Press release courtesy The Daily Beast. From March 8 though 10, remarkable leaders from every field will gather in New York City for Newsweek & The Daily Beast’s third-annual Women in the World Summit. Hosted by Tina Brown, Diane von Furstenberg, Jane Harman, Leymah Gbowee, Sheryl Sandberg, Meryl Streep, Lauren Bush, Nizan Guanaes, Maya Harris, Mellody Hobson, and Judith Rodin, the event will feature three days of storytelling by trailblazing women, and encourage creative solutions to the challenges facing women and girls across the globe. From brave women dissidents who toppled Middle East regimes to former secretary of state Madeleine Albright on war’s harrowing impact on women; from an inspiring look at how girls are harnessing social media to transform adolescence to IMF chief Christine Lagarde on the global economy’s next act; from a hard look at domestic slavery to frank discussions with firebrands including Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, broadcast legends Barbara Walters and Christiane Amanpour, and activists from around the world, the 2012 summit promises to reveal the vital stories that are often ignored—and to provoke action. According to their lineup, there will be a special tribute by Meryl Streep on March 10.

Last night, Meryl Streep has attended the 2011 Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation’s A Magical Evening Benefit in New York. To learn more about the origanization, which Meryl supports for years, visit the charity section. Pictures from the event have been added to the gallery.

According to The Belfast Telegraph, Meryl Streep is set to make a high-profile return to Belfast shortly after her portrayal of Maggie Thatcher is screened at the movies in January. She’s hoping to visit the city to celebrate the opening of the £18m Metropolitan Arts Centre in the vibrant Cathedral Quarter. Four years ago, Meryl came to Belfast to raise funds for the MAC and to endorse the project, which was still in the planning stages then. She went to its forerunner, the Old Museum Arts Centre, to take part in a question and answer session with leading figures in the arts world here, and she even made a passable attempt at a Belfast accent. Streep also revealed that her family roots in Co Donegal had helped her “find” an Irish accent in a film version of Brian Friel’s play Dancing At Lughnasa. Anne McReynolds, the chief executive at the MAC, said yesterday that officials were keeping their fingers crossed that Streep could fit a return to Belfast into her busy schedule. “I stay in touch with her all the time and keep her up to speed on how the new building is progressing. She is very excited about it all. And she is totally passionate and committed to the MAC and its plans for the future. She completely gets the idea,” she said. “Meryl has been a great friend to the MAC and to Belfast.” The six-storey MAC building will include two theatres, three major visual art galleries, a dance studio, education, workshop and rehearsal spaces plus offices for resident arts groups. he new MAC is expected to attract upwards of 200,000 people every year.

A video transcript of Meryl’s appearance at the US-China Forum on the Arts and Culture Panel has been added to the video archive. Also, while being in Washington this week, Meryl talked with PBS’ To the Contrary about “The Iron Lady” and her support of the National Women’s History Museum. Edit: You can now watch the complete panel discussion, as two more parts have been added – here and here. Enjoy the clips!

Article courtesy The Washington Examiner: Actress Meryl Streep dashed in and out of Washington Wednesday night to give a boost to her favorite D.C.-based pet project, building a National Women’s History Museum on the National Mall. “Oh it’s going to happen,” she told Yeas & Nays. “We just need to get people riled up.” That doesn’t seem to be too tough a feat for Streep. During the VIP reception of the first ever Christine de Pizan Honors Gala, put on by the nonprofit that represents the future museum, Streep attracted a line of several hundred fans to pose for photos. “Oh my God, she’s my favorite actress,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney said, before giving a perfectly political response to the question of her favorite Streep flick. “My favorite film of her is the one that we make of her playing herself, in the passage of the Women’s Museum and also the Equal Rights Amendment,” the New York Democrat explained. Streep gave quite the pep talk, standing on the stage of the Ronald Reagan building. “We just got to pull together girls and get this done,” she said, before giving us a little sneak peak of her lead character in “The Iron Lady.” “As Margaret Thatcher said, ‘if you want something spoken about ask a man, if you want it done, ask a woman.'” To which she received a standing ovation from the riled up crowd.

Yesterday, a kick-off gala co-hosted by Meryl Streep, Wei Sun Christianson, Jane Harman, Maya Harris, Donna Karan, Liya Kebede, Dr. Judith Rodin and Diane von Furstenberg was helt to celebrate the launch of the “Women in the World Foundation”, a new venture from Newsweek and The Daily Beast. You can learn more about Women in the World on their new website. Pictures have been added to the gallery.

And Tina has uploaded a video of Meryl’s speech on Youtube, have a look!

On April 28, Meryl has attended the MindUp Gala, held by her friend Goldie Hawn’s The Hawn Foundation. Pictures can be found in the image libary. The MindUp program features lessons to improve behavior and learning for children. More information can be found at the foundation’s official website.

Between April 18 and April 28 eBay will host charity auctions for Mother’s Day gifts donated by celebrity moms to support women-oriented charities. They will also help Women for Women International raise money for its programs for women survivors of war through several celebrity charity auctions on eBay Giving Works eBay’s charity fundraising program. Women for Women will auction off three unique celebrity experiences: a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet Ashley Judd, a red-carpet experience and meet-and-greet in the U.K. with Meryl Streep during the premiere of her new film, “The Iron Lady,” and a trip to New York to visit with kate spade’s creative director Deborah Lloyd, plus a $1000 kate spade shopping spree.

Actress Kate Winslet will author a book of celebrity self-portrait photos by Ben Stiller, Jude Law, Meryl Streep and others to support autism that will be released later this year. Winslet organized the collection of self-portrait photos for the book titled “The Golden Hat” after becoming inspired by an HBO documentary she narrated called, “A Mother’s Courage: Talking Back To Autism”. The film shows Keli Ericsdottir, an Icelandic boy who suffered from severe non-verbal autism, eventually being able to communicate. He now composes poems, including one describing a magical hat that enables an autistic boy to communicate. The book derives its name from Ericsdottir’s poem. Winslet asked more than two dozen celebrities to take a self-portrait photo wearing one special hat that was passed along. Other well-known figures in the book include comedian Ricky Gervais, tennis player Maria Sharapova, singer Christina Aguilera and actresses Naomi Watts and Julianne Moore. Proceeds from the book’s profits will benefit Winslet’s autism charity “The Golden Hat Foundation.” (source: Reuters).

Many thanks to Equality Now for bringing this to my attention. In a new online video PSA, Meryl Streep talks about Equality Now’s efforts on behalf of women and girls around the world. The video can be watched on Youtube and in the video archive. Be sure to watch :-)