TRAINING: Reconstructing Societies in the Wake of Conflict: Transitional Justice and Economic Development

We are delighted to share with you the application for the two-week Women in Public Service Project Institute hosted by Mount Holyoke College and Smith College early next summer—from May 25 through June 6, 2014—in partnership with the U.S. State Department and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. We write to ask your help in identifying possible candidates for the 2014 Women in Public Service Institute.

The Women in Public Service Institute at Mount Holyoke and Smith will focus on "Reconstructing Societies in the Wake of Conflict: Transitional Justice and Economic Development." Institute participants will be drawn predominately from Asia and will focus on women who are working to re-build their communities and promote sustainable economic livelihoods, following periods of political violence and human rights violations.
The Institute is part of the Women in Public Service Project founded in 2011 by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in collaboration with Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and Wellesley. The partnership has grown to include Mills College, Mount St. Mary's College, Scripps College, City College of New York, College of Saint Benedict, Stephens College, and a public university consortium spearheaded by University of Massachusetts, Lowell. WPSP is focused primarily on training early- to mid-career women from around the world to advance their careers in government and public service as they move their nations forward politically, economically, and socially. The central mission of WPSP is to foster a world in which civic and political leadership is 50 percent female by 2050.

The Institute will provide the emerging women leaders selected for participation with the concrete tools and training necessary to increase the scope, efficacy, and visibility of their work. Invited scholars, policymakers, and government and non-government representatives—among them Smith and Mount Holyoke alumnae—will aid delegates in expanding their leadership and communication skills, developing effective use of traditional and social media, and improving their ability to build national, regional, and international networks.

The 2014 Institute will be the third summer institute under the auspices of the WPSP. Wellesley and Bryn Mawr have hosted institutes; there have been a number of shorter programs as well, including a program on "Women's Leadership: Public Service and Global Health" that Smith held in Paris last fall. During the two weeks, delegates will spend time on both campuses (MHC: May 25-31 with arrival on May 24, Smith: June 1-6). Field trips are also being planned to visit elected leaders and community based organizations in Boston, New York, and Holyoke.

Qualified applicants are encouraged to submit applications online by November 15, 2013.
More information on the Institute is on the web at http://www.smith.edu/wpsp/
 

Karen Remmler
Director
Five College Women's Studies Research Center
Mount Holyoke College
Greg White
Director
Lewis Global Studies Center
Smith College