FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Claudia Mobley, director of the Center for Retailing Excellence at the University of Arkansas, represented the Sam M. Walton College of Business as a corporate ambassador at the Association of Algerian Managers and Entrepreneurs conference on Oct. 29 in Algeria.

The program was sponsored in part by Vital Voices, a nongovernmental organization based in Washington, D.C., which has partnered with the Association of Algerian Managers and Entrepreneurs and the Middle East and North Africa Businesswomen’s Network

Vital Voices’ mission is to identify, invest in and bring visibility to women around the world, increasing their leadership potential to transform lives and accelerate peace and prosperity in their communities.

The Association of Algerian Managers and Entrepreneurs produced a one-day event themed “Small-Medium Enterprise Competitiveness in a Global Market.” The conference focused on increasing growth, profit and competitive advantage of small-medium enterprises through innovative strategies and effective implementation in a globalized economy. The event included opening remarks and three workshops under the larger theme of increasing competitiveness.

Mobley spoke on “The Keys to Competitiveness: Fostering Strong Corporate-University Relations.” She shared the workshop with professor Rafika Kesri, president of the National Conference of Algerian Universities. She provided an overview of how she has involved the private sector in increasing educational and research opportunities with the Walton College. As head of the Center for Retailing Excellence, Mobley has built an executive advisory board of retailers and members of the retail supplier industry. She works closely with the board members to partner on retail research and on the development of students as future leaders in the retailing and related industries.

Vital Voices was created at the request of women attending a hemispheric conference in Uruguay in 1998. As a matter of foreign policy, women throughout the world were routinely invited to participate when U.S. government officials met with representatives of emerging democracies. These women asked for continued help with education, health care, business skills and assistance in fighting abuse. Along with two colleagues, Walton College alumna Donna McLarty, B.S.B.A.’68, responded to these requests by creating Vital Voices, and today the organization has programs in 150 countries, reaching 200,000 women each year.

“When we support women, we are also lifting families, strengthening communities and enhancing prospects for peace,” McLarty said. “I have seen it myself, as the women we work with ‘pay it forward’ — like the Russian woman who created a crisis center network to help victims of domestic violence; the Cambodian woman who launched a microcredit program for other women; the Palestinian and Israeli women who joined with others from Northern Ireland to share ideas on building peace; or the Kuwaiti women who, in 2005, fought for and earned the right to vote for the very first time.

McLarty now serves as a liaison between Vital Voices, the Walton College and the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, Ark., to tap faculty expertise and create student internships.