[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 12 (Tuesday, January 30, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E62]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRESSWOMAN BARBARA LEE PAYS TRIBUTE TO WOMEN FROM UGANDA AND THE 
UNITED STATES AS THEY GATHER TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE ``CALLING THE CIRCLE 
                        FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM''

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                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 30, 2001

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay special tribute to a group 
of extraordinary women leaders from Uganda, who, as part of a globally-
focused program entitled CALLING THE CIRCLE, are currently on a 12-day 
visit to the great state of California.
  These women leaders, who come from various regions of Uganda, 
represent two of the largest Ugandan NGOs that are focused on women's 
issues and leadership building: Action for Women in Development (or 
ACFODE) and the Forum for Women in Democracy (or FOWODE). In 
collaboration with ACFODE and FOWODE and other community organizations 
in Uganda, the Women's Intercultural Network, a Northern California-
based NGO, is CALLING THE CIRCLE between women of Uganda and the U.S. 
to strengthen democratic values throughout civil society. The goal of 
this collaboration is to develop mechanisms and models for joint 
advocacy, leadership development, and democracy building across 
cultural and digital divides. Their vision is to build a ``virtual 
grassroots network'' between Ugandan and U.S. women for on-going 
discussion, information exchange, and worldwide collaboration.
  There are already some important highlights from this trip, not the 
least of which was a welcome tea that was hosted by the Japanese 
Consul-General at his official residence. At this truly multi-cultural 
and international gathering, the women from Uganda were able to meet 
and talk with Japanese and Japanese-American women who represented a 
wide range of organizations, professions, and experiences. Consul-
General Tanaka, gave a gracious welcome to the women and expressed his 
country's commitment and interest in the continent of Africa. Along 
with Mr. Tanaka's welcome, Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr., of San 
Francisco, proclaimed Sunday, January 21 as ``Uganda Women's Day'' in 
the city and county of San Francisco.
  Furthermore, while here in the United States, the Uganda women will 
join their American sisters at issue forums, roundtable meetings and 
social gatherings to discuss and deliberate on issues that impact women 
across the globe. Some of these topics included health, mentoring women 
for leadership, democracy building, as well as economic and 
environmental justice.
  In closing Mr. Speaker, let me say how proud I am that one of the Bay 
Area's own NGOs, the Women's Intercultural Network, has been the force 
behind this global effort to link grassroots women leaders and 
organizations across digital and cultural divides. We often think of 
the Bay Area and Silicon Valley as the world's leader in producing 
technology, but now we must also recognize that the Bay Area is playing 
an important role in producing the next generation of women leaders 
throughout the world.




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