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News from Iraq Foundation
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Iraq Foundation Newsletter )
A Change in Perspective Activities for July 2008
In This Issue
  • IF in the Media
  • IF Holds Anti-Corruption Conference in Baghdad and Workshops throughout Iraq
  • Women's Empowerment Project Identifies 135 Widows to Train
  • IF's Sukaina Jameel Wins Stanford Fellowship

    		•

    Dear Friends,

    In this issue, we would like to highlight some of the Iraq Foundation's (IF) recent accomplishments and activities. Working hard to promote IF's mission, Executive Director Rend Al-Rahim appeared on BBC World News, PBS's News Hour, as well as Aljazeera's Min [From] Washington promgram.



    IF successfully held an anti-corruption conference in Baghdad and several workshops throughout Iraq in July, as part of the Anti-Corruption and Transparency (ACT) project. In addition, our recently launched Women's Empowerment Project (WEP) identified over one hundred widows to participate in up-coming trainings in Basra and Baghdad!

    We are also pleased to announce that Basra office manager, Sukaina Jameel, took part in Stanford University's prestigious Summer Program on Democracy and Development.

    As always, should you have any questions about our activities, please do not hesitate to contact us.

    Sincerely,

    Joseph Sandor
    Communication Officer
    Iraq Foundation


    		IF in the Media

    Executive Director Rend Al-Rahim granted three media interviews in July to promote IF's mission and share her expertise on Iraq. Appearing on BBC World News on July 2, Ms. Al-Rahim discussed developments in Iraqi and US negotiations on the Status-of-Force Agreement (SOFA). Later in the month, Ms. Al-Rahim appeared on PBS' News Hour with Jim Lehrer to discuss the withdraw timetable proposed by Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki. The program aired on July 8th and the transcript is available online. In addition, Ms. Al-Rahim appeared on the July 21 Edition of Aljazeera's Min [From] Washington program, where she spoke with host Abderrahim Foukara on a number of issues relating to Iraq.

    		 IF Holds Anti-Corruption Conference in Baghdad and Workshops throughout Iraq

    As part of the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Project (ACT), IF successfully held a conference to promote a national strategy to combat corruption and promote a culture of transparency. The conference took place in Baghdad on July 5th and 6th, and was held in partnership with Commission for Public Integrity. IF awarded four winners of a research competition on various ways to combat corruption. The conference also issued recommendations based on the papers' most important findings.

    Also, during July's reporting period, IF held two in-country workshops to promote the Accountability Education Platform in the governorates of Basra and Nasiriyya. Photos and recommendations are available on the Foundation's website.

    		Women's Empowerment Project Identifies 135 Widows to Train

    IF Staff worked throughout July in preparation of the Foundation's newly launched Women's Empowerment Project (WEP). With the assistance of the Committee for Women, Children and Family and the Municipal Councils in Baghdad and Basra, IF identified 50 widows from Baghdad and 135 widows from Basra to participate in the program's first cycle of trainings. In preparation for these trainings, teams in Baghdad and Basra worked to secure suitable training locations in Baghdad in the Rasafa and Karkh districts, as well as the Qurna and Al-Zubair districts in Basra. In order to develop a curriculum in democracy and women's rights education to empower the program's participants, IF worked with three democracy and human rights experts.

    		IF's Sukaina Jameel Wins Stanford Fellowship

    IF is pleased to announce that Sukaina Jameel, manager of IF's Basra office, was awarded a fellowship to participate in the Stanford Summer Program on Democracy and Development Program (SSFDD). This three-week interdisciplinary executive education program, which runs from late July to mid August, is designed to bring together participants from transitioning countries to share their development and democracy-building experience. SSFDD participants include civic, political, and economic leaders from transitioning countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, China, and Russia. Each year approximately 30 individuals are selected from over 800 applications.

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