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By JACQUE HILBURN
Staff Writer

Economic stability, health and family planning, educational empowerment are listed as topics for discussion during a unique goal-setting forum for women, hosted by the League of Women Voters and American Association of University Women.

Talks on "Empowering Women Worldwide" are scheduled at 7 p.m. March 24 at the Tyler Public Library, 201 S. College, to highlight needed changes to meet eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

The event also coincides with Women's History Month, organizers said.

U.N. objectives were identified in 2000 by world leaders who saw a collective responsibility to uphold principals of human dignity, equality and equity at the global level, and meet the goals by 2015, organizers said.

Development goals are to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS; malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; develop a global partnership for development.

To add a personal perspective to these initiatives, five women were enlisted to "put a face" on the issues, said event organizer Kristi Roberts for the AAUW.

"I'm excited we have such a broad spectrum of people who will be speaking out to women in East Texas," said Mrs. Roberts. "The League of Women Voters does hold events with speakers, but this is the first one that focused on the Millennium Goals and the first one to address just women."

The mission of the AAUW is to advance equity for women and girls through advocacy, education and research.

The LWV is a nonpartisan political organization that strives to encourage informed participation in government and increase understanding of major public policy issues through education and advocacy.

Guest speakers of the forum include:

Bonnie Hardaway, a retired teacher and member of LWV and AAUW, is planning to speak on economic empowerment. She is an active participant of the Great Decisions series at the Tyler Public Library; she organized the Building a Safer More Compassionate World forum, held in connection with AAUW, LWV, UT Tyler and Tyler Collegiate Model United Nations Club.

Jackie Littleton serves on the board of directors of AAUW at both the state and local level, and plans to speak on educational empowerment. She is a retired classroom teacher, having taught for 30 years in both elementary school and at the college level.  She is a nationally recognized consultant in museum education, and a writer and editor on educational issues. 

Dee Brock plans to speak on civic/political empowerments. She served as senior vice president for education for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in Washington, DC; a college teacher and administrator; and, at various times, a writer, a public relations/marketing executive, and collegiate consultant. She is a partner in FAQs Press, a small publishing company, and is serving her fifth year as LWV president of Tyler/Smith County.

Dr. Marietta Crowder will share her take on assisting women in the United States and overseas. She is the former regional director of the Texas Department of State Health Services, Region 4/5. Since retiring, she travels to various countries providing health services. She recently returned from Nepal and is now in Belize, working with her physician-husband in these areas.

Kelly Hart, who serves as director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood in Garland, is scheduled to speak about women's health and family planning. She holds a B.A. degree in government from UT Austin and a master in health science from Johns Hopkins. She has been with Planned Parenthood for nine years and previously opened the first PPNT office in Garland.

Promoting equality and empowerment of women is designed to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education settings, said Ms. Brock.

"Equality between women and men is a worthy goal that is central to progress in human development," she said. "The U.N. Development Program asserts that it is committed to making gender equality a reality, not only because it is a moral imperative, but because it is a way to promote prosperity and well-being for all."

Audience members will be encouraged to dialogue about the U.N. objectives. For more information, phone Ms. Roberts at 903-534-8825, 903-245-1820, or e-mail her at bruce@robertslawfirm.com or kribru@aol.com.