| Media Note (Revised) Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC September 26, 2002 Afghan Women Receive Corporate Help to Develop Computer Skills During U.S. TourGateway, Inc. will present laptop computers to fourteen women representing various Afghan government ministries on Friday, September 27, 2002, at the Gateway Store at 7208 Old Keene Mill Road in Springfield, Virginia. The event begins at 10:00 a.m. and is open to the media. Please preset cameras by 9:30 a.m. After the computer presentation, the women will attend an introductory class at the store designed to help them get more out of their new notebook PCs. Special guests at the announcement include U.S. Senator George Allen (R-VA) and U.S. Representative Frank R. Wolf (R-VA). These women have traveled to the United States to study specific computer skills, communications and leadership management. The U.S. Department of State, in association with the U.S-Afghan Women's Council, designed the educational exchange program called, "U.S. Leadership Management and Computer Education for Afghan Women." The goal of the project is to strengthen local capacity to support Afghan women through building skills of the participants and their ministries. Computer education is a large component of the itinerary planned for the Afghan women. The intensive curriculum will take place at universities in Los Angeles, Denver, and Atlanta over the next two weeks. The ladies will reconvene in Austin before traveling to New York City. The "U.S. Leadership Management and Computer Education for Afghan Women" tour is part of the International Visitors Program, administered by the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, which brings participants to the United States from all over the world each year to meet and confer with their professional counterparts and to experience the United States firsthand. The project consists of a four-week educational program in the United States. The program will focus on computer skills for grant writing and administration, and leadership. Participants in the International Visitors Program are selected by American embassy committees and represent current or potential leaders in government, politics, the media, education, and other fields. More than 186 current and former heads of state, 1,500 cabinet-level ministers, and many other distinguished world leaders in government and the private sector have participated in the International Visitors Program. CONTACTS: Information on U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council/U.S. Aid to Women in Afghanistan: http://usawc.state.gov Information on women's issues involving the U.S. Department of State: http://www.state.gov/g/wi/ Information on exchanges offered through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs: http://exchanges.state.gov/. |
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