Our goal at The WIP is that one day our pages will contain the greatest diversity of voices and opinions to be found in a single online publication - women and men, old and young, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jews, Atheists and Agnostics, poets and soldiers, lawyers and teachers, bankers and homemakers, Africans and Americans, Asians and Europeans. We already represent this diversity but in small numbers. Some of us are poor and some of us are rich. Some of us have never known life threatening illness and some of us have AIDS. Many of us are free to express ourselves while others are kept silent. Some of us make our homes in the lands where we were born, some of us are immigrants, and some of us live in exile. We are all unique and represent many different beliefs.

Together we are an opportunity.

We cannot ignore that our planet is in crisis. There are critical issues that we must confront -- whether it is the rise of religious extremism or the impact of global warming on nations around the world. If we cannot find effective solutions, these issues will become impossible to ignore and our lives will be painfully different. Our leaders have proven that one country cannot strong arm another into living in harmony with its neighbors. The bitterness of current wars and conflicts demonstrates that neither through mandates nor embargos can one nation force a solution to a global problem upon another. It has become all too obvious that democracy cannot be forced: it must be won in hearts and minds and led by example.

At The WIP we want peace. We share this response to conflict with most women around the world and support resolutions that are not at the expense of innocent lives. In seeking diplomatic solutions, what better representatives than readers and writers from the countries around the world whose fates are being negotiated on the foreign policy tables of those in power? What better contribution than to bring their stories to the world through their own voices? We believe the citizens of the world are very qualified to tackle the issues of peace-making, trade, war, economics, and culture. The WIP gives those voices a platform.

New Community Features

Today The WIP is launching several new features within our online community. To post comments you must now sign-in. As a recognized user your comments will be posted directly onto The WIP - by you, without moderation from us. This feature will promote an improved flow of conversation and will allow some readers to continue their conversations while editors sleep!

Upon signing in you’ll have the opportunity to create a profile for the rest of us to know you better. You can include where you are from, a short bio, and even a picture of yourself. If you prefer anonymity, you can create an avatar and choose any picture or name you like.

As a member of The WIP community you can help us generate a well deserved buzz by recommending your favorite stories by The WIP Contributors and by the women whose stories are published in our Byline Portal.

And that’s not all! Every WIP community member will also be able to post blogs to The WIP Talk, a new forum where readers can have their say and where other members of The WIP community can offer comments.

Early on, one reader said in a comment that she wanted to “print out and carry” the article Chinese Legal System: Better Than You Think Regarding Human Rights with her “every time she began to feel like she couldn’t make a difference.”

“Each one of us has something to offer, to work for positive change in our communities, in our states, in our countries... I hope that as The WIP grows and its readership spreads, a community of women and men, young and old, may develop. An international community that wants to work together and create change. It seems clear to me that it's not the governments that are going to create international peace, stop environmental destruction, and develop a plan for healthcare and education for everyone, it's every day people like you and me. The WIP is a perfect forum for this discussion to begin.”

I couldn’t agree with this reader more.

How you can help

Find ten friends to join our community and really get this party started! Please help us accomplish what all of us know is possible: inspired dialog. Sign-in and join The WIP today, then tell your friends and your neighbors, tell your teachers and your students, tell your community to sign-in and join us.