EXPANDING ACADEMIC RESOURCES
The Foundation has helped to improve the collection and expertise at the Central Library of the National University of Laos by providing books, bookshelves, and computers, as well as sending librarians to Thailand to study library management, database skills, and other areas vital to developing a user-friendly, modern library. Librarians with little or no foreign acquisitions budgets are now able to select books from the Foundation's Books for Asia program. This project is critical to boosting academic resources in Laos as the University does not have adequate funding to finance the Central Library. The Foundation also supported the nascent Laos Library and Information Consortium (LALIC), the country’s first network of libraries and information centers. Through LALIC, libraries have worked together to make better use of their limited resources by expanding inter-library lending, and sharing access to Internet archives and e-journal subscriptions.
SUPPORTING WOMEN'S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
Women make up 25 percent of the National Assembly in Laos, but only two percent of local level government leadership. The Foundation aims to increase women’s representation in public office in order to put women’s priorities on policy agendas. To this end, the Foundation supported a three-day workshop on legislative capacity-building for women parliamentarians. The training covered issues such as women’s constitutional rights, public speaking, and presentation skills. Participants included women members of the National Assembly, the Lao Women’s Union, and high-ranking government officials. Soon after the workshop, participants put their training to practical use by uniting to advocate laws that protect the rights of women and children. Their efforts resulted in extending the legal age at which women can retire to 60 years (the same as men), approving a Child Protection Act, and revising the labor laws in favor of workers’ rights.