By: Adrianne A.
March
2018
International Women's Day brings many celebration,
speeches, and activities throughout the world in March. This year one of the
highlighted events was in Southern California; International Women in
Diplomacy. This prestigious Women's Day Celebration and luncheon was hosted in
the Women's City Club of Pasadena- Los Angeles County on Thu, March 8, 2018.
This event incorporated several talented guest speakers from around the world.
Attendees were mostly
Consul generals, members of the Consular Corps, male and females, prominent
scholars, businesses, initiatives, and government and non-government
organizations. In addition, there was a highly diversified crowd which also
included representatives from the Office of Foreign Mission, The Mayor's office
and many other organizations. Guest speakers shared their challenges and
experiences in diplomacy. Some of them mostly covered women's issues, Human
Trafficking, violence and the condition of women in rural areas. Guest speakers
also highlighted women's strength and their role in Empowerment, Peace-building,
International Networking and Diplomacy Acquirement.
In
this event, seven noticeable women received recognition for their
"leadership and outstanding commitment to the elevation of women"
from different nationalities. Honorary Consul Mame M'baye Niang, Peace
ambassador, Dr. Soraya Fallah, UNWomen ambassador, the Consul General of Iraq
Ms. Parikhan Shawky, Janet Elliot, Lourdes Saab, Deputy Chief of Protocol,
County of Los Angeles, Jennipha-Laurén Nielsen founder and CEO of the ONE World
Project, and April Sutton. In this event president of UNA-USA, southern
California division and San Fernando Valley chapter attended to support Dr.
Fallah and show their gratitude toward women's rights.
Dr. Soraya Fallah, an ambassador of United Nation Women-US National Committee of Greater LA (UNW-USNC-GLA), UNAUSA-SFV chapter’s advocacy chair, a scholar, researcher and a lifelong Women and Human Rights activist received recognition. The recognition stated as follows:" your leadership and outstanding commitment to the elevation of women is worthy of notice and commendation. Thank you for your continued service and support". In her time given to deliver a message, she reminded attendees that "gender equality is a right, not a privilege". She encouraged the audience to join UNW-USNC-GLA to be able to extend their scope of work for women around the globe. Dr. Soraya Fallah inspired the attendees to familiarize themselves with Kurdish women's struggles and Iranian women's oppression and movement. She humbly reported that she is very proud to receive such recognition. Alongside with her, six other prominent women who are tirelessly working for the advancement of women's right in politics, business, culture, and diplomacy were recognized.
Worth
mentioning that in this event Mr. Barry Simon, President
of the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA), Southern
California Division and Ms.Virginia Hatfield, copresident of SFV chapter attended. See the
pictures.
The chair of the event, Honorary Consul Mame M'BAYE, peace ambassador told the media that she is hoping that these kinds of women's celebrations help people from different countries to hold hands and unite on a regional and international level. She reported that " for her, this is a way to recognize the greatness of all women in Diplomacy who represent their governments and communities with pride and contribute to building bridges between their respective countries and the rest of the world".
During the event, Dr. Fallah extended her willingness to represent different entities and ABC agency news representatives, in order to broaden relationships and collaborations for the advancement of women's right around the globe.
