VZCZCXYZ0003
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSN #0880 2642025
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 212025Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1626
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 000880 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AMBASSADOR MELANNE VERVEER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWMN KPAO PGOV ECON ES
SUBJECT: LAUNCHING OF VITAL VOICES EL SALVADOR 
 
¶1. Summary:  On September 17, Salvadorans launched their 
Vital Voices Global Network Affiliate Chapter, with the goal 
of identifying, mentoring and developing the next generation 
of women leaders in business, politics, civic society and the 
media.  The president and vice president of the Salvadoran 
chapter are businesswomen Carmen Irene Alas and Maria Eugenia 
Brizuela, former Minister of Foreign Affairs.  They 
participated in the Secretary's meeting with Salvadoran women 
entrepreneurs on May 31, here in San Salvador, and will take 
part in follow-on activities in Washington next month.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  The newest chapter of the Vital Voices (VV) Global 
Network, launched in El Salvador on September 17, will be led 
by a diverse group of women from different political 
affiliations, professional associations, businesses and 
institutions.  They have united to identify, mentor and 
develop the next generation of Salvadoran women leaders in 
the fields of business, politics, civic society and the 
media.  The chapter aims to empower women through training, 
networking and regular symposia, while also increasing their 
impact on Salvadoran society by offering them the support of 
a global platform.   The Salvadoran chapter is the sixth in 
Latin America and the Caribbean, joining chapters in Brazil, 
Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela.  Vital Voices San 
Salvador identifies itself as part of the United States Vital 
Voices Democracy Initiative, established in 1997 by 
then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Secretary 
of State Madeleine Albright after the United Nations Fourth 
World Conference for Women in Beijing. 
 
¶3.  The primary focus of the Salvadoran VV Chapter will be to 
organize specialized training courses for some 160 women a 
year in coordination with the Business Foundation for 
Educational Development (FEPADE).  These courses aim to 
develop female leadership and establish alliances that will 
allow Salvadoran women to actively participate in all aspects 
of public life.  The newly elected president of Vital Voices 
El Salvador, Carmen Irene Alas, publisher of regional 
business magazine, "Estrategia y Negocios," emphasized the 
inclusive and participative nature of the Salvadoran chapter, 
its national scope, and its vision of public-private 
partnership.  She stated that the chapter's aim is to be "an 
agent of change and integration, a creator of opportunities 
and a promoter of local programs for leadership, self-esteem 
and empowerment of women in El Salvador." 
 
¶4.  The chapter initiated its work with an inaugural forum: 
"Vital Voices: the New Role of Women", which attracted an 
audience of 200 women, and provided, as examples, the life 
experiences of four Central American businesswomen who have 
been recognized as among the most admired in the region. 
Attendees to the launch included Vital Voices Global 
Partnership President and CEO Alyse Nelson and VV,s Senior 
Program Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean, Eugenia 
Podesta, as well as former Salvadoran First Lady Elizabeth de 
Calderon Sol.  The latter had hosted Secretary Clinton when 
both were first ladies in 1998, to inaugurate programs that 
combat violence against women in El Salvador. 
 
¶5.  Comment:  Several founding members of Vital Voices El 
Salvador participated in activities associated with the 
Pathways to Prosperity Ministerial in San Salvador in May, in 
which Secretary Clinton underscored the importance of social 
inclusion to ensure that marginalized groups benefit fully 
from the business opportunities created by free trade. 
Several members of the VV El Salvador, including Maria 
Eugenia Brizuela and Elena de Alfaro, will participate in the 
Department,s Pathways to Prosperity Women Entrepreneurship 
conference in early October.  Post will look for ways in 
which Vital Voices can serve as a partner in organizing 
follow-up activities to expand Salvadoran women,s access to 
business opportunities. 
BLAU