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"Everything shall be judged by history": Dr.Vaira-Vike Freiberga |
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"For all of us who get to be leaders, it is an incredible opportunity to do one's best. Everything shall be judged by history," shared Dr.Vaira Vike-Freiberga, in conversation with veteran journalist Sydnie Kohara of CBS News San Francisco. Dr. Vike-Freiberga was President of the Republic of Latvia from 1999 to 2007.
Last month, I had the opportunity to attend an event hosted by the San Francisco-based International Museum of Women (IMOW). It was the first of its Speaker Series with a talk by Dr.Vaira Vike-Freiberga, former President of Latvia, and the first woman head of state in post-communist Europe. The audience of several Global Fund donors, and Bay Area community members also included a delightfully surprising number of people of Latvian origin.
In the light-hearted but profound discussion, Dr.Freiberga shared stories from her extraordinary life of fleeing from Latvia as a child during the Soviet occupation and her life and work as a prolific scholar in Montreal, Canada. She also shared her passion for Latvian folklore called dainas, about which she has also written many books.
In addition to supporting IMOW, Global Fund has also supported five groups in Latvia to the tune of almost $42,000. One example is the Latvian Young Women's Association, based in the Latvian capital Riga, working to increase minority women's political and civic participation in Latvian society.
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