violence and human trafficking in their countries, from greece, turkey, doorjageorgia. we want to welcome you with open arms to the city of san francisco. they're traveling with the u.s. state department and they are over at the iee table. welcome to san francisco. [applause] they helped make this a truly international conference. our keynote speaker is coming to us from that group. rose is going to introduce our keynote speaker. >> i would like to welcome the project manager of the shelter for women accident prostitution in iceland. she has built her career as an active proponent of women's issues in iceland. she previously served as director of the national committee for -- [applause] to >> hello, everyone. thank you so much for having us here today. we are honored to be with you. on the international women's day, i always feel like i have to say thank you. i want to thank all of the women who paved the way. i am grateful for having the right and the opportunity to go to university. i am grateful for my right to vote. thank you that i can have a job and that can have my own property. thank you for the freedom to choose. the international women's day is celebrated all around the world. we celebrate and commemorate the achievements of our mothers and grandmothers and of their mothers and grandmothers. we celebrate their success in bridging the gap between men and women. we also realize there is still a long way to go. i am very happy to be with you. we've had the opportunity to have participated in a program that is offered by the u.s. department of state. it seems to build -- and six to build mutual understanding between the u.s. and other nations. it is organized by the state department and a nonprofit organization. there is a local sponsor here in san francisco, the institute for international education. for three weeks, we have traveled to new york, at san diego, and san francisco. i am happy to of traveled with a group of nine other inspiring women. we are all young professionals in this field. we come from different countries to companies around europe. some of us work and the government formulating policies. others work and organizations. i think we'll have different reasons for why we work. some of us want to be a voice for women that are silenced. others are enthusiastic about creating a social policies to help people. some of us are dissatisfied with the patriarchy. and we want to change. we live in a world -- in iceland, we have fought hard to put a stop to this completely. it has not been easy. we have managed -- we have managed to have strip club -- strip clubs closed as well. by doing this, we are saying women should not be for sale. you cannot buy another human being. [applause] however, we still face a prostitution and trafficking. there is still demand. the sex industry, where women are treated like commodities, it is driven by demand. if we do not become successful and decreasing the demand, we get stuck in the same place. it is a known fact that it is estimated worldwide that one out of every three women will experience domestic violence sometime in her lifetime. this is terrible. however, violence is not a natural disaster. there is someone who is committing to the violence. it is likely that one in every three men is an abuser. violence against women is an epidemic. this means we have an epidemic of a violent man. he is there with an organization -- he says that men are silent about other men's of violence. that is a big part of the problem. if another man makes a joke about women or makes fun of raping women, other men should not stand by and laugh. men should come out of the closet, they have to speak out. he talked to was about society pushing men into a box of masculinity by objectifying women. encrusting the sexuality or the man had -- manhood of the men who dare to take a stand. this is a society that objectifies women and end justifies violence against them. this is a society that we need to change. i am so grateful to my predecessors here today for making changes that allow me greater freedom as a woman. i really hope that on the -- in the near future, young men and young women can think their predecessors. they will not have to live in a society where women are bought and sold, and violated and degraded, where violence against when is a part of history that once was. let us be those predecessors. let us make those changes. thank you. [applause] >> thank you so much. it is amazing that no matter where we are in the world, women are addressing the same issues. you could have been talking about san francisco or chicago. thank you so much. i want to acknowledge a few people. one of them, most of you have spoken to at some point. i forwarded by telephone to her so i would not have to answer my -- answer the questions. that is my in auto -- that is my incredible organizer today, angelo washington. [applause] i would be talking backwards if i had to do this without her. thank you for making this happen. thank you. i want to acknowledge a few people in the audience. the director of the commission of women. [applause] supervisor cohen. there she is. supervisor olague. [applause] andrea shorter. [applause] we have some other commissioners. you've already heard from claudine chang. she is a member of treasure island authority. thank you. the president of that commission is here. that is lender richardson. -- linda richardson. [applause] then there is the newlywed to city government. she is due to the small business commission. commissioner white. [applause] i will go through more. i have so many things in my head, i am so move today by what we are doing. the next thing i get to do it is bring up an incredible lawwoman. i will speak from that clipboard right there. they have two wonderful daughters who they have raised to attend college, and we are very honored to have you here. as our first lady of the city and county of san francisco. our first lady is a fabulous role model for us all. she has dedicated her self to work as well as family. we all know that is often challenging to find the balance in life, taking care of family. that is a great accomplishment. the mayor has said that he will never be where he is without her love and support. this is the best testimonial of what a first lady is. i hope you'll join me in bringing forward our first lady of san francisco, anita lee. [applause] we are going to stand together and to the presentation of the awards to our winners. rose is on her way. all of our honorees are receiving certificates from members of the board of supervisors, nancy pelosi. i am going through my list. i want to thank you at all. rose. >> the organization of the year award goes to an incredible organization -- sage. standing against global exploitation project. the project is a nonprofit with the primary aim of bringing an end to human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adults. sage continues to this goal by providing treatment services for survivors. it was founded in 1992. norma devoted her life to end the sex trade in the u.s.. i saw her in action and she was an amazing women. in 2004, it led to a california law that allows prosecutors to charge pimps with child abuse if the prostitute a minor. please join me in giving a big congratulations to standing against global exploitation project. [applause] >> thank you. >> bravo! [applause] >> thank you. norma's vision lives on. she passed away in 2008. it is 2012. for the past several years, the staff and the board and all of you have been doing an incredible job of making sure that the intentions to provide services to people who are either trying to get out of the sex industry or -- norma put into place. sage is a peer-led organization. the most important people are the staff. i ask you to please stand up. [applause] thank you. the board is fantastic. our president is here. [applause] we have advisory board members who are here. some of you were sitting at the tables. please stand up. you know who you are. thank you. [applause] this is a community organization and the work goes on. our young speaker, who i thought was a fantastic, she let you know we all have to do. we have to keep fighting. thank you. [applause] >> do not walk away without the painting. >[applause] >> our next award is the unsung heroine award. leisel is the director of -- is an expert on human rights in africa. her work at him and rights watch has included documenting access to safe and legal abortion in ireland. before doing -- before the joining human-rights watch, she worked for some of the key institutions promoting human rights and democracy. including the south african human rights commission. she was involved in high-profile human rights litigation to promote women and children's rights, including the case the change the definition of rape in south africa. please join me in congratulating her. [applause] >> thank you. i think we do not do enough to celebrate some of the things that we have achieved. as many of the speaker said today, there are still many things we need to write. i think if will look over the past 20 years, we will see that significant improvements have been made to the lives of women. i am really happy you chose to take a timeout to celebrate those. i am very honored to be part of this distinguished group. the work that you do is amazing. i feel very privileged to be part of you today. i would like to accept this award on that -- on behalf of my staff. i feel somewhat of a fraud standing here. the work is being done by the researchers in the fields. as i stand in front of you, i have a researcher who is documenting the violations against girls in south sudan. they are the unsung heroines, not me. i would like to accept this on behalf of all the women in the world we have worked with. the women who have been courageous enough to share their stories, and the woman who are really the unsung heroines of the world. thank you. [applause] >> our next award is the extraordinary public service award. [applause] she is a u.s. naval academy graduate and gay-rights activists. she is the first and only openly gay person allowed to remain on active duty in the military prior to the end of don't ask don't tell. [applause] in december 2010, she stood beside president obama as she signed the don't ask don't tell appeal. -- repeal. to many in congratulating her. -- join me in congratulating her. [applause] >> good afternoon. thank you for that introduction. one of the common things we keep hearing about in these profiles is when you love decided to give voice to those who do not have a voice -- who have decided to give voice to those who did not have a voice. women are stepping forward, that is one of the reasons why i chose back in 1993 to come out when don't ask don't tell was being debated. everyone was allowed to talk about the pros and cons, except for those who were gay or lesbian in the military. they were forced to be silent. there was a lot of -- they were all fascinated with the men and showers. there were terrified of gay men in the showers. [laughter] i thought to myself, the lesbians must be dry cleaned. [laughter] you do not hear a peep about them. i decided that i would come out and tried to enter that voice for gays and lesbians. another thing i am hearing this afternoon, having strong women role models. my mother joined in 1942. was in the second class of women to go through officer candidate school in iowa. i have with me here this afternoon two more strong women, of my two sisters. [applause] later in her life, she decided to pursue a new career and went back to the veterinary school. she just graduated last may. [applause] i think we are all inspired by women. everyone has the story to tell. everyone of us would be inspired by their personal story. i encourage you to tell your story and to speak on behalf of those who have no voice. go out and kick butt. thank you. [applause] >> our next award is the community leadership award. this goes to kimberly ellis. executive director of emerge california. [applause] in addition to being the executive director, she also serves on the bridge and community development commission and prior to becoming the executive director, she was the national affiliate's director. kimberly is passionate about empowering women and helping women emerge as leaders in private industry, government, and the non-profit sector. >> thank you so much. thank you for putting together this amazing event. when i did a deal of research, i found out this woman was a force to be reckoned with. she was a young woman who was full of passion and love and life and she was going places. she had aspirations of being an attorney and also of serving in elected office. tragically, her life was ended at the tender age of 23. when i thought about some of the common thread and qualities that we share, the one that really stood out and really irung in my mind was kashim. she was a passionate love men. she was passionate about being a community -- she was passionate woman. she was passionate about being a community leader. when i think about emerge california and the work we are doing to get more women involved in the political process, i find i share that passion. when i think about some of the big issues that we are dealing with in our society today, i believe the only way we are going to see change is if we do get women involved. if we are talking about getting this economy back on track, if we are talking about ending the war on women's reproductive rights once and for all, if we're talking about making