Fact:
"Young people are the drivers of economic development. Foregoing this potential is an economic waste and can undermine social stability. The impact of the crisis has not been gender neutral, with disproportionate burden placed on women."    - Juan Somavia, International Labour Organization Director General
International Museum of Women Presents:
'Young Women Speaking the Economy'
June 2011, San Francisco, CA – Extending the voices of young women worldwide, the International Museum of Women’s exhibition ‘Young Women Speaking the Economy’ has begun a necessary conversation with the assistance of multiple online social networking platforms, most prominently Facebook.

Part of “A Project of Economica: Women and the Global Economy,” ‘Young Women Speaking the Economy’ was officially launched by the United States based International Museum of Women (IMOW) on April 21, 2011, in cooperation with three other women’s museums and four women’s universities in the Sudan, Philippines, United States and Denmark.

The museum’s intentional use of a variety of social networking platforms to present and propel the exhibition, and the international collaborative nature of ‘Young Women Speaking the Economy,’ which features the voices of a core group of 44 young women residing in the United States, Denmark, the Sudan, and the Philippines speaking about their perspectives on entering the workforce at a time of economic uncertainty, has created an online museum exhibit that is both engaging and relevant to a broad base of visitors.

Notes IMOW Executive Director Clare Winterton, “The voices, ideas and perspectives of young women are rarely seen or heard in the current debate about the economy and the global financial crisis. However, women’s voices – especially those of a new generation – are crucial to finding new solutions in a world where women’s economic contributions and rights are still significantly under-valued.”

Through the IMOW’s ‘Young Women Speaking the Economy’ exhibition, the museum has witnessed a new success in engaging younger audiences, attributed to their increased use of social networking platforms and their work with young women to create the material for the exhibition. Utilizing a virtual platform, the IMOW has few barriers for engagement and no entrance fee. Engaging visitors in a manner traditional to ‘bricks and mortar’ museums, the IMOW caters both to visitors who prefer to explore exhibitions based on themes, in the case of the current exhibit ‘Crisis, Choices, and Context,’ as well as more active, and often times younger, visitors by providing corollary programs or online platforms that allow...