Information has the power to transform lives. The fundamental right of access to information is critical for both governments and the people they serve and is particularly crucial for women. It provides for a more meaningful voice, enabling them to participate in public life, access public services, and make better decisions for themselves, their families and their communities.
Yet for many women, the power of information remains unreachable.
That’s why The Carter Center is launching the groundbreaking Inform Women, Transform Lives campaign in 13 inaugural cities across the globe: Amman, Jordan; Atlanta, USA; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Cape Town, South Africa; Chicago, USA; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Dublin, Ireland; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Kampala, Uganda; Lima, Peru; Monrovia, Liberia; and São Paulo, Brazil.
Inform Women, Transform Lives seeks to raise awareness about women’s right to information, to significantly increase the number of women accessing key information from municipal governments, and to demonstrate the transformative impact that information has on individual women, their families, and the wider community. Ultimately, the Center hopes to galvanize a local and global movement to promote policy and practical solutions so that women will be able to transform their lives through access to information.
The Inform Women, Transform Lives campaign, which will officially launch on International Women’s Day on March 8, is creating targeted media campaigns for each city that aim to increase awareness of women’s right to information and catalyze women and civil society to seek information, underscoring why informing women transforms lives. Additionally, the Center will help local governments provide information to women on topics such as municipal and social services and public participation.
The Carter Center knows informing women will transform their lives. Here are stories of transformation:
Olivia Stewart of New Georgia Estate, Liberia, heard a radio message about government grants for projects empowering women and youth. Because she had attended Carter Center training about access to information, she felt confident enough to go to the office handing out the grants to get more information. She applied and won a US$18,000 grant. Read her story »
Caring for a young son with cerebral palsy and working as a housecleaner, Selima Begum of Sylhet Division, Bangladesh, struggled to make ends meet. She knew that disability allowances existed, but did not know the application process and had lost all hope of ever receiving the assistance. How did a request for information change this family's life? Read her story »
Because of a logistical snafu, the government of Guatemala thought for nearly three years that Blanca Nieves Valdés didn’t exist, and without an identity, she could not collect her small pension. That all changed when a Center-trained information liaison helped the elderly woman apply for an identification card through a request for information. Read her story »
Like many Liberian women, Ruth Saye has faced violence, subjugation, and loss as a result of her country's devastating civil war, but she was determined to empower women and help them to heal. In her struggle, she found that one of the biggest barriers to women's empowerment in Liberia was a debilitating lack of information. Read her story »
