Vital Voices

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The Vital Voices Global Partnership is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization which promotes and advocates the participation of women in leadership roles in the political processes of their societies and countries. It was started in 1997 as a United States initiative, the Vital Voices Democracy Initiative by First Lady of the United States Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who following the events of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing saw the advancement of women in all countries of the world as an important goal for United States foreign policy.^[1] Deemed successful, in 1999 it was created as an NGO under its present name.^[1]

Former Hillary Clinton aide and chief of staff Melanne Verveer is co-founder of the global partnership and its board chair.^[2] Besides now Senator Clinton, honorary chairs include current and former U.S. Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and Nancy Kassebaum Baker.^[2] Funding has come from a variety of sources, including individual donations, corporate sponsorships such as from ExxonMobil,^[3] and the efforts of the Clinton Global Initiative.^[4]

In 2002 Vital Voices was asked by First Lady Laura Bush to drive the effort to supply school uniforms to the many girls returning to school for the first time following the U.S. led overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan.^[5] Vital Voices gives a "Global Leadership Award, Women Changing Our World" in an event at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; March 2007 recipients included Doctor Gao Yaojie of China, whose request to Chinese authorities to leave the country to accept the award attracted international attention,^[6] along with three other women from China and three women from India, Guatemala, and Sudan. Previously sign language translator and Orange Revolution hero Nataliya Dmytruk of Ukraine was among winners of Vital Voices' 2005 awards.^[7]