I have to wonder why even as recently as the May 3 Newsweek article, I read that our SOS has not picked a signature issue as her own. Oh, DUH! I guess empowering women and girls cannot count as a signature issue because, you know, it's just women and girls. It's not like it's AfPak, Iran, China or the Middle East or anything. It's only women and girls.
Secretary Clinton Announces the "Secretary's Innovation Award for Women's and Girls' Empowerment"
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DCApril 28, 2010
Secretary Clinton announced the launch of the “Secretary’s Innovation Award for Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment” this morning during remarks at the Summit on Entrepreneurship. Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, the Innovation Award seeks to find and bring to scale the most pioneering approaches to the political, economic and social empowerment of women and girls around the globe.
The award is part of the State Department’s continuing emphasis on public-private partnerships, and is administered by its Office of Global Women’s Issues. The award, and the office, is founded on the premise that the major economic, security, governance and environmental challenges of our time cannot be solved without the full participation of women at all levels of society. The Rockefeller Foundation, as part of its mission to expand opportunity and promote more equitable growth, seeks to identify innovative approaches that can be scaled to address these challenges.
A panel of jurors, co-chaired by Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer and Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin, will assist in the selection of two award winners in 2010. Jury members include Cherie Blair, Beth Brooke, Paul Farmer, Noeleen Heyzer, Anne Mulcahy, Sheryl Sandberg, Sheryl WuDunn, and Muhammad Yunus. Each awardee will receive a grant of up to $500,000 with which to expand the scope of their idea.
The selection process will occur in two rounds. All interested parties are requested to submit an initial concept paper by June 1, 2010. Submissions can be sent to SGWIRFPInnovation@state.gov. Out of that initial pool, a subset of contributors will be invited to submit a full proposal. The awardees will be announced by the end of 2010.
Additional information about the award can be found on the website of the Office of Global Women’s Issues.
