Celebrating Diversity in 2008

180 refugee and immigrant women from 18 states and originally from 38 countries attended In Our Hands: Building Solidarity and Community, RWN's National Refugee and Immigrant Women's Leadership Conference. Truly, 8 is an auspicious number.

They were presenters and participants in workshops about leadership development, economic empowerment, health, fundraising, and more.

A report and picture slideshow will be coming soon.

Leadership Conference Registration Deadline Extended

The registration deadline has been extended to November 10, 2008 and one day rates are also available.

Refugee Women’s Network will be hosting In Our Hands: Building Solidarity and Community, our 9th Annual Refugee & Immigrant Women’s Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia on November 14-16th 2008.

RWN welcomes you, your friends, staff, and the refugee and immigrant women you know to attend this gathering of diverse individuals with as diverse experiences and workshop on the topics of leadership, advocacy, microenterprise, and health. We expect 150 women from across the US who will come from 40 different countries to attend.

For more information visit http://www.riwn.org/rwn/rwn+conference.

There’s an airfare discount through AirTran, with the promo code of ATL 111508, which provides:
· A 10% discount on the lowest available AirTran Airways one way fare.
· Attendees may travel three days prior to the event start date and three days after the event close date if they wish to spend any additional time in Atlanta.

Airfare discount available for Conference participants

Refugee Women’s Network is also offering an airfare discount through AirTran Airlines for those attending In Our Hands: Building Solidarity and Community, our 9th Annual Refugee & Immigrant Women’s Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia on November 14-16th 2008.

Also, we are extending the early registration fee to November 1, 2008.

Workshops will addressing the topics of leadership, advocacy, microenterprise, and health and the registration materials are available at http://www.riwn.org/rwn/rwn+conference

The promo code of ATL 111508 provides:
· A 10% discount on the lowest available AirTran Airways one way fare.
· Attendees may travel three days prior to the event start date and three days after the event close date if they wish to spend any additional time in Atlanta.

One month away: National Refugee & Immigrant Women’s Leadership Conference

In Our Hands: Building Solidarity and Community
9th Annual Refugee & Immigrant Women’s Leadership Conference
November 14-16, 2008, Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia

The conference is an opportunity for women leaders from the refugee and immigrant community to share their experience, best practices, network and learn from one another. The Gallery of Change-Makers will highlight their achievements and workshops are organized into the following major thematic categories: Leadership Development, Organizational/Community Development, Personal Growth/Development, Health, Microenterprise Development, Youth and Advocacy.

Participants can register for the full conference or for one day only, and a promotional code from AirTran Airways provides a 10% discount on airfare.

For more information, contact info@riwn.org or 404-299-0180 x 226. Registration materials and the workshop schedule are available online at http://www.riwn.org/.

The conference is only a month away. Register today!

Save the Date: National Conference November 14 to 16, 2008

In Our Hands: Building Solidarity and Community
9th Annual Refugee & Immigrant Women’s Leadership Conference
November 14-16, 2008
Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia

Keynote speakers:

• Kabzuag Vaj – Ms. Kabzuag Vaj is a community organizer with Freedom Inc. which organizes services and advocacy for low income communities of color in Dane County, Wisconsin.
• Reaching Across Ethnic Divides to Build Solidarity & Community – A panel discussion of the genesis of three organizations: International Community School, International Women’s House and Tapestri, Inc.: Refugee and Immigrant Coalition Challenging Gender-Based Violence.
• Looking to the Future -- Presentation by our board of directors about the future direction of RWN.

About the Conference: The 9th Annual Refugee & Immigrant Women’s Leadership Conference is an opportunity for women leaders from the refugee and immigrant community to share their experience, best practices, network and learn from one another.

Workshops: organized into the following major thematic categories: Leadership Development, Organizational/Community Development, Personal Growth/Development, Health, Microenterprise Development, Youth and Advocacy.

For more information, contact info@riwn.org or 404-299-0180 x 226. Registration materials will soon be posted online at http://www.riwn.org/.

Happy New Year!

It's 2008 and we have big plans for this year. These are the big events we will be having this year:

• Strengthening Georgia: Policies that Support Refugees’ Path to Becoming New Americans -- January 30, 2008, Decatur, Georgia. The forum will include a survey of refugees in Georgia; government & business leaders’ perspectives on integrating refugee newcomers to Georgia; ground breaking policy efforts in other states to ensure the successful integration of newcomers; and refugee, policy maker and academic perspectives on emerging issues such as public education for Limited English Proficient students and the potential impact of an English Only rule for Georgia. Contact Satyam Barakoti at info@riwn.org for more information.

• National Conference for Refugee and Immigrant Women -- to be held in Fall 2008. It's our biggest event of the year and we're aiming for an attendence of 350 women from across the US. We're working on the date and place, and will post about it as soon as those are secured.

• National Health Promoter Leadership Training of Trainers -- again, dates yet to be determined, but in all likelihood in the first half of the year. Click here to go to our website and read about the National Health Promoter Leadership Training of Trainers we conducted in 2007.

In the Atlanta area, we will be training a new cohort of local health promoters to educate new refugees about healthy living in their new community, and continue working with our microenterprise clients to start, expand, or strengthen their own businesses.

We strive to keep RWN relevent to the lives of refugee and immigrant women as they are lived now in the US. If you have any suggestions or comments, please do contact us at http://www.riwn.org/contact_rwn or leave comment on the blog.

Happy New Year!