By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Sorry to disappoint you, but I won't be writing about Rielle Hunter's GQ interview today, unlike the rest of the blogosphere. Life's too short. I'd rather write about something important ...
Jacqueline Novogratz, head of the Acumen nonprofit venture capital fund, spoke at the Women in the World summit over the weekend and she said this: "When I see people that are my age and reaching 50, the ones that are really sparkly and full of joy are the ones that are committed to something bigger than themselves."
If you feel like learning about something bigger than yourself--namely, the struggle for women's rights around the world--take a look at some of the video clips and written reports from panel discussions and speeches over the weekend. There's something for everybody ... interesting pieces on women and technology, women's rights in war zones, women's economic power, you name it. Some of the videos are funny, some made me want to cry. All of them were moving in some way or another.
Some of the speakers were blatantly political in their remarks (Madeleine Albright and Valerie Jarrett, for example), and it made me wonder why there weren't any Republican women prominently featured. It would have been nice if they'd gotten Sandra Day O'Connor, or Condi Rice, or Laura Bush to attend (who knows--maybe they were invited but couldn't make it). The weekend ended with a published list of suggested solutions, some of which are a lot more do-able than others. But it's a start. Hopefully the success of this conference will attract more attention to the great work women are doing around the world, especially those fighting tyranny and oppression in Iran, Afghanistan, and Africa. They're the ones who are committed to something bigger than themselves, something important.
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