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Synergos Announces 2009 Senior Fellows
Seven Civil Society Leaders to Join Global Leaders Network
New York City (November 10, 2008) -- Synergos has selected seven exceptional nonprofit leaders as new members of the Senior Fellows Network. These leaders join 100 other Senior Fellows from more than 30 countries.
The Senior Fellows are distinguished social innovators, mostly from the Global South, who are driving forward innovative poverty-reducing programs. Fellows are chosen based on their skills, knowledge and experience and the impact they are having on issues of poverty and social justice. The Senior Fellows Network links them to a worldwide learning and action network, thus creating a laboratory for proven innovators to expand their work. The Network facilitates knowledge transfer among these leaders. In addition, Senior Fellows are committed to working with other sectors of society and in tandem with the communities they serve.
Robert H. Dunn, President and CEO of Synergos, commented, “The Senior Fellows Network supports civil society leaders who form the front line of the battle against poverty and inequity in their home societies. By bringing seven new leaders into the Synergos community, we hope to forge new connections and collaborations that can deepen the impacts of their work.”
2009 Senior Fellows
Marwan Awartani (Palestine), Secretary-General, Universal Education Foundation, an advocacy organization that promotes the holistic development of children as a responsibility of society as a whole.
Maryam Bibi (Pakistan), founder and Chief Executive of Khwendo Kor, a grassroots organization that works directly with the village women, men, children and youth groups.
Martin Burt (Paraguay), Chairman and CEO of Fundación Paraguaya, a social enterprise that promotes entrepreneurship to enable people of limited resources to create jobs and increase their family income; also co-founder and Executive Director of Teach a Man to Fish, an international network that works to support schools and education programs in developing countries.
Lily Liu (China), Country Director, Marie Stopes International China, a reproductive health education and HIV prevention and care organization to young people in nine provinces.
Narciso Matos (Mozambique), Executive Director, Foundation for Community Development, a civic organization that seeks to join together the forces of all sectors of society to promote development, democracy and social justice.
Janet Mbene (Zimbabwe), Executive Director, MWENGO, a private voluntary association based of nongovernmental organizations in East and Southern African countries that focus on gender, children and youth, trade, land distribution, the environment and social justice.
Andrés Thompson (Brazil), Program Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, focusing on promoting racial equity and social inclusion.
Current Fellows include Ingrid Srinath, Secretary-General of CIVICUS; Olabisi Adeleye-Feyemi, Executive Director of the African Women's Development Fund; Rosangela Berman-Bieler, Executive Director of the Inter-American Institute on Disability and Inclusive Development; and Achmat Dangor of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
About Synergos
Synergos (www.synergos.org) is a global nonprofit organization that works to reduce poverty by helping government, business and civil society, and local communities work together to create long-term progress. Since 1986, Synergos has supported global networks such as the Global Philanthropists Circle and Senior Fellows Network, and innovative partnerships in more than 30 countries.
For More Information
Please contact:
Alex Dolan
Tel +1 646-963-2123
adolan@synergos.org
