This event is co-sponsored by the Newswomen’s Club of New York. Reception will begin at 6 p.m. with Program at 6:30 p.m. RSVP by calling the OPC office 212-626-9220,e-mail or log into the website www.opcofamerica.org. To log onto the website: username is first and last name (eg. John Doe), for password help enter your e-mail address where you receive OPC e-mails.

Two women who are leaders in Middle Eastern media assess whether the recent unrest in the region can lead to newfound democracy.

Felice Friedson, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Media Line Ltd., an American news agency specializing in coverage of the Middle East and Nadia Al-Sakkaf, Editor-in-Chief of The Yemen Times have been working together toward defining and improving the role of women in media in the Middle East. They will address the most recent events from the perspective of press freedoms and women’s rights; why it’s important to Americans; and how it relates to prospects for the democratization of nations, with particular attention on Yemen.

Against the backdrop of the unrest spreading from Tunisia and Egypt throughout the region, the question remains whether the public is seeing “revolutions” that will end in democracy or an exchange of leadership. Felice Friedson is the founder of Media Line located in Jerusalem and is one of the very few women overseeing a major news operation in the region. She founded the Mideast Press Club and created the Women in Mideast Media initiative, providing support and training to women seeking to work in media-related fields in the Middle East. She has worked in every aspect of the media developing programming for television, radio and print. She has twice been nominated for the Charles Bronfman Humanitarian Prize – notably submitted together by Palestinian and Israeli journalists.

Nadia Al-Saakaf is Editor-in-Chief of The Yemen Times and is known for her expertise in development, gender and media issues in the Middle East. In 2006 she was honored as the first recipient of the Gebran Tueni Award for professional media given by the World Association of Newspapers and An-Nahar, Tueni’s Beirut newspaper. She studied at Stirling University in the UK and has traveled extensively working with organizations defending press freedom, human rights and democracy.