I recently attended Blogher11 and participated in the International Activist Scholarship Winners’ Panel. It was a wonderful and eye-opening experience. More than anything I learned that women all over the world share the same hopes, aspirations and challenges. And they are also incredibly powerful and I definitely felt that energy as 4000 women bloggers from around the world met to discuss their work, learn from each other and give love and support to one another’s projects. Women cried, laughed, danced, networked, formed alliances and shared their secrets to success. I felt grounded and inspired.
Here is a transcript of the panel discussion with my fellow panelists – Reem Abbas from Sudan who blogs about social and political issues in Sudan on her blog Wholeheartedly-Sundaniya; Elianne Ramos of Latism, who spoke on behalf of Yoani Sanchez an activist from Cuba whose blog Generation Y has earned her worldwide renown but has resulted in her being considered an enemy of the state by the Cuban Government. She was denied a travel visa by the Cuban Government to attend the event; And Cheryl Contee who moderated the panel and blogs at JackandJillPolitics.