Celebrating women’s political empowerment, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) will award its 2014 Madeleine K. Albright Grant to Aswat Nisaa (Women’s Voices) of Tunisia at a May 19 award luncheon at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will deliver the keynote address.

Before the luncheon, NDI Board Chairman Madeleine K. Albright will join Janet Napolitano, president of the University of California system and former secretary of homeland security, and Liberata Mulamula, Tanzania’s ambassador to the U.S. and Mexico, for a discussion on how women’s political empowerment is linked to economic success. Claire Shipman of ABC’s “Good Morning America” will moderate the panel.

“It’s been proven that when women are politically and economically empowered, standards of living improve,” said Albright. “Democracy will be able to truly deliver only when women, who make up half the world’s population, have an equal place at the decision-making table.”

Aswat Nisaa, an organization of men and women created after the 2011 revolution, won the award for its efforts to give women a greater role in Tunisia’s political life and democratic transition. Ikram Ben Saïd, founder and president of Aswat Nisaa, will accept the award on behalf of the organization, which plans to use the $25,000 grant to help women run successfully in Tunisia’s municipal council elections expected in early 2015.

The lunch will stream live at www.ndi.org/live. Follow the conversation #NDIMKA

Published May 7, 2014

Updated May 14, 2014