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WASHINGTON - Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,Malawi's new President Joyce Banda and several other female presentand former heads of state and government gathered in WashingtonMonday for a panel discussion on the challenges of internationaldevelopment, democracy and global security. The administrator for the U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment, Rajiv Shah, opened the first Frontiers in Developmentforum at Georgetown University by announcing a unique first panel. "We did not try this morning and set out to produce an openingpanel with five female heads of state. That that happenedcoincidentally is a signal of the way the world is evolving andchanging," said Shah. Female leaders attending the forum : In addition to Malawi's Joyce Banda and Liberia's EllenJohnson Sirleaf, the panel included the President of the Republicof Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, the former president of Ireland, MaryRobinson, and the former prime minister of New Zealand, HelenClark. President Banda said she is certain that women look atleadership differently, and that they look at leadership as anopportunity to serve the people. "And I believe that leadership is a love affair," saidBanda. "You must fall in love with the people, and the peoplemust fall in love with you." President Banda said she came out of an abusive marriage and herlong-standing goals are to work tirelessly to empower girls andwomen economically and to promote maternal health and safechildbirth. She has only been in office for six weeks and attracteda lot of attention for taking quick action to sell the presidentialjet and to reduce the size of the presidential motorcade. Former New Zealand President Helen Clark said this was a refreshingchange from normal practice. "Sometimes symbolic decisions, such as President Banda hasjust made, around selling the presidential plane and the fleet ofMercedes, when I tweeted about this, I got an incredibly positivereaction about 'there's a woman in charge,' said Clark." Ms. Clark said women tend to make better leaders because they aremore directly connected to the needs of their people and becausethey still more often play a direct role in caring for children andfrail relatives. President Sirleaf of Liberia said having women in leadershippositions does make a real difference. Ms. Sirleaf had thisresponse when asked what she would like Western and internationaldevelopment assistance donors to recognize. "That our people, particularly those is rural areas, areintelligent if not educated, that they know what their needs are,they know what best will help them to change their lives,"said Sirleaf. Several of the speakers pointed out that with tough economic timesin the United States and Europe, there are likely to be cuts in theamount of development assistance. U.S. Senator Richard Lugarstrongly defended U.S. foreign aid programs. "But I would assert this morning that development assistance,when properly administered, remains a bargain for United Statesnational security and for our own economic and moral standing inthe world," Lugar said. Senator Lugar, a moderate Republican from Indiana, lost hisRepublican primary race in his home state last month to a moreconservative Tea Party challenger, and will be leaving the Senateafter 36 years. He has been a leading champion of U.S. developmentaid. I am an expert from ipl-lasermachines.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Laser Tattoo Removal Machines Manufacturer , China IPL Beauty Machine, Intense Pulsed Light Laser,and more.
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