Washington, DC – IRI's Women’s Democracy Network (WDN) will hold its annual Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Award dinner on March 8, 2010, honoring those who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of women in politics and civil society.  Receiving this year’s award will be the Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-18) and the Women’s Leadership Institute (WLI) in Iraq.  The award will be presented as a part of the WDN’s annual International Women’s Day conference held in Washington, DC.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was the first Hispanic woman and the first Cuban-American elected to Congress, where she has served Florida’s 18th Congressional District since 1989.  As a child, her family was forced to flee Cuba's communist dictatorship and find refuge in the United States. Throughout her career she has been one of the leading voices for democracy and human rights throughout the world.  As Ranking Member on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, she has worked to ensure that these issues remain at the top of the US agenda.

Ros-Lehtinen began her career as an educator, teaching in Miami-Dade public schools.  In 1982 she was the first Hispanic woman elected to the Florida State House of Representatives and in 1986 she was elected to the Florida State Senate.  Throughout her service she has been a strong advocate for programs that address the serious problem of violence against women.

WLI was founded in 2005, when IRI brought together two prominent women’s rights advocates in Iraq:  Sundus Abbas and Azhar al Shaikhli (who would later become Iraqi Minister of Women’s Affairs).  The institute trains women political party members, civil society activists, government officials, civil servants and future women leaders of Iraq on a broad range of issues, from developing leadership skills to capacity building to campaign management, with the broader goal of increasing political participation and empowering women.  In the past year alone, WLI held more than 500 events, training more than 14,000 women.  WLI’s impact can be seen in the outcome of the 2009 Iraq provincial council elections, where 40 percent of all women winning seats were trained by the institute. 

WLI has become an internationally recognized women’s organization, with WLI Director Sundus Abbas traveling frequently throughout the Middle East to participate in women’s conferences and seminars.  In 2007, Abbas received the International Women of Courage Award from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. 

The Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Award dinner is held as part of the WDN’s International Women’s Day conference.  The focus of this year’s conference is Communications in the 21st Century.  During the conference, participants from 13 countries will attend workshops on the use of new media and public speaking. 

The Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Award, which pays tribute to Dr. Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, recognizes honorees for their commitment to increase women’s political and civic participation within their own communities and on behalf of women worldwide.  A long-time IRI board member, Dr. Kirkpatrick was a strong advocate for women’s participation in politics.  Her career in women’s political participation and foreign policy is an inspiration to women.

The WDN is an initiative established by IRI to foster relationships among women leaders from around the world, providing them with opportunities to share best practices and develop the skills needed for professional advancement.  The WDN encourages and supports women working to advance political, civic and economic participation in their countries, and create regional networks to strengthen their development.

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Photo from a WLI training in Iraq.