Photo courtesy of GirlsandWomen.com.

The second edition of the G(irls)20 Summit opened today in Paris, and will run until October 21. Because girls and women are half of humanity and that they are always the first affected by the different global challenges, this international summit is dedicated to women and to solutions they can provide to major global economic issues. The G(irls)20 is an integral part of the international campaign “3.3 Billion Ways,” based on the assumption that the planet has 3.3 billion women and therefore, there are 3.3 billion ways to change the world!

The G(irls)20 brings together female citizens, aged 18 to 20, from each G20 country and a representative of the African Union, bringing the number of delegates to 21. Delegates discuss, debate and design innovative solutions to global economic challenges. Representatives of civil society, the private sector and foundations are attending this 100 percent female summit and will share and discuss their ideas with each other for better integration of girls and women in the global economy.

According to Belinda Stronach, founder of the Belinda Stronach Foundation and summit organizer, “The G(irls)20 Summit is a unique platform for the girls to express their innovative ideas and to bring them to the G20 leaders.”

At ONE, we fully support this initiative and look forward to its conclusions!

For more information, please visit: www.girlsandwomen.com

We often look at war through the eyes of a man: killing, destruction, power and violence.

What if we looked at war -– and most importantly, peace –- through the eyes of a woman? What would that look like? A century ago, 90 percent of war casualties were male soldiers; today, nearly 70 percent are civilian women and children.

Beginning tonight, October 11, PBS will air a docu-series called “Women, War & Peace,” a five-part special series to show women are not only suffering unprecedented casualties in today’s wars -– but are also emerging as leaders in brokering peace and postwar reconciliation.

Narrated by Matt Damon, Tilda Swinton, Geena Davis and Alfre Woodard and produced by Abigail Disney, Gini Retiker and Pamela Hogan, the series covers women making change and creating peace in four countries: Bosnia, Liberia, Afghanistan and Colombia, and culminates in a fifth episode with today’s leading peace and security experts, current and past secretaries of state and top officials.

“Women, War & Peace” will air on PBS stations across the country each Tuesday from October 11 to November 8th. Check your local listings.To learn more, go to www.womenwarandpeace.org.

In the 110-year history of the Nobel Peace Prize, most honorees have been men. The first African woman to win was Kenyan activist Wangari Maathai, who was recognized in 2004 for her persistence in democracy, human rights and environmental conservation. But last week, the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize was honored to three campaigning women: Yemen’s Tawakul Karman, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and her compatriot Leymah Gbowee. The women were awarded for their nonviolent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full peace-building work.

Last week’s announcement is another shining indication of the immense contribution from African women. Momentum is building around the investment of girls and women as an essential part in eliminating poverty and establishing global development. Research is proving that investments in women will impact economic growth and improve the well-being of communities.

Productivity will have gains. According to the 2012 World Bank, Gender Equality and Development Report, women now represent 40 percent of the global labor force. And advances in women’s health and education will create improved outcomes for the next generation. Empowering women to be actors in the social, economic and political arenas will create a varied representation of voices on local and national community levels.

“We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society,” stated Thorbjorn Jagland, a former Norwegian prime minister and head of the Oslo-based Nobel committee.

Yemen’s most lively activist and mother of three, Tawakul Karman is advocating for freedom of expression and protest not only for women’s opportunities but also for the youth of Yemen. Honoree of the Blue Ribbon Peace and Profiles in Courage awards, Leymah Gbowee serves as the executive director of the Women Peace and Security Network Africa, based in Accra, Ghana, and her peace-building initiatives have spanned numerous parts of Liberia. The efforts of Gbowee greatly assisted in the 2005 election of fellow citizen President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The Harvard graduate, incarcerated activist and exile from Liberia, has tirelessly fought for years against social inequalities in her country.

ONE congratulates these women on their individual and revolutionary marches for the leadership of women and their role in promoting peace, democracy and gender equality. This momentous occasion demonstrates the importance of women’s voices in creating purposeful political leadership and social change.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced earlier today that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2011 is to be divided in three equal parts between Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is Africa’s first democratically elected female president. Since her inauguration in 2006, she has contributed to securing peace in Liberia, to promoting economic and social development, and to strengthening the position of women. Leymah Gbowee mobilized and organized women across ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end to the long war in Liberia, and to ensure women’s participation in elections. She has since worked to enhance the influence of women in West Africa during and after war. In the most trying circumstances, both before and during the “Arab spring,” Tawakkul Karman has played a leading part in the struggle for women’s rights and for democracy and peace in Yemen.

Johnson-Sirleaf’s son James spoke to Reuters on the phone from Monrovia saying “We are very excited. This is very big news and we have to celebrate.”

It is the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s hope that the prize to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman will help to bring an end to the suppression of women that still occurs in many countries, and to realise the great potential for democracy and peace that women can represent.

The list, “The 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa,” is a rundown of ladies under 45 who are making the biggest impact on African business, technology, policy and media. You may recognize some of the names, like Chimamanda Adichie (who wrote “Half of a Yellow Sun”) and Ory Okolloh (the founder of Ushahidi), and companies, like Barclays Bank, Ernst & Young and Google. Take a look:

Ory Okolloh – Kenyan. Founder, Ushahidi

Chimamanda Adichie – Nigerian. Writer

Yolanda Cuba – South African. Corporate Executive

Ndidi Nwuneli – Nigerian. Social Entrepreneur

Dambisa Moyo – Zambian. Economist

Khanyi Dhlomo – South African. Media Mogul

Phuti Malabie – South African. CEO, Shanduka Group

Funmi Iyanda – Nigerian. Journalist & Broadcaster

Isis Nyongo – Kenyan. Managing Director, InMobi Africa

Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu – Ethiopian. Entrepreneur

Elsie Kanza – Tanzania. Economic Advisor To Tanzania’s President

Saran Kaba Jones – Liberian. Founder, Face Africa

Julie Gichuru – Kenyan. Journalist & Broadcaster

Lisa Kropman – South African, Entrepreneur

Stella Kilonzo – Kenyan. Chief Executive, Capital Markets Authority, Kenya

Magatte Wade – Senegal. Entrepreneur

Jonitha Gugu Msibi – South Africa. Senior Partner, Ernst & Young

June Arunga – Kenyan. Entrepreneur

Juliet Ehimuan – Nigerian. Google country manager, Nigeria

Olga Kimani-Arara – Kenyan. Google Country Manager, Kenya

Please join us in congratulating these women for their enormous work and influence in their fields. They are helping to blaze a trail for girls and women across the continent, and for that we are thankful.

Read the short bios for each of these women on Forbes’ website.

Looking to perk up your Tuesday night? Look no further –- we’re having a Twitter party, and you’re invited. ONE is teaming up with Mom It Forward, a worldwide network dedicated to enhancing the lives of women, their families and the communities in which they live, on Tuesday, March 8 to discuss women’s empowerment in the developing world. Perfect timing, since that just so happens to be International Women’s Day.

So how does this Twitter party work? Every 10 minutes, Mom It Forward will tweet a question on empowering women, and ONE will tweet back the answer. You’re free to discuss via Twitter…until the next question comes along! There are some serious chances to win ONE swag, so keep your eyes peeled!

Anyone with a Twitter account is welcome to join (so guys, that means you, too!). And we would love if our members and blog readers could be there to represent ONE and help boost awareness around our Senate budget petition.

Here are the details:

What: Girls’ Night Out Twitter party. Use the Twitter hashtag (#gno) to show that you’re participating!
When: Tuesday, March 8 from 9 to 11 p.m. EST (8CT, 7 MT and 6 PT)
Where: From your computer or mobile phone
Who: Brand Panelist: @ONECampaign; Moderators: @jylmomIF @Dadventurous @troypattee and @MomItForward
RSVP: Click this link and enter your Twitter URL and Twitter ID

There’s so much potential in Africa’s females, and with 430 million women and girls currently driving Africa’s economy, we’re getting there. When women are given the proper tools, they can help lift communities out of poverty and transform millions of lives.

Sexual violence is an overwhelming problem for women and girls living in the Democratic Republic of Congo -– but a new center aims to eliminate sexual violence and build an army of women who can make their voices heard.

The program, called City of Joy, supports nearly 180 Congolese women -– mostly who are rape victims. Started by Eve Ensler, a feminist and playwright of “The Vagina Monologues,” City of Joy is helping to heal these women, empower them and put them on track to becoming leaders in their communities. Women can take courses in self-defense, computer skills and human rights; learn trades and farming; and take therapy sessions for their past traumas at the center.

Having support groups like City of Joy is particularly important in a region where the use of sexual violence is used as a political tool and a weapon of war. According to the UN, an estimated 160 women are raped each week in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu in the DR Congo.

Just recently, the African Union hosted a summit to discuss ways to keep the continent’s women safe and equally represented. Margot Wallström, who works on sexual violence in conflict for the UN secretary general, urged African leaders to take responsibility for the widespread sexual violence in Africa and work to eliminate it. “We have to give them a role and a voice, and a place at the decision-making table. There should be no peace negotiations without women present at the table because there can be no peace unless we have peace also for women,” she said.

When you give women an education, you give them a voice. And when you give a community of women a voice, it creates a movement. We’re hopeful for the change the women of Africa will bring to their continent, and we’re glad that the African Union and support groups like City of Joy are helping to lead the way. To learn more about stats, stories and recommendations for African women, read our report, Africa’s Future is Female.

Eve Ensler and Noella at City of Joy. Photo courtesy of V-Day.

With less than two weeks until world leaders converge in New York City for the U.N. Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), we are anxious to see how countries are planning to achieve them.

Melanne Verveer, ambassador-at-large for Global Women’s Issues at the State Department, spoke yesterday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., on the importance of women and children in achieving the MDGs.

Ambassador Verveer promised that investments in women and girls are at the center of the Obama administration’s strategy.

She noted that MDG 3, which promotes gender equality and women empowerment, is the lynch pin to achieving the other MDGs. Not only is gender equality an issue of fairness, it is also smart business — increased participation of women in politics decreases corruption.

Ambassador Verveer noted that only a fifth of positions in national governments are held by women, and said, “Democracy without the participation of women is a contradiction in terms.”

The gender gap in some areas of the world is staggering, and Ambassador Verveer believes that investing in women is the world’s greatest untapped resource.

She noted that women do 60 percent of the world’s work, but earn only 5 percent of the income. The Obama administration’s Global Health and Feed the Future initiatives will attempt to integrate essential programs to empower women and more effectively help them succeed worldwide.

While it was clear that Ambassador Verveer understood the importance of women and girls and that the administration agrees they are a key feature of the MDG plan, it’s unclear how they plan to put that belief into action in U.S. development policy and provide a sustainable path forward.

ONE is looking forward to hearing more details on how the MDG strategy will be implemented and how it will fit into ongoing efforts to reform U.S. development policy –- including the administration’s Presidential Study Directive and Congress’s rewrite of the Foreign Assistance Act.

In the video, Nassuna discusses her work with small, local farmers in Uganda. This has changed not only their lives, but the lives of families and communities as a whole. But she also talks about the challenges. “Nobody wants to invest in farmers,” she notes. “They are a very high-risk group.”

El notes, “Nassuna’s voice may be quiet, but her experience and stories speak volumes about how African poverty can end, and how we all can affect change!” Check out El’s interview and share your thoughts in the comment box below.

Forty-one villagers in Dassui make up the ‘Wenden Kondo’ (God Will Provide) market gardening group. Through a local group the partners with Self-Help Africa, they learned how to grow the best crops and were given seeds, tools and funding for fencing and a water supply.

Today, they grow onions, cabbage, carrots, chili, garlic and rice and grain during the rainy season. They use some of the vegetables to feed their families, and some they sell in the nearby Bitte market.

Zungrana Awaya, a mother of six and the secretary of the group, is one of Wenden Kondo’s 20 women members. She says the gardening project has provided a valuable source of income for her family.

‘I was born in this village, but I left because there did not seem to be any way for me to make a living. But the garden is creating new opportunities.”

It’s a hard job, she says. But life is getting a little better. In fact, everything is getting a little better. The money that they get from their farming activities is helping Zungrana and the other villagers send their children to school and buy medicine when it is needed.

And their hard work is supporting nearly 400 people in their local community.

“My son, who is 17, says that he wants to leave because he has few prospects of work,’ Zungrana says.

But she tells him not to forget about the garden. “It is new, but we are hopeful that it will grow.”