ESTONIA: NOMINATION FOR SEC STATE AWARD FOR

UNCLAS TALLINN 000090

SIPDIS

FOR G/IWI

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KWMN PHUM PREL KPAO EN
SUBJECT: ESTONIA: NOMINATION FOR SEC STATE AWARD FOR
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN OF COURAGE

Ref: A) STATE 12871


1. (U) Post nominates the following individual for the
Secretary of State's annual Award for International

SIPDIS
Women of Courage (IWOC).

Name: Ms. Barbi Pilvre
Title: Editor in chief
Organization: "Areen", a weekly cultural affairs
newspaper
Date of Birth: 1963
Contact Information: barbi@ekspress.ee


2. (U) Justification: Ms. Pilvre is an Estonian
journalist who was a pioneer for gender-equality issues.
She has promoted the equal role of women in society
through her work with the Estonian media and in higher
education. Ms. Pilvre first addressed the issue of
women's rights in Eesti Ekspress, Estonia's leading
weekly current events magazine, in the mid 1990s. At
that time, however, Estonian media and society as whole
were almost completely male-dominated. It took a great
deal of courage to bring these issues to the forefront,
and ensure that the benefits of Estonia's newly
recovered independence were enjoyed by Estonian women as
well as Estonian men. Ms. Pilvre also played a leading
role in the establishment of a women's studies program
at Tallinn University, where she teaches a popular
course on media and gender. Today, at the age of 43,
Ms. Pilvre not only continues to be a leading feminist
journalist and lecturer, but she is also one of
Estonia's most influential researchers of social
expressions and representations of gender in culture,
especially in the media. Throughout her career, Ms.
Pilvre has also been a staunch advocate of human rights
issues. Post strongly recommends Ms. Pilvre for this
award. She is an excellent example of an individual who
embodies the courage and ideals in the IWOC Award
through her work to further the cause of freedom,
justice, and equality.


3. (U) Post contact is Peter Lee (Email:
Leeph@state.gov; Tel: +372-668-8201).

GOLDSTEIN