U.S. Delegation Attending Global Summit of Women June 14-16, 2007

Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, Paula J. Dobriansky will lead the U.S. delegation to the Global Summit of Women in Berlin, Germany, June 14-16. Global respect for women is a foreign policy imperative, and the United States supports the Global Summit of Women for its emphasis on women's economic advancement.

Under Secretary Dobriansky will be joined on the U.S. Delegation by Ambassador Patricia Brister, U.S. Representative to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women; Andrea Bottner, Senior Coordinator for the Office of International Women's Issues at the Department of State; Jovita Carranza, Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration; Shinae Chun, Director of the Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor; Karen Kerrigan, CEO of Women Entrepreneurs, Inc.; Yvonne Boice, President of Fugazy International Travel; Tami Longaberger, Chair of the National Women's Business Council and CEO of Longaberger, Inc.; and Amy Blyth, Senior Client Partner, Franklin Covey.

The Global Summit of Women, informally called the "Davos for Women," is an annual gathering of women business, professional, NGO, and government leaders from around the world for three days of exchanging best practices in advancing women's economic status worldwide. The 2007 Summit will explore the business opportunities that the 21^st century marketplace offers as well as the challenges that an open global marketplace presents to women as workers and entrepreneurs.

This year's conference will focus on the value of public-private partnerships as a way to advance women's economic progress. The Summit will also focus on those best practices enabling women to accelerate their economic growth. Additionally, the Summit will introduce a new session entitled, "Youth Forum," paying particular attention to programs advancing girls' economic potential. The Summit will host workshops on strategic networking, growing micro-enterprises into mainstream business through trade, e-commerce and a host of other topics. Past summits in Cairo, Egypt (2006), Mexico City (2005), Seoul, Korea (2004) and Marrakech, Morocco (2003) spurred the formation of regional and international networks, and inspired numerous successful business initiatives.

The Department considers this year's summit in Berlin to be a unique and welcome opportunity to gather women entrepreneurs, Fortune 500 executives, and high-ranking government officials in one forum to discuss how best to promote the advancement of women in business and government. For more information about the Summit, please visit http://www.globewomen.com/.

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