Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Last month our partners gathered for our annual transnational partners meeting at the Bolger Leadership Center in Potomac, Maryland. It has been a difficult year for many of our partners. The wars and conflict in Lebanon, Afghanistan, Palestine, and Iraq, the new legislation limiting the work of civic organizations in many of our partner countries, the resurgence of fundamentalism and extremism, the atmosphere of fear and insecurity, and shrinking assistance and resources make this a particularly challenging time for our work across the regions. We met to discuss these issues and to share strategies to face these challenges. We gained from the wisdom and courage of our partners who face violence. We learned from the experience of those who have turned the scourge of scarcity around and have made their leadership skills and their credibility into a viable and significant resource. We realized once again the importance of the Partnership's emphasis on being a "learning organization," that is, an organization that is flexible, evolving, and responsive to the context and the environment within which we work. We discussed our capacity building plans and programs, especially in the area of technology. We reiterated our commitment to bridging the talents and experience of established leaders with that of emerging leaders and decided upon a new initiative called Young Women's Learning Partnership (YWLP). We ended our deliberations mindful of the difficulties we confront but strengthened by the synergy and solidarity amongst us. In this issue of eNews we share summaries of these discussions with you.

I would like to take this opportunity to share with you several wonderful new developments at WLP International. Jacqueline Pitanguy has been elected Chair of the Board of WLP. Jacqueline is a long-time friend and colleague of WLP and she has a distinguished history of service to the women's movement as a scholar and activist of distinction. She served as a Cabinet member and head of the Brazilian National Council for Women's Rights. She is a respected advisor to numerous United Nations agencies as well as major foundations, and until recently was Chair of the Board of the Global Fund for Women. Asma Khader, the Coordinator of Sisterhood Is Global Institute/Jordan (SIGI/J) and former Minister of Culture, is a distinguished human rights activist and a pioneer in the struggle against honor killings. She has accepted to coordinate the new Young Women's Learning Partnership (YWLP) initiative. Rakhee Goyal, a young leader of exceptional talent, compassion, and commitment with whom I have had the pleasure of working throughout the lifetime of WLP, has taken on the position of Executive Director of WLP International. This team, all of whom have been working with WLP throughout the years will bring great energy to the Partnership through the new and expanded roles that they will undertake. We are proud to have them with us in their new capacities.

Warm regards,
Mahnaz Afkhami
President & CEO

In this Issue

• Articles 
• Confronting Crisis, Creating Change: Challenges and Strategies of WLP Partners
• The Dialogue on Culture and Feminism
• Launch of the Women Leaders Intercultural Forum (WLIF) in New York

• Latest News
• Nigeria's BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights Takes on Role of WLP Africa
• Introduction of WLP's Newest Initiative for Young Girls
• Hot Off the Press: Portugese Leadership Training Manual
• Goodbyes and Hellos to WLP Staff