Condoleezza Rice and Cherie Blair: Changing the Face of Women’s Education in Asia

News provided by

Asian University for Women Support Foundation

May 13, 2010, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, May 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Asian University for Women (AUW) will host a fundraising event at Sotheby's art auction house this Thursday, May 13, 2010 to highlight the importance of women's education in the developing world. Dr. Condoleezza Rice, AUW Patron and former U.S. Secretary of State, and Mrs. Cherie Blair, AUW Patron and wife of Tony Blair, are the keynote speakers for the event. AUW is honoring Goldman Sachs and the 10,000 Women Initiative for its commitment to and support of the mission of AUW. AUW will also honor Kathy Matsui, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd, for her tireless efforts in helping launch AUW.

Located in Chittagong, Bangladesh, the Asian University for Women is based on the firm belief that higher education provides a critical pathway to leadership development, economic progress, and social and political equality. The University's mission is to prepare women of high ability and potential to meet society's challenges and effect positive change through an innovative and rigorous curriculum. AUW combines the liberal arts and sciences with graduate professional training to develop thoughtful and ethical leaders.

The University educates promising young women from diverse cultural, religious, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds from all across Asia and the Middle East, with a particular emphasis on the inclusion of women from impoverished, rural, and refugee populations. There are currently 300 students enrolled at AUW from 12 countries throughout Asia, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. The student body will expand to 450 students in the new academic year.

The Asian University for Women Support Foundation (AUWSF), incorporated as a non-profit organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, serves as the planning and fundraising organization for this effort.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080827/ASIANUNIVLOGO)

SOURCE Asian University for Women Support Foundation