New International Understanding Fund

Research & Action Report Spring/Summer 2005

  Margaret Keon, a longtime friend and former member of the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) Board of Overseers, established The Margaret L. Keon International Understanding Initiative, through a $100,000 gift to WCW. The Initiative allows WCW to build on its long-standing commitment to global issues, expanding its capacity to: learn from women in other countries; reach beyond the borders of the US with WCW expertise and experience; and capitalize on the Centers' consultative status at the UN.

One of the first projects supported by this generous gift was an exploratory visit to Mumbai, India in March 2005 by Meena Hewett, assistant to the WCW executive director. There, Hewett met with researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health to explore possibilities of collaborations with researchers and NGOs in the area of gender violence. Hewett met with representatives from organizations working on anti-trafficking and domestic violence prevention, as well as researchers working on a wide range of other social issues.