Happy Internet Geek Tuesday!
On Sunday, I hosted the Ananda Leeke Show’s Digital Citizenship Project series featuring women social media leaders Erin Dunne, Kelsey Glover, and Katie Kaestner. We discussed our recent participation in the U.S. Department of State’s Meetup for the International Women of Courage (#IWOC) Award Ceremony on March 4. Click here to listen to the audio recording.
During the show, we gave a special shout out to our fellow women social media leaders who were unable to join the discussion: Laila Alawa, Salma Bahramy, and Jen Charlton.
We also discussed how inspired we were by the 10 #IWOC awardees who were honored for their exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for human rights, women’s equality, and social progress, often at great personal risk. See list of #IWOC awardees below.
- Dr. Nasrin Oryakhil, Director, Malalai Maternity Hospital Kabul (Afghanistan)
- Ms. Roshika Deo, Feminist and Political Activist, Be the Change Campaign (Fiji)
- Bishop Rusudan Gotsiridze, Bishop, Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia (Georgia)
- Dr. Iris Yassmin Barrios Aguilar, Tribunal President, High Risk Court (Guatemala)
- Laxmi, Campaigner, Stop Acid Attacks (India)
- Ms. Fatimata Touré, Etude, de Formation Femme-Action (Mali)
- Dr. Maha Al Muneef, Founder and Executive Director, National Family Safety Program (Saudi Arabia) *Awarded in absentia
- Ms. Oinikhol Bobonazarova, Director, NGO Perspektiva Plus (Tajikistan)
- Ms. Ruslana Lyzhychko, Activist and Pop Artist (Ukraine)
- Ms. Beatrice Mtetwa, Human Rights Lawyer (Zimbabwe)
Click here to read their full biographies.
We all agreed that meeting First Lady Michelle Obama was a powerful moment and game changer in our lives!
Our face-to-face discussions with staff from the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (GWI) and Bureau of Public Affairs (BPA) gave us an inside view of how the staff makes things happen in their daily work. We met with Irene Marr from the Office of GWI; Moira Whelan, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Digital Strategy in the BPA; Vinay Chawla, Director of Digital Engagement in the BPA; and Hannah Lyons, Public Affairs Specialist in the BPA. To learn more about the #IWOC event and awardees, check out my Pinterest board of resources.
Ananda Leeke 