Corporate Ambassadors Program

Corporate Ambassadors Program is Launched in Morocco to Strengthen U.S.-Middle East Business Ties

WASHINGTON, May 29 Morocco-women-programWASHINGTON, May 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On June 9, three top female executives from the United States will be part of the new Corporate Ambassadors Program to be launched in Casablanca, Morocco by the U.S. State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and the Vital Voices Global Partnership. The American executives will join their Moroccan counterparts for a two-day event to share knowledge, insights and skills on general business issues, as well as those specific to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The exchange is part of the Corporate Ambassadors Program, a new strategy designed to develop women's entrepreneurship overseas by connecting high-level female executives from the United States with emerging businesswomen leaders from other countries. The program will equip women in emerging markets with management, business development, marketing, and communications skills. These skills are necessary for these women to expand their enterprises, help to provide for their families, and create jobs in their communities.Judith Willson (Vice President, Bernstein Global Wealth Management), Kathleen Diamond (Founder & CEO, Language Learning Enterprises, Inc.), and Sandra Taylor (President & CEO, Sustainable Business International, LLC) are the Corporate Ambassadors for the upcoming program in Morocco. Each woman, a leader in her respective field, will impart experience and knowledge in strategic planning, corporate growth, and corporate social responsibility during this dynamic program."The professional success of women not only brings economic benefits to the individual and her family but also serves to benefit the entire community, since she is a role model and an agent for change," stated Kent Patton, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.During 2008 and 2009, the Corporate Ambassadors Program will continue to bring delegations of American CEOs and senior executives to meet with businesswomen in the Middle East and North Africa to discuss pressing business topics and address issues central to the success of businesswomen in the region. Developed to support the advancement of the MENA Businesswomen's Network, the Corporate Ambassadors Program is a partnership between local businesswomen's organizations across the MENA region. It provides a forum for peer learning, information exchange, business development, and access to education, resources and tools. Investment in women's leadership will create new agents for positive social, political, and economic change."The Corporate Ambassadors Program is an ambitious undertaking," said Mayada Ani Logue, Director of the MENA Businesswomen's Network program at Vital Voices Global Partnership. "It's well known that when women engage in business they make a tremendous positive difference to their families, their communities, and their countries. Through this program we hope to also provide tools to assist businesswomen worldwide in contributing to the global economy."The Corporate Ambassador event, to be held on June 9 and 10, 2008 in Casablanca, Morocco, is organized by the Moroccan Hub of the MENA Businesswomen's Network, the Association des Femmes Chefs d'Entreprises du Maroc (AFEM), under the theme of "Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Growth." It is estimated that over 200 Moroccan businesswomen and men will participate in the exchange of ideas to help solidify the critical link between businesswomen in the MENA region and the United States.Beth Brooke, Global Vice Chair for Strategy and Regulatory Affairs at Ernst & Young and Co-Chair of the Corporate Ambassadors Program, remarked during the first Corporate Ambassador event in Jordan, "When you think about it, women represent a growth business: women are fast becoming the majority of university graduates in most of the industrialized world, and as they gain access to economic opportunity, they are closing the prosperity gap. Much of that economic growth is going to occur because women are increasingly building businesses of their own. This is true in the United States, and this is true in the Middle East."The Corporate Ambassadors Program aims to nurture women's empowerment and leadership by leveraging the collective energy and experience of businesswomen's organizations throughout the MENA region together with the expertise of top American businesswomen. In Morocco, it is anticipated that the attendees will leave this event with new contacts and innovative ideas that will strengthen their companies and businesses and encourage them to share their experience with their sisters, daughters, colleagues and friends. By sharing knowledge, more women are empowered to contribute to the safety, security and prosperity of the world.For more information about the Corporate Ambassador Program, please visit www.menabwn.org or www.afem.ma.PRESS REQUIREMENTS:Media attendance is limited to those who pre-register by June 4. For the event agenda and to register, please email Naima Omari at om_naima@yahoo.fr or call her at + 212.22.39.75.93.EDITOR'S NOTE: The following are available for interviews:
Mayada Ani Logue, Director of the MENA Businesswomen's Network Program, Vital Voices Global Partnership, Tel: +1 202 296-2021 x 258, Email: mayadaanilogue@vitalvoices.org
Sandra Taylor, President & CEO, Sustainable Business International LLC Contact: Martine Charles, Tel: +1 310 598 1615, Email: martine@teamelevation.com
Beth Brooke, Global Vice Chair for Strategy and Regulatory Affairs, Ernst & Young Contact: Hilary Wilkenfeld, Tel: +1-202-327-5979, Email: Hilary.Wilkenfeld@ey.com
Bouthayna Iraqui-Houssaini, Association des Femmes Chefs d'Entreprises du Maroc, Tel: + 212.372.61662, Email : locamed@menara.maMENA Businesswomen's NetworkThe MENA Businesswomen's Network is a partnership between local businesswomen's organizations across the Middle East and North Africa, Vital Voices Global Partnership and the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) of the U.S. Department of State. The goal of the partnership is to build a network of businesswomen in MENA in order to expand the number of women in business, to increase the value of their businesses, to advance the role of women in society, and to promote a regional culture of women's entrepreneurship. The MENA Businesswomen's Network provides a forum for peer learning, information exchange, business development and access to education, resources and tools, all of which are supportive of expanding economic opportunities and building networks for businesswomen in the region. Members of the Network are organizations that are committed to contributing to economic growth and reform, to supporting the needs of women-led businesses and professional women and to having a significant social impact. Network Hubs are in place in ten countries: Bahrain, Dubai, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia, and the West Bank/Palestinian Territories. Additional Hubs will be added in 2008. To learn more about the MENA Businesswomen's Network and the Network Hub in your country please visit www.menabwn.org.U.S. Department of State's Middle East Partnership InitiativeThe Middle East Partnership Initiative launched in 2002, serves as the principal U.S. Department of State initiative to foster democratic reform and the advancement of vibrant, prosperous societies in the Middle East and North Africa devoting more than $480 million to over 450 programs in 17 countries. More information is available at www.mepi.state.gov.Vital Voices Global PartnershipVital Voices Global Partnership is the preeminent non-governmental organization (NGO) that identifies, trains, and empowers emerging women leaders and social entrepreneurs around the globe, enabling them to create a better world for us all. Our international staff and team of over 1,000 partners, pro bono experts and leaders, including senior government, corporate and NGO executives, have trained and mentored more than 5,000 emerging women leaders from over 150 countries in Asia, Africa, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East since 1997. We have equipped these women with management, business development, marketing, and communications skills to expand their enterprises, help to provide for their families, and create jobs in their communities. These women have returned home to train and mentor more than 100,000 additional women and girls in their communities. They are the Vital Voices of our time. For more information about Vital Voices, please visit www.vitalvoices.org.AFEMThe Association des Femmes Chefs d'Entreprises du Maroc (AFEM) is the largest women's professional association and the largest women business owners' organization in Morocco with around 390 members. Created in September 2000 at the initiative of women entrepreneurs willing to take an active part in the economic and industrial development of their country and to constitute a national network, AFEM provides resources and services through education, networking, and public advocacy to empower its members to achieve career success and financial security. To learn more about AFEM, please visit www.afem.ma.For more information about the Corporate Ambassador Program, please visit www.menabwn.org or www.afem.ma.SOURCE Vital Voices Global Partnership