This originally appeared on DipNote.
On March 8, Secretary of State John Kerry honored nine extraordinary women with the Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award, which recognizes women around the world who have shown exceptional leadership in advocating for women’s rights and empowerment, often at great personal risk.
On March 8, 2013, nine women received the International Women of Courage Award from Secretary John Kerry, for their service in women's rights and empowerment. Photo credit: State Department
Since the 2007, the U.S. Secretary of State has recognized 66 women from 44 countries with this award, and the annual ceremony has become an occasion that encourages all of us who work at the U.S. Department of State. One of the reasons the ceremony inspires us is the powerful stories these women have to tell. We want to share their stories and spotlight their achievements, and the use of social media is a vital way we can achieve that goal. So, we could not have been more pleased that today’s ceremony also marked the U.S. Department of State’s first Tweet-up, an in-person gathering of individuals from our online communities.
Eight of the State Department’s Twitter followers attended today’s ceremony and met Secretary of State John Kerry, Teresa Heinz Kerry, and special guest, First Lady Michelle Obama. The Tweet-up participants included graduate students, a kindergarten teacher, an astrophysicist, and advocates for women’s rights — a remarkable group in and of themselves.
During the event, one of the participants, Paul, tweeted, “Thanks for having us! It’s an honor to help spread the important message of women’s rights to the globe.” Another participant, Catherine, tweeted, “For a girl from a small country town this is amazing beyond words and I am so grateful.”
We were grateful to have had the chance to engage with our online community offline, in what was the first of what we hope will be many opportunities for our followers. Stay tuned to @StateDept for information on future events, and contribute to the conversation on International Women’s Day by using the hashtags #IWOC and #IWD.
