STATE DEPT. NOTICE TO THE PRESS ON 'VITAL VOICES'
USIA
19 August 1998
TEXT: STATE DEPT. NOTICE TO THE PRESS ON 'VITAL VOICES'
(Some 400 Women to convene in Belfast Aug. 31-Sep. 2) (540)
Washington -- The "Vital Voices: Women in Democracy" conference will
draw more than four hundred women leaders to a meeting in Belfast,
Northern Ireland, August 31-September 2, according to a State
Department notice to the press released August 18.
In May, when President Clinton announced the Belfast meeting as part
of the U.S. government's initiatives in support of peace in Northern
Ireland, he said, "The women of Northern Ireland have borne an
enormous share of the trauma of the Troubles. Now, their participation
will be essential to build a future of peace and reconciliation."
The speakers at the conference will include U.S. First Lady Hillary
Rodham Clinton. Participants will come from the U.S., Northern
Ireland, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and other EU countries,
according to the notice.
Following is the text of the notice to the press:
(Begin text)
U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
(Washington, DC)
For Immediate Release
August 18, 1998
NOTICE TO THE PRESS
Women to Convene In Northern Ireland to Plan For Peace
More than four hundred women leaders will meet in Belfast, Northern
Ireland, from August 31-September 2, for a Vital Voices: Women in
Democracy conference.
The U.S. government is co-sponsoring the conference with the Secretary
of State for Northern Ireland, Dr. Marjorie Mowlam, and the First and
Deputy First Ministers of the Shadow Northern Ireland Assembly, David
Trimble and Seamus Mallon.
The Belfast meeting was announced by President Clinton on May 7, as
part of the U.S. government's initiatives in support of peace in
Northern Ireland. "The women of Northern Ireland have borne an
enormous share of the trauma of the Troubles," Mr. Clinton said. "Now,
their participation will be essential to build a future of peace and
reconciliation."
The Vital Voices initiative demonstrates Secretary of State Madeleine
K. Albright's commitment to promote the advancement of women as a U.S.
foreign policy objective.
U.S. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Dr. Mowlam and other leading
policy makers will speak at the conference. Participants will come
from the U.S., Northern Ireland, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and
other EU countries. The conference provides workshops and
opportunities to adopt concrete follow-up projects on: participation
in public life, legal and social progress in civil society, and
economic development in a time of change and opportunity.
For press credentialing and other media questions, please contact:
(In Belfast) T.J. Dowling phone 44 1232 249 467 fax 44 1232 249 459
(In U.S.) Pat Lewis phone (202) 720-6571 fax (202) 690-2164
The director of the Vital Voices initiative is Theresa Loar, Senior
Coordinator for International Women's Issues at the U.S. Department of
State. For more information on the initiative, visit the Vital Voices
website at www.usia.gov/vitalvoices
The Belfast, Northern Ireland, conference is the second Vital Voices
event. The first, held July 1997 in Vienna, Austria, brought together
300 women leaders from Central and Eastern Europe, the U.S., and the
European Union. The commitments and partnerships from that meeting
have grown and been fortified over the last year.
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