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Women in Asia praised for their roles in NGOs

"Similarly to the US, in some ways, the non-governmental sector has been a way for [Asian women] to evolve in leadership positions." Peggy Blumenthal, vice president of education services at the Institute of International Education PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES

Women have been active in creating and leading non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and non-profit organizations (NPOs) in Asia, Peggy Blumenthal, vice president of education services at the New York-based Institute of International Education (IIE), said in Taipei this week.

"Similarly to the US, in some ways, the non-governmental sector has been a way for [Asian women] to evolve in leadership positions," said Blumenthal, who joined IIE in 1984 as assistant director of program development and became a vice president in 1987.

Invited to speak about the laws governing NGOs in the US and her experiences in the management of NGOs at the annual meeting of the Elisabeth Luce Moore Leadership Program for Chinese Women (ELM) in Keelung City this weekend, Blumenthal told the Taipei Times that the ELM program targeted women partly because traditionally women have not been encouraged to study aboard or to participate in international exchanges.

"The ELM program brings women together from Asia for one month to study and work in the US [at NGOs] and return home and continue to work together informally ..."

"[These women] work in different social contexts but they all work on the same problems. As soon as they meet each other, they realize there is much they can do to help each other and learn from each other," Blumenthal said.

Sponsored by the Henry Luce Foundation and administered by the IIE since 1995, the ELM program has each year selected eight women from NGOs in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong to visit the US and learn about the the operations of NGOs in the US.

Founded in 1919, the IIE is one of the oldest and largest NPOs in the US that promotes international exchanges. Last year, it managed 250 programs involving more than 18,000 students, scholars and professionals. Since 1946, the IIE has been responsible for administering the US government's Fulbright Program, which aids the exchange of students and faculty members between countries.

The meeting held this weekend in Keelung, hosted by the Tsuei Ma Ma Foundation for Housing and Community Service and sponsored by the Elisabeth Luce Moore Foundation and its counterpart in Taiwan, the Himalaya Foundation, marks the first time the ELM program has held its meeting in Taiwan.

Blumenthal said that one of the main purposes of her visit is to explain the importance of the kind of training offered by the ELM program for women leaders in NPOs, and to seek support from other foundations and companies for the ELM program.
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