Raison d’être

We have mentioned several times Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide  by Pulitzer-prize winning American journalists Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. We also support organizations helping women all around the world such as Women for Women, CARE and many others. And we think Half the Sky is a great example of how a book can change people. The Sama Team has been invited to a reading group organized by Max Dana on ...

The Enough Moment is on sale. Human rights activist John Prendergast and Oscar-nominated actor Don Cheadle bring us an empowering and hopeful new book, as they reveal the steps being taken by engaged citizens—”Upstanders”—famous and unknown, here and abroad, to combat genocide, rape, and child soldierdom in Africa, and show how you can be a part of the movement. The Enough Moment, by John Prendergast with Don Cheadle, is on sale now, and ...

The second World Humanitarian Day takes place this year today, 19 August 2010, to honor and celebrate the work of humanitarian workers. The 19 of August has been chosen by the United Nations to commemorate the work of humanitarian workers as it marks the day when 22 employees of the UN, including the UN Special Representative Sergio Vieira de Mello, were killed in a bomb attack in 2003 in Baghdad. About World Humanitarian Day (read more here): This year ...

Raised Voices, a choir of men and women with a fantastic repertoire of political songs will be singing in Central London and Women for Women International UK would love to see you there on Thu 12 August! The choir, which frequently performs at political and cultural events will be there from 6.30 pm, joined by staff from Women for Women International UK. About Raised Voices: Raised Voices is a London-based political choir of women and men. We sing a ...

The United Nations “Citizen Ambassador to the UN” video contest encourages world citizens to voice their opinions to Heads of State and Government and weigh in on the decisions made by the member states of the United Nations. The 2010 Citizen Ambassadors video contest is organized by the Department of Public Information in partnership with YouTube, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Foundation, French broadcaster TV5Monde and ...

Women for Women International in association with All Saints Church, Peckham, presents a special screening of Pray The Devil Back To Hell, by Gini Reticker. She is one of the world’s leading filmmakers on women’s issues and she produced Asylum, the 2004 Academy Award-nominated short focusing on the story of a Ghanaian woman who fled female genital mutilation to seek political asylum in the U.S.; and was the producer/director of 1994 Sundance ...

Mandela Day is an annual celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life and a global call to action for people to recognize their individual ability to make an imprint and change the world around them. The Mandela Day campaign message is simple: ‘Nelson Mandela has given 67 years of his life fighting for the rights of humanity. All we are asking is that everyone gives 67 minutes of their time, whether it’s supporting your chosen charity or serving your ...

Zimbabwean people are strong. They fight and they resist. Our interest for Zimbabwe is not new, and in March we posted about Owen Maseko: support free expression in Zimbabwe!, then in May: Zimbabwean artist Owen Maseko to appear in court. You can also read news about Zimbabwe in our weekly Friday Digest. Even if the recent news are not so good concerning civil society, human rights and freedom of expression, many Zimbabweans are committed to help their ...

Conflict minerals are nothing new (The (new) blood diamonds: it ain’t a movie…) but last week was a landmark week for everyone supporting the Enough Project campaign. Max Dana, who supports the campaign from the outset, posted on her blog a few days ago about the situation concerning conflict minerals, her hopes but also her concerns. An interesting point of view on the solutions being offered and the expected results. “ I usually don’t wear ...

Run for Congo Women is a grassroots movement benefiting Women for Women International‘s Congo program. Last month we announced the run in San Francisco; this week, the first official Run for Congo Women UK (and only run in Europe) will be taking place at the Regents Park Race on July 3rd 2010.  You can get all the information you need on this page. If you will participate to the race and if you want to share your run experience with us just like ...