Women for Women International founder to talk about her work

The Yale World Fellows Program and the Office of the Secretary will host “A Conversation with Zainab Salbi” on Thursday, Nov. 18, at the University.

Salbi is founder and CEO of Women for Women International, a group dedicated to helping women survivors of war rebuild their lives. A survivor of war herself, Salbi founded the organization in response to the rape of women and the concentration camps in Bosnia in 1993. Since then, the organization has helped more than 270,000 women in eight areas currently in conflict or post-conflict — from Congo and Rwanda to Afghanistan and Salbi’s native country, Iraq.

She will be interviewed by human rights advocate Ana Paula Hernandez, who is currently a Yale World Fellow. Tea is at 4 p.m.; the talk at 4:30 p.m. — both on the third floor of Betts House, 393 Prospect St. The event is free and open to the public.

Earlier in the day Salbi will receive the first “Visionary Leadership Award” from the International Festival of Arts & Ideas at a benefit luncheon, sponsored by AT&T, which will take place noon-2 p.m. at the New Haven Lawn Club, 193 Whitney Ave. The guest host for the event will be Judith Resnik, the Arthur Liman Professor of Law at Yale Law School, co-editor (with Seyla Benhabib) of “Migrations and Mobilities: Citizenship, Borders and Gender.”

The Visionary Leadership Award was created in honor of the late Jean M. Handley, founding director of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas. Handley was a lifelong champion of many of the region’s arts, cultural, social and educational organizations.

The honor will be presented annually to “a visionary leader whose trailblazing work is impacting the world,” according to Mary Lou Aleskie, executive director of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas.

In addition to her work with Women for Women International, Salbi is the author of two books: the national bestseller “Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam” (with Laurie Becklund), which documents her life under Saddam Hussein’s rule, and “The Other Side of War: Women’s Stories of Survival and Hope.” Her work has been featured in major media outlets, including eight appearances on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, CNN, The Washington Post, and The New York Times.

Salbi has been honored by former President Bill Clinton for her work in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1993 and was recently nominated by Clinton as one of the Harper’s Bazaar 21st Century Heroines to honor her actions, faith and determination in making a difference. She received the 2010 David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award, the Forbes Trailblazer Award and Time Magazine’s Innovator of the Month award.