Foreign Affairs committee  Well, the people who come to work with us, to be trained by us, and to reach out to work with our people take their lives into their own hands whenever they come for our training, so they're always putting themselves on the line. That's why we think it's so important to focus our

Foreign Affairs committee  Well, it's local councils. It's council by council in each of those areas, so it's not a nationwide group; it's working on the local and the provincial level.

Foreign Affairs committee  You have just given a wonderful advertisement for what we're trying to do with our program. We have a Women's Democracy Network that is part of IRI and that is in many ways one of the most exciting programs we have. And yes, we do: we try to build networks of women decision-mak

Foreign Affairs committee  Let me say that if we're not careful, it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy, so if we fail to try to build democratic institutions, dialogue, and participation of women in particular at all levels of government, then we know we'll fail and we won't see a future for Syria. These a

Foreign Affairs committee  First off, you start now, and you don't wait for when everything is settled and the day after is here. That work needs to begin, and in fact is under way. You do it at the local level. You do it at the provincial level. You go to those areas that are free from Assad's control and

Foreign Affairs committee  We're looking at them separately, yes.

Foreign Affairs committee  I would have two reactions or two answers to the question. First off, it's important to recognize that it's not a bilateral fight. One of the things that make this so extraordinarily difficult for everyone involved is the fragmentation that's involved and the number of groups.

Foreign Affairs committee  Do you mean as it relates to the Syrian conflict?

Foreign Affairs committee  Again, our focus is primarily in trying to identify those areas outside regime control and create some mechanism, some support, for democratic institutions, and begin to bring together those who have a stake in the community survival, particularly marginalized groups such as wome

Foreign Affairs committee  Sure, and we'll continue to do so. In fact we have put together a proposal to expand the work we're doing, particularly with the Syrian Women's Network, because we think there is a lot of hope and promise there. It's methodical. No one expects changes overnight obviously, especi

Foreign Affairs committee  I don't have that information, but I can certainly get back to the committee with further data.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. I am honoured to be here today on behalf of the International Republican Institute. We thank the committee for its kind invitation to speak about our work in Syria, and are grateful for this opportunity to share our insights