decision makers across the globe. I'm looking forward to contributing to the Council's work and I can only hope my last week at the Council is as noteworthy as my first!

Articles and Links for Discussion

Hello Graduate Fellows,

Here are a couple links to some articles and websites that you may find interesting. Feel free to comment or post links of your own.

If you haven’t already checked out TEDWomen, there are many incredible lectures from women leaders from around the world. Search around and tell us if you find any particularly interesting ones. Here is one in particular that addresses why there are not more women in leadership positions.

Sheryl Sandberg: Why we have too few women leaders | Video on TED.com

Here is an article about the upcoming G8 summit and what role women’s issues will play in the discussions.

Parliamentarians Ask G8 to Focus on Women - IPS ipsnews.net

And here is an article on women's participation in peace support opperations:

http://www.stimson.org/spotlight/engendering-peace-support-operations-benefits-of-increased-female-participation-and-leadership/

 

Welcome Fellows

Welcome to the 2011 Graduate Fellowship Program blog! This blog is a chance to share and discuss your Fellowship experience with other CWWL Fellows. You are encouraged to post your stories, challenges, triumphs, photos and questions on the blog’s homepage as well as participate in discussions and comment on your colleagues posts. Articles, links and discussion questions will periodically be posted as well. This is an opportunity to showcase the work you are doing in your respective fields as well as learn from the experiences of other Fellows. Please make an effort to participate in this forum at least once a week. We look forward to hearing your stories.