Global Connections

July 9, 2012, marks the first anniversary of South Sudan’s independence. And, as expected, political analysts and experts are pointing out the challenges still plaguing the new nation. According to the International Monetary Fund, 47 percent of South Sudanese are undernourished.
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As a child growing up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I watched my mother go to work each day, dedicated to running our local women’s health clinic. A staunch defender of reproductive rights, she was armed with more than a team of medical experts, but also the kindness and wisdom that patients—many of them young women—relied on to prepare for the rest of their lives.
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As we get closer to the London Summit on Family Planning, people often ask me, “Why is family planning so important to you?” The simple answer is that it can mean everything to so many of the women and families I meet. It means the difference between being empowered and feeling powerless.
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Last week, Rio+20 focused the world’s attention on sustainable development. Issues ranging from expanding access to energy to protecting the oceans to improving health care led the global conversation. While much of the attention surrounding the conference has focused on the outcome document – which is important and should be examined – we can’t measure Rio+20’s success based solely on text.
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Two years ago, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said, “We need to work toward a world in which access to networks and information brings people closer together and expands the definition of the global community.” This week, I saw her call to action happening live, as a group of six Internet Freedom Fellows, brought together by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Mission in Geneva, sat down to break bread with UNESCO and the United Nations Foundation here in our Washington D.C. offices
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As the United States, indeed the world, prepares for the eventual departure of Hillary Rodham Clinton as Secretary of State, I want to draw your attention to a new, in-depth New York Times Magazine profile of this ‘rock star’ diplomat. The opening paragraphs are about her commitment to clean cookstoves!
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