VirtuArte.com

As stated in our previous blog post today is International Women's Day, a day when women are recognized for their accomplishments.  Today we will be featuring Carol Cassiy, who works with artisans in Laos and Cambodia, and Ellen Dorsch, who works with artisans in Ethiopia, Swaziland, Afghanistan and Senegal.

Tomorrow, the 8th of March will be the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, a day when women are recognized for their achievements.  It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments and more importantly for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women.

As I have stated before one of my ongoing objectives is to have you get to know the artists and artisans whose products you see on our website. I have hosted a couple of "Meet the Artist" Events here in Washington, DC which a number of you have attended. For those of you who do not live in Washington area, I have been informed that a couple of our Artists will be participating in Trunk Shows in cities around the United States in March and April.

Over the last year one of the organizations I have gotten to know is Vital Voices. Vital Voices Global Partnership is a non-government organization that identifies, trains and empowers emerging women leaders and social entrepreneurs arond the world. They provide these women with the capacity, connections and credibility they need to unlock their leadership potential.

As many of you know last month I went to the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market (Market), where I met Rebecca Lolosoli of Kenya. (see blog post dated 21 July 2009) Rebecca is the matriarch of Umoja Uso Women's Village, a community of women who were facing social and economic difficulties; abandoned by their families; or fleeing domestic violence, forced marriage, or genital mutilation. The women of this community create beautiful beadwork that was sold at the Market.

If you follow VirtuArte on Twitter (http://twitter.com/virtuarte) you would know that earlier this month I was in Santa Fe to attend the International Folk Art Market. While there I had the opportunity to meet Rebecca Lolosoli, a Kenyan artisan participating in the Folk Art Market. After talking to her for a while I found out she is a very remarkable woman.

On Sunday, the 8th of February, a day that felt like Spring was here, VirtuArte hosted its first "Meet the Artist" event featuring Elhadji Koumama. Elhadji is the patriarch of the Koumama Family and the ninth child of Mohamed Koumama, one of the most famous Tuareg silversmiths.

Some of you are probably thinking she must have started writing this post last week and forgot to change the title. I know the Presidential Election was last week. Who could forget. This is not a reminder for that election; it is a request for you to vote in another kind of election.

In my last post I talked about the need to help older girls and women who did not have the opportunity to get an education become active participants in their societies. A couple of weeks ago I spoke to a woman, Ann Elston, who is doing just that with the Koumama family. Her journey started in 2001 when her husband introduced her to Elhadji Koumama, a Tuareg silversmith living in Agadez, Niger.