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| Angela Aggeler, Public Affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy |
March 28.2011
The traditional roles of women as caregivers and men as breadwinners were debated on on Monday evening during the Coffee with a Diplomat series at the American Corner Skopje. Angela Aggeler, Public Affairs Officer at the US Embassy opened and led the talk and helped us celebrate Women’s History Month by summarizing the most notable American women and their accomplishments throughout different times of US history. Some of the inspiring women mentioned were Pocahontas, Anne Marbury Hutchinson, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, Nellie Bly, Maya Ying Lin etc. Who are the Macedonian women whose successes we celebrate today? Mother Teresa, Vera Ciriviri Trena, Ibe Palikukja, Atina Bojadzi were just a few of those mentioned.
In the lively talk that followed the importance of role models and education was emphasized as the starting point in giving women the rights they deserve. Mrs. Aggeler expressed her hopes that some day soon the first Macedonian woman mayor is going to be elected. That people will not discriminate against by saying that a person thinks like a man or a woman, but thinks as a diplomat, doctor, professor, nurse. Women should also support each other as Mrs. Aggeler pointed out “We have a moral importance as women to try and help those who need our assistance and help” and to remember that it can’t only be women fighting for women. We all need to take an active role in the fight for women’s rights regardless of our gender.
As the 5 interns who had assisted the American Corner staff these past months were presented with their certificates by Mrs. Aggeler we were also reminded that there is no such thing as being too smart for a girl. Find your role model and try to become such a person yourself. Angela’s role model is the woman who started the first domestic violence hotline in Vietnam for abused women. This woman had given Angela a lot to think about. Who is your role model and how inspired are you to face women’s issues yourself?
The traditional roles of women as caregivers and men as breadwinners were debated on on Monday evening during the Coffee with a Diplomat series at the American Corner Skopje. Angela Aggeler, Public Affairs Officer at the US Embassy opened and led the talk and helped us celebrate Women’s History Month by summarizing the most notable American women and their accomplishments throughout different times of US history. Some of the inspiring women mentioned were Pocahontas, Anne Marbury Hutchinson, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, Nellie Bly, Maya Ying Lin etc. Who are the Macedonian women whose successes we celebrate today? Mother Teresa, Vera Ciriviri Trena, Ibe Palikukja, Atina Bojadzi were just a few of those mentioned.
In the lively talk that followed the importance of role models and education was emphasized as the starting point in giving women the rights they deserve. Mrs. Aggeler expressed her hopes that some day soon the first Macedonian woman mayor is going to be elected. That people will not discriminate against by saying that a person thinks like a man or a woman, but thinks as a diplomat, doctor, professor, nurse. Women should also support each other as Mrs. Aggeler pointed out “We have a moral importance as women to try and help those who need our assistance and help” and to remember that it can’t only be women fighting for women. We all need to take an active role in the fight for women’s rights regardless of our gender.
As the 5 interns who had assisted the American Corner staff these past months were presented with their certificates by Mrs. Aggeler we were also reminded that there is no such thing as being too smart for a girl. Find your role model and try to become such a person yourself. Angela’s role model is the woman who started the first domestic violence hotline in Vietnam for abused women. This woman had given Angela a lot to think about. Who is your role model and how inspired are you to face women’s issues yourself?
see the full album from this event on our facebook page.
