What
does that really mean? Please spell it out for me here:
What is
a woman? She is everything - all types, all colors and creeds;
multifaceted more than anyone has imagined. Womanhood crosses
all boundaries - we are able to transcend the gap between races,
cultures, religions and everything in between. We can be both
sexy and smart, be a businesswoman, an artist, an athlete and
a mother; we can date older, or date younger, or date each other!
We can be anything or combination of things we want to be! Above
all we are part of the human race.
If women who are living in one of the most privileged, prosperous
places on the planet - if we cannot use everything we have at
our disposal to make this our best, most fulfilled life,
then how can we expect a woman in Afghanistan, Iraq or Africa
to do so?
The Women's Mosaic provides opportunities to recognize
our unity with women both here and abroad, while celebrating
the beauty of all the diversity that exists
within and around us. We encourage women to know and love who
they are, and to achieve joy and prosperity for themselves as
well as for others. We need take control of our own lives, express
and share our unique talents and abilities, and in so doing,
serve others with our existence and example. We can offer inspiration,
motivation and assistance for the millions of women who are
fighting for their most basic rights as a human being. We can
help one another.
This mission, should we choose to accept and accomplish
it, will not only bring us personal fulfillment, but will ultimately
bring about a much needed revolution on the
planet that will be completed with both noise and silence, in
both a rockin' and harmonious manner by all the women of the
world!
Ok,
that all sounds fine and dandy, but how does The Women's
Mosaic think it's going to do that?
Well, you
gotta start somewhere! The Womens' Mosaic offers activities,
events, and workshops that educate, inspire and motivate women
to learn more about themselves and the world around them. By
strengthening and empowering women on individual and community
levels, The Women's Mosaic seeks to promote peace, understanding
and overall positive women-power that will filter out into the
world!
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I want to support The Women's Mosaic by becoming
a member, which means I'll get some free and discounted
stuff in addition to all the updates, Evites, newsletters and
mailings.
Women's Mosaic - Latest News
TWM BLOG!Click here
to read and post to TWM's blog by participants in our latest events.
In March, TWM
Founder Kristina Leonardi was named as Tango Diva's 2007 Diva Visionary
- "a woman who has dedicated her life to reaching above and beyond, changing
her community, and the world, for the better."
Thanks again to all
TWM friends and members who shared in the recognition of her work by casting
your votes and supportive comments - the title has allowed TWM to gain some
great visibility as result! TangoDiva
Announcement and supportive comments.
TangoDiva has recently posted an in-depth interview with her, read
it here.
The Women's Mosaic
was a Community Partner at LifeMoxie's Women's Economic Power Day
2006 held at the Javits Center on September 30th. TWM's Founder, Kristina
Leonardi and Board Member Melanie McEvoy were featured speakers!
TWM IN THE MEDIA
TWM's
latest installment of its signature panel discussion series, "My
Life as a Female Soldier in Iraq" held on Tuesday, March 11,
2008, was covered by Womens eNews on March 19, 2008. Click
here to read the article and visit our Past Events
page for a full description and additional photos of the event!
Peace
x Peace Features TWM Founder's Voice
The Peace X Peace Global Network connects individuals and Circles of women
everywhere in the world, through the Internet, for spirited conversation and
mutual support. Voice X Voice is a growing online audio archive
of interviews with inspiring women and peacebuilders around the world. And
if there is one thing we have learned so far, it is that every voice is valuable.
Listen to Kristina's and other inspiring women's voices:
Interview
On October 2, 2006 The Women's Mosaic was featured on Greenstone
Media, the all-female owned radio network started by Gloria
Steinem and Jane Fonda, when Kristina Leonardi
was interviewed on The Rolanda Watts Show.
The Women's Mosaic was mentioned in the March 11-14 2005 version of NY's
Metro paper (page 8), when an editorial about International
Women's Day by TWM's founder Kristina Leonardi was published in the My View
section.
The Women's Mosaic founder Kristina Leonardi was listed
in the June issue of Hispanic Magazine as one
of their "Top Latinas" for 2004. One of our panelists
from our "Politics Schmolitics" event, Carmen Gomez Goldberg,
was not only listed, but was featured in the article as a Latina of Excellence
as well.
"Unleash the Woman Warrior in You" workshop
held on January 29, 2004 was covered by CNN correspondent
Jeanne Moos and was featured nationally on one of CNN's "Making the
MOOSt of it" segments on Friday, February 6th. (moved from highlights
section)
"My Life as a Muslim Women" event held on January
27, 2003 was featured as a Critics' Pick in Time Out New York
Magazine.
INSPIRER NEWSLETTER
ONLINE
Have a look at our
four color printed INSPIRER Newsletter online for a more in-depth
look at our programs! Download PDF's by clicking on the links below.
If you'd like to get the next issue, be sure to join
our e-mail list and fill in your postal address.
Inspirational
author and personality, Terrie M. Williams moderated our "My
Life as a Black Women" panel discussion that took place
at Amy Ruth's Restaurant in Harlem on February 18, 2006.
"Unleash
the Woman Warrior in You" workshop held on
January 29th was covered by CNN correspondent Jeanne Moos
and was featured nationally on one of CNN's "Making
the MOOSt of it" segments on Friday, February 6th!
Sandy Endo, political reporter for NY1 News,
was the guest moderator for our "Politics Schmolitics!" panel discussion sponsored by Lifetime
Television and McEvoy & Associates, to held on Tuesday, March 30th at Here
Arts Center.
The Women's
Mosaic had a team participating in the Revlon Run/Walk for
Women's Cancers on Saturday, May 1, 2004 in New York City.
Who's
Saying What About TWM...
"The Secretary-General has asked me to thank you
for having sent to him the most recent issue of INSPIRER.
You
know the
importance which he attaches to efforts undertaken by inter-
governmental and non-governmental organizations alike,
as well as by individuals, to promote inter- cultural understanding.
He has read with interest, therefore, the account of the
recent activities of the Women's Mosaic in this field." -
Special Assistant to Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the
UN
"....so happy to have a report on your work - it is
such important work - you are inspiring and result-producing." -
Helen Gurley Brown, founder of Cosmopolitan Magazine
"TWM brings women together to connect in deep and
profound ways -- offering transformative experiences that
touch and
empower the soul. Opportunities like these allow the healing
process to begin from a place which recognizes that we are
all universal beings." - Terrie M. Williams,
Inspirational author, The Personal Touch and the
forthcoming Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We're Not
Hurting (Scribner
2007)
Happy Spring!
It's that special time of the year with fresh starts and new beginnings as we awaken from a long winter's sleep to see where we're at, what's happening around us and where we want to be going.
So much has happened recently on the political landscape to accelerate and intensify our discourse on topics that were previously often swept under the rug - racism, feminism, ageism, patriotism, religion, sex...the list goes on. While on the one hand it's great that there is a more open dialogue about these things, unfortunately much of it is relegated to extreme viewpoints, misconstrued facts, salacious details and a mostly us vs. them, black vs. white, young vs. old, man vs. woman, socially deviant vs. morally righteous, I'm right vs. your wrong tone.
While there are indeed differences among us, too much energy, emphasis and exaggeration has been placed on what makes us separate. The things that deeply matter - our humanity, our unity, the real issues that need to be addressed - the truth behind a soundbite or a photo - the public consequences of a person's private behavior rather than the behavior itself - need to come to the forefront and things that should be left alone should be left as such, so that we can focus on what has genuine meaning and significance to us as individuals, families, cities and nations, and that creates understanding for the collective good of all and this planet that we share.
The Women's Mosaic® 's trademarked tagline incorporated together with its logo, "Recognizing our Unity; Celebrating Our Diversity" can be a reminder for us to acknowledge and express that sentiment, which is seemingly so desperately needed in our world at this time - therefore, we encourage (well, beg, actually!) each of you to visualize, meditate, reflect upon and spread the concepts of peace and unity through diversity whenever and wherever you can.
TWM's latest event is one example of how we contribute to that mission through our unique programs. The most recent installment of our signature panel discussion series, My Life a a Female Solider in Iraq held on Tuesday, March 11th, brought together five women in the military from diverse backgrounds and rank to discuss their experiences from a purely personal perspective without the trappings of any political context or agenda.
The military is a culture just like any other - with its own set of rules, expectations, boundaries and code of ethics in
terms of what is acceptable for a woman to be and do. How she functions within and is respected by that culture is something that is rarely discussed outside that community. We hoped to bridge that gap by creating a safe space for these women to freely express themselves and for those of us outside that world to be able to understand it a little more. By doing so, we also put a very real human face on a conflict that we are often only connected to by a barrage of numbers and news reports.
The casual atmosphere was conducive to conversation, with much of the time allowed for questions and answers. It was an event that could have been ignited in many ways, but instead was a simple yet profound exchange, connecting women with different life experiences, dispelling many myths and stereotypes; it allowed each participant to learn from and be inspired by one another. You can read more about this special event below as well as in the linked articles that have been published...
In this TWM eNewsetter you can also read about our fun and fabulous
TWM Birthday Celebration that brought us lots of new faces, and last month we exhibited at the Columbia and NYU Nonprofit Career Fairs -thanks and welcome to all of you who
signed up for our mailing list and are now a part of our diverse, dynamic community - we look forward to seeing you at future events!
As for what's next, you'll see that we have our popular semi-annual Visioning Workshop coming up next Saturday. Many are now familiar with this technique to 'create a treasure map' of your future, but we've been doing it for seven years - TWM itself is actually the result a workshop I took back in 2000! Our style is one that is our own, and has kept our participants coming back to repeat it several times over the years as their lives and needs change.
You'll also see that I'm giving a few talks for a little inspiration to jumpstart your life with a different take on spring cleaning... We also encourage you to become a part of our 5th Annual TWM Team for the Revlon Run/Walk....all the details are below and stay tuned for other updates and announcements as they occur.
And, last, but certainly not least - remember that it's still Women's History Month which is a significant time to honor the strength, beauty and contribution of women to this world with your financial support to an organization like TWM. Because we are a small, grass-roots organization, every penny counts and goes farther than you might expect, so please consider becoming a member or donating at the highest level possible! Thank you very much to our past, present and future supporters!
We look forward to seeing or hearing from you all soon!
In Peace & Unity,
Kristina M. Leonardi
Founder and Executive Director "Recognizing Our Unity; Celebrating
Our Diversity" kleonardi@mindspring.com
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