VOICES RISING

64, 69, 72, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 109

VOICES RISING
YEAR III - VOL 3. Nº109
October 22, 2004

CONTENT
1.- ASPBAEs Festival of Learning
2.- EAEA GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2004
3.- COMPTE-RENDU DE MISSIONS EN AFRIQUE ET EN EUROPE DANS LE CADRE DES MOUVEMENTS SOCIAUX
4.- Norway: 750.000 PARTICIPANTS IN ADULT LEARNING MAY LOSE ACCESS TO DECENTRALISED LEARNING
5.- VIRTUAL DISCUSSIONS ON: "RESOURCING FOR QUALITY ADULT LITERACY"
AND "CSO CAPACITY BUILDING FOR POLICY ENGAGEMENT ON EFA"
6.- ACHIEVING THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
7.- UNESCO / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Small grants for rights-based research on poverty
8.- LINKING & LEARNING PROGRAMME ON BUDGET ANALYSIS AND ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS -

 

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1.- ASPBAEs Festival of Learning

We invite you to participate in ASPBAEs Festival of Learning in commemoration of our 40^th anniversary. This event will be organized in Yogyakarta, Indonesia from December 13 to 18, 2004.

We invite you -
to share this learning space,
to showcase innovative adult education practice in the Asia Pacific region,
to demonstrate our commitment to advance the right of all to learn,
to debate adult education issues and alternative frameworks as applied in the diverse contexts of peoples life and learning in the Asia-Pacific region,
to celebrate the efforts and achievements of the movement for change that ASPBAE has become.

The Festival theme, Learning is Freedom underscores the realities and challenges faced by millions of citizens in the current global and regional context.
In spite unprecedented and dramatic progress in human development in the 20^th century, massive human deprivation and want persist. More than a billion people survive on less than $1 a day. Close to 1 billion people are undernourished. Close to a billion adults remain illiterate, more than 50% of these are women. Some 100 million children are out of school. About 900 million people belong to ethnic, racial, linguistic or religious groups that face discrimination. Around 1.8 billion people live in countries where political regimes do not fully accommodate democratic, political and civil freedoms.[1]
Access to meaningful and empowering learning opportunities have the immense potential to liberate men and women - from the limitations imposed by historical economic, social and political disadvantage; from the oppressive impacts of globalisation and the hegemony of a few; from the violence of hunger, poverty, ill-health; from silence, apathy and indifference. Learning can free the limitless potential of people and their communities, citizens in this global community to act, make their own informed choices, take charge of their own development and define an alternative path to a sustainable future and a just peace.
The history of the popular movement in the region of which the adult education movement is part of is a story of learning and freedom. It is an account of people organising for joint action, of groups working to enhance their strengths and competencies, of sectoral movements expanding their alliances and reach, of citizens claiming their legitimate spaces in governance and social responsibility, of women collectively and in their own private spaces - daring to say no; of the oppressed and discriminated resoundingly proclaiming, enough. In the concrete experience of peoples struggles in the Asia Pacific, learning has been a means to liberation AND an act of liberation.
Let us remember these struggles amidst adversity, these initiatives and accomplishments. Let us remind ourselves of the challenges ahead. Let us learn from these lessons. Let us celebrate the spaces and freedoms weve won.

PROGRAMME

The Festival Programme will consist of:
(1)     Two sets of concurrent Regional Workshops
Workshop I events (December 13-14, 2004): Regional Workshops which are a culmination of the several in-country, sub-regional and regional events that have been organized around ASPBAEs core thematic areas in the last 4 years. These are:
Education for Indigenous Peoples Workshop: ASPBAE has been piloting a community audit tool  (CAT) for indigenous communities   using participatory approaches to promote awareness of the major poverty-related issues facing indigenous communities and to develop poverty alleviation strategies or review existing strategies in their communities. This Workshop will discuss lessons from this experience including implications from a gender perspective and the possibilities of further developing awareness-raising education modules on globalisation, land and culture and their impacts on poverty among indigenous communities. This workshop will also consider current regional and international mechanisms and platforms for the promotion of indigenous concerns especially in relation to education.
Regional Workshop on Education for Peace and Conflict Prevention: A Regional Training of Trainers (TOT) Workshop where participants will build from earlier work by ASPBAE members on education for peace and conflict prevention, bringing tools used and describe lessons from the different education approaches they have pursued on peace education, is envisaged. Discussions will focus on how tools are used in different contexts and what are broadly applicable principles and approaches in peace education work. Capacity building and training gaps including gender implications for peace education will be identified. This workshop will also consider current regional and international mechanisms and platforms for the promotion of education for peace and conflict prevention.
HIV/AIDS Education Workshop: HIV/AIDS Education Workshop: This Workshop intends to bring together trainers already doing community-based education responses to HIV/AIDS and CSO/NGO groups wanting to expand their health and/or other education activities to this new area. The Workshop will be jointly organised by ASPBAE with the AIDS Education Programme (AEP) of the Dept. of Education Extension, Chiangmai University (DEE-CMU) and the UNESCO Institute for Education in Hamburg.   With the theme of Learning from action and local experiences, the objectives of the workshop are to: 1) Assess the current status and achievements of community-based HIV/AIDS education in the region, focusing on awareness-raising, promoting acceptance of and care/support for people infected by or living with HIV/AIDS in the community, and integrating gender awareness into HIV/AIDS interventions; 2) Capture the lessons learned from using participatory approaches to conducting community-based HIV/AIDS education; 3) Develop an integrated strategy and plan with features of sub-regional/regional exchange,  methodology training along identified priority areas, support for follow-up in-country work,  and strategies for policy engagement in the expanding policy spaces on HIV/AIDS education and interventions in the region and in the world.
Regional Workshop on Citizens Education: This Workshop intends to bring together trainers on citizens education to review and validate a Citizens Education Action Learning (CEAL) Guide developed in collaboration with the Commonwealth Foundation. ASPBAE trainers in Malaysia, Australia and the Philippines have been mobilized in developing and enhancing this guide, informed by ASPBAEs own experience in running programmes on citizenship education. This will be undertaken within a broader exchange of innovative learning approaches in citizens education. Gender issues in citizens education will be addressed. The Workshop will also consider best practice in civil society engagement with local level government, especially in relation to education issues.
A Gender session will be integrated in all Workshop I events.
Workshop II events (December 15, 2004): Regional workshops ASPBAE is coordinating with its regional and national network and coalition partners:
Engendering EFA Advocacy Platforms: This workshop will provide a space to disseminate information on the different policy platforms and lobbying opportunities for education advocacy work in 2005. The year 2005 is a significant one for gender and education as it is the year one of the gender targets in Education For All (EFA) falls due: gender parities in primary and secondary education. It is also the year of the UN Millennium Summit, where the international community will assess its progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) one of which highlights gender parities in primary education. By bringing together representatives of different CSO coalitions working on education advocacy, this Workshop will seek to reflect on how to engender existing education advocacy platforms at international, regional and national levels. The workshop will also aim to cull out regional CSO advocacy priorities and action plans incorporating neglected areas in EFA work e.g. HIV/AIDS education, education for indigenous people, conflict etc within a gender perspective.

Community Organising and Popular Education: the South East Asian Popular Communications Programme (SEAPCP) will run this Workshop showcasing popular, community based education and organising methodologies they have promoted/used in organising community organisations in South East Asia among indigenous populations, urban poor, women, farmers and others. - for awareness-raising and claim-making.
Social Justice and Adult Learning: Action Aids International Circle for Reflection and Communication (CIRAC) for the Asian region and ASPBAE will organize in early 2005, a Workshop exploring different approaches to social justice and adult learning, and expanding notions of adult literacy. This forum will provide a space for preliminary reflections on the issues to be highlighted in this event.
Other Workshop II events will be announced subsequently
Each of these Workshops will also conclude with suggestions, reflections and insights to inform ASPBAEs future planning and the synthesis discussions on the final day of the Festival.

(2)     Local Interactions and Cultural visits
Exposure Visits (December 14, 2004): Participants will have the opportunity to interact with NGOs, activists, community groups, peoples organizations working in Yogyakarta with/on the following:
-  Domestic workers
-  Urban poor saving group
-  Street vendors groups
-  Traditional Medicine
-  Street musicians
-  Self-help community groups
-  Organic Farmers
-  Female and Transvestites Sex workers

Booths, Exhibits and a Public Events (December 16, 2004): This day-long activity is envisaged as the main arena for interaction with the people of Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta has been a traditional intellectual and cultural centre of Indonesia. It is home to a thriving student movement, a large CSO community one of the main NGO centres in the country. It has a deep tradition in education, and is a locus of alternative thinking and innovative approaches to empowering education and learning. A day-long public event will have the Festival participants interacting with residents of Yogyakarta and nearby communities through booths and exhibits; cultural events organized by NGOs and theater/cultural groups in the city; mobilizations and dialogues with local government and policy makers.
All international participants will be expected to contribute to the booths and exhibits mounted during the Public Event. Specific advice will be provided individually.

Historical Site Visits (December 18, 2004): A day-tour to important historical sites in the city will be organised for all participants in the final day of the Festival. The tour will include visits to Borubudur, Kraton (the Royal Palace) and shopping at Bering Harjo, the traditional market. Optional visits to Prambanan, an ancient Hindu temple and a Ramayana dance performance may be organized in the evening of December 18.
(3)     Reflections on ASPBAEs Past and its Future Directions

Plenary Discussions (December 13 and December 17, 2004): The Festival participants will collectively reflect on the lessons of the 40-year history of ASPBAE, the outcomes of the Workshop discussions as they relate to the Festival theme and the future course of ASPBAE. The discussions are envisaged to inform the planning of the incoming Executive Council of ASPBAE.

Turn-over ceremonies of the ASPBAE Executive Council (December 17, 2004): The members of the newly-elected ASPBAE Executive Council (2005-2008) will be presented and introduced to the Festival participants.
Book launches, video presentations and a host of other commemorative and celebratory activities will run through the Festival week.

PARTICIPANTS

All ASPBAE member and friends are invited to participate in this Festival of Learning.

Since Workshop I events are a culmination of earlier ASPBAE programme events and activities, core participants to these events would have been selected / identified through earlier processes. They will receive a specific invitation subsequent to this general notice. ASPBAE partners for Workshop II events will also receive specific advice further on this.
All those interested to participate are invited to complete the registration form enclosed and send this to the ASPBAE Secretariat no later than November 5, 2004 by email or fax. 

LANGUAGE
English will be the main language for all sessions and discussions although limited translation for Bahasa Indonesia will be available for Indonesian participants. Participants may be called on to assist fellow participants who may face difficulties in spoken English.

VENUE
All Festival activities except the Public Event will be held at:

 HOTEL SHAPIR YOGYAKARTA
 Jl. Laksda Adisucipto  No. 38. P.O. Box 1041
 Yogyakarta, 55001, Indonesia.
 Phone: 62-274-566222
 Fax: 62-274-566220
 Email: saphiryk@indosat.net.id
 Website: www.saphir-hotels.com
 
Participants will be booked in this hotel as well.
The Public Event will be organised at the Women's Association grounds, adjacent to above hotel.

REGISTRATION & PARTICIPATION COSTS

1.       Participants can avail of the conference package of US$400 per person to cover meals and accommodations for seven nights, airport transfers, the exposure visit, participation in the historical tour, shared-space in the exhibit area and basic workshop material.
2.       Those who wish to make their own board and lodging arrangements but still want to participate in all events of the Festival need only pay US$100.
Payment towards Conference costs may be made:
 -          In Cash to the Local Organising Committee upon registration in Yogyakarta 
-          Demand Draft/Cheque made to Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education and mailed in advance to:
The ASPBAE Secretariat
c/o MAAPL, 9^th floor, Eucharistic Congress Building No III
5, Convent Street, Colaba
Mumbai 400 039, India
Tel: 91-22-22021391,22816853
Fax:91-22-22832217
E-mail: aspbae@vsnl.com

3.       All participants are additionally expected to pay Registration fees, as follows:
-          International (non-Indonesian participants)      USD 25
-          Indonesian participants                                 Indonesian Rupiah 100,000

We request participants to pay these Registration Fees IN CASH on registration in Yogyakarta.
TRAVEL TO YOGYAKARTA

Yogyakarta is accessible by air through Jakarta and Bali Denpasar. There are several daily flights through these routes. Direct flights to Yogyakarta may be also be organised through Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Please check with your travel agent on the cheapest and most economical route to and from your respective cities.
We urge all interested participants to book tickets as soon as possible since December is peak travel season in Indonesia and many parts of the region. Do plan a seven (7) day stay (arrival on 12^th December and departure on 19^th December) to be able to attend all the Festival events
All those who register participation will be receiving letters of invitation from the Local Organising Committee in Indonesia which could be presented for visa application purposes.

CONTACT DETAILS
For any further information please write to:
Maria Lourdes Almazan Khan
Secretary General
ASPBAE
c/o MAAPL, 9^th floor, Eucharistic Congress Building No III
5, Convent Street, Colaba
Mumbai 400 039, India
Tel: 91-22-22021391,22816853
Fax: 91-22-22832217
E-mail: aspbae@vsnl.com

For immediate inquiries on local arrangements, please write to:
Nani Zulminarni, ASPBAE Executive Council member for South East Asia, based in Indonesia at naniz@centrin.net.id
Full contact details of the Local Organising Committee will be sent soon.
[1] Human Development Report 2004, UNDP
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2.- EAEA GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2004
source: EAEA

This year the European Association for Education of Adults (EAEA) Assembly will take place in University of Metz Saulcy Island, France from Nov 5 to 7. The President and board of EAEA will be elected. The event will be hosted and organised in close cooperation with the Association des University Populaires de France (AUPF).

Within the framework of this General Assembly, the 2nd. Grundtvig Award will be celebrated and EAEA has organized a European Conference on key competences: Citizens - assets of Europe to join the efforts in promoting adult education in Europe, to discuss the findings of the efforts to collect good practices examples in basic skills, to share the experience and to consider conclusions formulated on the basis of the results of the work.
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3.- COMPTE-RENDU DE MISSIONS EN AFRIQUE ET EN EUROPE DANS LE CADRE DES MOUVEMENTS SOCIAUX

Babacar Diop Buuba -  President  - Association Nationale pour l'Alphabetisation et la Formation des Adults (ANAFA)

I/ LA RENCONTRE DE JOHANNESBOURG

Cette rencontre est en fait une initiative de la campagne mondiale sur les OMD, de CIVICUS et OXFAM. L’objectif était surtout de préparer un plan d’action vigoureux pour 2005 autour des OMD.

Le programme sur deux jours (le 20 et 21 septembre) a permis :

1.        Aux différent participants de se présenter et de constater que les différentes parties du monde étaient déjà représentées (séance de la soirée du 19 Septembre) ;

2.        de faire le point sur les initiatives autour des OMD aux niveaux international et régional (Afrique, Proche-Orient, Asie, Amérique Latine, Amérique du Nord, Europe) ;

3.        de noter des considérations particulières, liées aux luttes contre les discriminations (les Dalits de l’Inde) et à la bonne gouvernance politique (Zimbabwe) ; d’autres sensibilités bien expérimentées ont influé sur les travaux (groupe sur l’éducation, sur le commerce équitable) ;

4.        de proposer des initiatives d’action communes déjà en Décembre 2004 (la période du 1^er au 10 Décembre, journée des Droits Humains) ;

5.        de cerner les enjeux de 2005 (la rencontre du G8 en GB (Grande Bretagne), le sommet des NU (Nations-Unies), la rencontre de l’OMC (Organisation Modiale du Commerce) etc ;

6.        de proposer un plan d’action qui intègre les préoccupations nationales, sous-régioanles, régionales et internationales ;

7.        d’avancer dans la structuration du comité de facilitation. Il faut noter que les différentes parties du monde sont représentées et l’Afrique a pu faire passer ses préoccupations en termes de contenu et de représentation afin que les différentes sous-régions soient représentées et que les équilibres linguistiques et de genre soient tenus en compte.

QUE FAIRE APRES CETTE RENCONTRE ?

1. Améliorer, afficher, valider en interne (niveau CONGAD) et en externe (avec nos partenaires de la société civile sénégalaise et ouest-africaine) notre plan d’action pour 2005 et de présenter à nos bailleurs (dont nos membres OXFAM, Plan International, World Vision et cela avant la fin de Novembre 2004.
2. accepter la proposition que le CONGAD soit dans le Comité International si l’offre nous est faite officiellement et essayer de participer à la rencontre de New York en Octobre, initié par l’UNIFEM ;
3. recentrer nos actions sur les OMD, ce qui permet de relancer d’anciens partenaires (NOVIB) et de mieux pousser à la cohérence le système des NU (PNUD, UNICEF, UNESCO, et le Gouvernement Sénégalais).

Sigles :

CONGAD : Conseil des ONG d’Appui au Développement Sénégal

OMD : Objectifs du Millénaire pour le Développement

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4.- Norway: 750.000 PARTICIPANTS IN ADULT LEARNING MAY LOSE ACCESS TO DECENTRALISED LEARNING

Source: Norwegian Association for Adult Education

Kjell Magns Bondevik's government has cut the state grants for the adult learning associations by 60 million NKr.over the last four years, this equals 30% of the level of grants of the year 2000.
A couple of decades ago, the government subsidised 75% of the participants' course fees, according to the Norwegian Adult Education Act. Today the figure is down to only 15-20%. Participants with a strong economy can cope with this, but many participants with low education and low income cannot afford increasing course fees. The network of local providers is weakened, and many learning possibilities slowly dissappear. This trend creates a focus away from demanding courses, to what can easily be sold. Important learning possibilities to groups with more special needs may dissapear. Activities are centralised to cities and towns, and the local providers have to close. How will the government reach the objective of equal access to learning for all, when the local network of providers precisely organised for this are given very hard conditions of surviving.


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5.- VIRTUAL DISCUSSIONS ON: "RESOURCING FOR QUALITY ADULT LITERACY"
AND "CSO CAPACITY BUILDING FOR POLICY ENGAGEMENT ON EFA"

Source: ASPBAE website

        ASPBAE is currently collaborating with UNESCO on a programme linking NFE with ICT. UNESCO, with the support of the Italian government, is developing a website titled 'Exchange platform on non formal education' which intends to enable those involved in literacy, non-formal and community education in developing countries to harness the potential power of ICT, through electronic networks where various community learning spaces seek out, develop, present and exchange information and experiences. This site has three main components: a virtual library, an on-line NFE directory and an Exchange Forum. ASPBAE will be UNESCO's Asia-Pacific partner in this initiative. Apart from contributing several of our case studies on innovative practice in adult education to the virtual library, we will be conducting a series of virtual discussions, the first of which is on 'Financing for Adult Education', which will run from 17 September to 22 October - in 2 phases, addressing the aspects (1) September 17 to October 5 : How can we persuade funders (government and donors) and providers (policy-makers, administrators, politicians) that adult literacy learning programmes (ALLPs) are important? (2) October 8 to 22, 2004: How can we persuade them to resource it adequately enough? ASPBAE will be moderating the Financing discussions on a day-to-day basis with Prof. Alan Rogers (School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of East Anglia) providing the following technical inputs: 2 brief discussion papers to start the discussions off, and a note integrating and synthesizing the discussions at the completion of both phases.

The second web discussion is on 'CSO Capacity Building for Policy Engagement on EFA'. It will run from October 15 to Nov. 19. The discussion paper is being produced by Vera Razon. Vera will also be moderating the discussions and produce the synthesis paper integrating the issues raised through the discussion.

The participants will be: Asia Pacific members of the UNESCO NGO Collective Consultation on EFA (NGO CC/EFA); members and partners of ASPBAE; and, any other groups and individuals working in adult education in the Asia-Pacific who are interested to join.
We are running this electronic discussions in collaboration with UNESCO Paris and in support of its recently launched Non-formal Education website at www.unesco.org/education/nfe Hence, apart from this ASPBAE e-group, will be running and posting these discussions at the UNESCO NFE website as well.
If you are interested to view the ASPBAE discussions and contribute as well, we urge you to register at and visit the NFE website at the given dates. We encourage in particular, CSOs from the Asia Pacific to participate, if interested. Please contact us or Florence Carrique of UNESCO at f.carrique@unesco.org  if you are finding it difficult to register at the NFE site.

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6.- ACHIEVING THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
 
Women's Empowerment, Gender Equality & the MDGs
Developed by the Women's Environment & Development Organization, WEDO
October 20, 2004 -Millennium UN Plaza Hotel - New York City
Website: http://www.ippfwhr.org/global/news/infocus/symposia_e.html
 
PROGRAM - Speakers
 
Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, UN Millennium Project
Thoraya A. Obaid, Executive Director, UNFPA
Paulo Teixeira, former Director of STD/AIDS Program, Brazil
Steven W. Sinding, Director General, IPPF
Carmen Barroso, Regional Director, IPPF/WHR
Elsa Gomez, Regional Adviser, Gender and Health, PAHO/WHO
Sonia Montaño, Chief, Gender Unit, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Mar
Isabel Plata, Executive Director, PROFAMILIA, Colombia
Cecilia Lopez, former Director of the National Department for Planning of the government of Colombia
Mayra Buvinic, Chief of Sustainable Development Department, Inter-American Development Bank
 
Panel Discussions
- How will sexual and reproductive health interventions help achieve the MDGs?
- What policies ensure equitable access to sexual and reproductive health?
- How much does it cost to achieve universal access to SRH? What are the benefits?
 
Moderators
Adrienne Germain, President, International Women's Health Coalition
Lynn Freedman, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Caren Grown, Director, Poverty Reduction and Economic Governance, International Center for Research on Women
Co-convenor organizations:
IPPF/WHR, International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region
LACWHN, Latin American and Caribbean Womens Health Network
Catolicas por el Derecho a Decidir
CAFRA, Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action
REDLAC, Red Latinoamericana y Caribe񡠤e J󶥮es por los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos
 
Funders include:
European Comission; UNFPA; UN Foundation
 
Two symposia will be held in New York on October 20, 2004, and in Rio de Janeiro, on November 30, 2004.
Both symposia will bring together policy-makers such as representatives of Latin American and Caribbean governments and UN agencies, as well as civil society, academia and the press. Discussions in New York will center on the contribution of sexual and reproductive health interventions to the realization of the MDGs, with a close examination of what policies can ensure equitable access, how much these measures cost and what are their benefits. The Rio discussion will build on the results of New York; it will address in greater depth the interaction between the MDGs, sexual and reproductive health and human rights, health sector reform and macroeconomic policy in Latin America and the Caribbean. Civil society strategies to address challenges to the implementation of the MDGs in the region will also be discussed.
We hope that, together, these Symposia can advance knowledge and foster greater mobilization by civil society and decision-makers around the opportunities offered by the MDGs. We also hope that they can generate critical engagement of policy-makers with the MDGs to ensure that sexual and reproductive health and rights are an integral part of this development framework.
 
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO REINSERT SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INTO THE MDGs?
At the global level, several opportunities have already presented themselves for integrating sexual and reproductive rights more fully into the MDGs. The Millennium Project, headed by Jeffrey Sachs, has been tasked to advise the UN and individual countries on strategies for achieving the MDGs. Ten Task Forces are currently conducting research and preparing recommendations on approaches to achieving the MDGs. The four Task Forces most directly relevant to achieving sexual and reproductive rights are those on Gender Equality; Maternal Health; HIV/AIDS; and Poverty Eradication. The Task Forces will put out their final strategy papers later in 2004.
Each of these four Task Forces includes well-known experts, advocates and researchers on sexual and reproductive health and rights who were very preoccupied with ensuring that the ICPD agenda would be fully reflected in the final recommendations of each relevant Task Force. Early on, they agreed to meet across Task Forces to coordinate their efforts. In 2003, at the behest of some of these experts, some U.S.-based foundations granted a substantial sum of money to the Millennium Project to create the position of Sexual and Reproductive Health coordinator to make this process official. The coordinator, Stan Bernstein, on secondment from UNFPA, was appointed early in 2004 and is already at work.
Sexual and reproductive health is one of six strategic approaches recommended by the Gender Equality Task Force, and ICPD indicators additional to those already contained in the MDGs are now included in an Annex to the paper. More work remains to be done with the Gender Equality Task Force, but the results are already very promising.
Another opportunity to integrate sexual and reproductive rights resides in work already going on at the national level. Some countries have already done substantial work on possible approaches. A number of these countries already agree with the view that the MDGs are a minimum; they are, of their own accord, going beyond the MDGs in setting national goals and targets. Brazil, for example, proposes to include much more on sexual and reproductive health than what is contained in the MDGs. Sustained advocacy at the national level can help prod governments to integrate the full ICPD paradigm in their poverty eradication strategies, thereby reinvigorating their commitment to sexual and reproductive rights.
 
FURTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR SRH AND DEVELOPMENT
The MDGs could be an opportunity to address inherent contradictions in the current practice of financing for development. If indeed the goal is to eradicate poverty by investing, notably, in education and health, then how do we square that with requirements of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) for structural adjustments and substantial reductions in government investment in precisely those sectors? Activists and policy-makers can use the MDGs to ask proponents of neo-liberal policies and of privatization to demonstrate that market mechanisms will contribute to eradicate poverty and enhance sexual and reproductive health as mandated by Goals 1 (Eradicate Poverty), 5 (Reduce Maternal Mortality) and 6 (Combat HIV/AIDS). Trade arrangements that penalize the production and importation of generic drugs can be similarly questioned by using the MDGs, notably Goal 8 on Developing a Global Partnership for Development. Goal 8 includes targets to "develop an open, non-discriminatory trading system" and for "access to affordable, essential drugs in developing countries"
The MDGs give us an occasion to link up sexual and reproductive health once again with the broader development agenda. Indeed, they make clear that no single interventionwhether primary education or family planningcan be the panacea. Development is a complex process that depends on advancing a range of measures at the same time. Without passable roads, for example, new maternal clinics will not be reached by women in labor. Conversely, without comprehensive sexuality education, those young men or women who have a job will still have no idea how to protect their sexual health.
An important advantage of the MDGs is that they provide quantifiable targets that can be used to hold governments accountable. Obviously, as discussed above, excessive focus on a few targets can be detrimental to more complex approaches to problems. Additional indicators are therefore needed to capture access to a functioning health system. But the principle of measuring progress and being held accountable has been recognized by all governments, as well as UN agencies and IFIs.
Finally, because of their intersectoral nature, the MDGs can offer womens health advocates opportunities to build alliances with other constituencies, such as the HIV, human rights, or "traditional" development communities.
 
CONTACT
For more information on the symposia, please contact Jennifer Martinez at (212) 214-0286 or at jmartinez@ippfwhr.org
 
 
*      *      *     *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics; Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ IKM Area] Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American  Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members.

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7.- UNESCO / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Small grants for rights-based research on poverty

- Deadline October 31st, 2004

UNESCO is offering up to $10,000 grants to strengthen national capacities for research and policy analysis on rights-based approaches to poverty eradication. Awardees will be institutionally-based mid-career professionals at universities, specialised research centres, relevant Government departments, NGOs, etc., particularly in regions of the world least likely to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

UNESCO specifically wishes to encourage research and policy analysis focusing on the relationship between poverty and human rights. The Organization wishes to promote analysis on the impact of public policies on the rights of the poor, especially on the extent to which pro-poor policies and related national actions in development programming are actually contributing to improved livelihoods and participation of the poor.

For further information, contact the following UNESCO website:
http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=5280&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

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8.- LINKING & LEARNING PROGRAMME ON BUDGET ANALYSIS AND ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS -

The Programme will take place from 11 to 19 March 2005 in Portugal.
This programme is organised by International Human Rights Internship
Programme (IHRIP); the International Budget Programme (IBP); the
International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-
Net); Fundar - the Centre for Research and Analysis; and Dignity
International.

The programme aims to equip activists coming from human rights,
development, social and economic justice movements and NGO's, with
the initial knowledge and skills to begin to apply budget analysis
techniques to their ESC rights work, with the expectation that they
will apply these to a specific project and/or initiate a programme
within their organization upon completion of the course. The
programme will be conducted in English.

The Call for Applications is now open.

For further programme details contact dignity@netvisao.pt or visit
http://dignity.3pontos.net/doc/callforapplications_final.doc
http://www.escr-net.org/GeneralDocs/Budget_Call_4_apps.pdf

To download the application form see:
http://www.escr-net.org/GeneralDocs/Budget_App_Form.doc


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
< Arq. G r a c i e l a   D e d e >
Social Watch / Control Ciudadano
http://www.socialwatch.org
 Montevideo - URUGUAY

VOICES RISING
YEAR II - VOL 2. Nº80
December 19th, 2003

CONTENT
1.- FOLLOW UP TO THE WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM
2.- Lack of Education for Girls: A Global Emergency
3.- Accommodation in Mumbai, India
4.- WEDO Announcement: Global Advocacy Internship available for Young Women activists from Africa and Asia
5.-Training on Making Governance Gender Responsive
6.- Position Available: Director Project on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights
7.- !!!AMENDMENT!!!   NEW DATES OF SYMPOSIUM: March 3 & 4, 2004
8.- CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: INTERNATIONAL LEGAL STUDIES LL.M. WITH A SPECIALIZATION IN GENDER AND THE LAW
9.- CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2004-2005 KING BAUDOUIN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PRIZE
10.- PhD fellowship
 

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1.- FOLLOW UP TO THE WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM

We are very happy to inform you that some countries are following the recommendations emerged from the World Conference Against Racism, most surely because civil society is following up very closely the resulting agreements and because, obviously, there is a political will to do it.

In Porto Alegre, province of Rio Grande do Sur, Brazil, ACMUN, a NGO of African descendant women, organized a Writing Award about the local government’s decision of establishing a 12% quota for African descendant people in the municipality’s public competitions for employment.

This competition received 14 top-level presentations. We translated only the presentations that won the first and second prizes.

It is important to say that these writings were done by persons who know the real meaning of the term discrimination, and who struggle for a life with true social inclusion.

First Prize

Quotas: the Path to Equality

By Jocelaine Machado*

On September 2003 the Municipality of Porto Alegre approved the bill that establishes a 12% quota for black people in all its public competitions, at all levels. The approval was unanimous.

This victory brought the people from the province of Rio Grande do Sul (and particularly from the city of Porto Alegre) closer to the beginning of the materialization of an issue that, until that moment, was only, in the practice, at media level. The quotas in the University of Rio de Janeiro are a good example.
When facing this new reality, many people ask themselves: why this “privilege” for black people? Aren’t we all equal and have the same rights?”
While affirmative action policies for black population continue to be considered as a privilege, not even black people will accept them easily (as it usually happens, many black persons do not agree with the quotas system, in relation both to public service and education)
What one has to understand is that those measures were taken as a way to promote equality of opportunities. In this case in particular, opportunity means “to have the right to”. Statistics show (although it is enough to observe public or university spaces) that black population is at disadvantage in several sectors of society, mainly in the labor market. This phenomenon has nothing to do with lack of capacity. In order to understand this, it is necessary to evaluate Brazil’s history and to understand the exclusion mechanism experienced by this population that goes as far as the times of slavery, and which is responsible for the current situation.

Affirmative action policies should be promoted by the State as a way to enforce equality, because, contrary to the thought of those who believe in a Brazilian racial democracy, it is necessary to bring them about. The lack of opportunities and the subsequent economic difficulties (related to racial issues) offer black people no access possibilities. What we see in most cases is the following vicious circle: “I was born black, poor, I don’t get a satisfactory life standard, I have black, poor children that do not get a satisfactory life standard, who in turn have black poor children that do not get a satisfactory life standard…” And this has been so for long. There are few who manage to break with this almost “natural” circle. Quotas are a way to facilitate the following circle: “I was born black, poor, I have hindrances to overcome, but I apply for a public competition, I go to university, I have black children to whom I manage to give a better education, who in turn also apply for public competition, and who have black children WHO DO NOT NEED QUOTAS”.

Quotas are not favors, they are part of the payment of a debt that Brazilian society owes to black persons, and these persons need to feel worthy of them.
For those who ask: “…but, which debt?, I am going to quote a friend of mine’s interesting and forward reply: “To begin with, 300 years of whip lashes”

*Author’s Profile: Jocelaine Machado is African descendant, she is 29 years old and works as an analyst of Human Resources. She studies Psychology and she is a black people activist in cultural actions and in the movement of persons with disabilities.

Second Prize

Quotas: in search of lost dignity

By Paulo Luiz Rodrigues*

In Brazil, the starting point was slavery, where through slaves' strength and sweat,  the Colony and the Empire became wealthy, but that wealth was not used for the benefit of slaves, who remained illiterate, undermined in cultural and religious values, and suffering violent loss of mental and physical liberty.   And things turned even worse when the Empire decided to promote a false abolition, on the grounds that by throwing them out of farms they would become full citizens:  the Empire was not concerned about how to provide them with work, housing, food and education.
Slaves became homeless, poor, victims of the police, discriminated in justice spheres and labor market, unseen by the media.  ¿How can we understand and accept that those hands that built, with no other help, the wealth of the country were unable to get jobs when abolition arrived? ¿What kind of country is this?  Black people were violently excluded from labor market so as to benefit European  immigrants that came to work on land that was given to them, together with money and crops for the first harvest. They were not concerned on giving equal treatment to those that until then had carried the burden of their country. In order to facilitate the incorporation of European work force, a fake argument was used: former slaves were not able to adapt to the new rules of free work.
Quota policies are special and temporary measures established by the State with the purpose of eradicating inequalities suffered from long time ago, guaranteeing equal opportunities and treatment, so as to compensate the losses caused by discrimination and marginalization due to racial, ethnic, religious, gender and other reasons.  Black people enter labor market earlier and remain for longer periods.  Most of the times, this early incorporation makes them drop-out from primary school and implies higher rates of insertion in jobs that require low educational and technical levels. As parents are not prepared, they cannot prepare their children and such early incorporation into labor market, together with low qualified functions, will remain throughout time.
The gap between  black and white people is huge. We do not find black people occupying high-rank positions in public or private companies. Poverty in Brazil is concentrated on black population.  In quota debates that take place within university spheres, old arguments reappear: there is no racism, there is social discrimination; implementation of quotas implies discriminating other people; and, above all, it is difficult to know who are the black people in this country.
The implementation of quotas will pay off the historical debt with black people allowing talented people to incorporate technical and administrative teams of companies.   Diversity is a term that will spread throughout the country.
Racial differences are not natural, they were created and they have to be eradicated through the implementation of quotas.

Author’s Profile: Paulo Luiz Rodrigues is African descendant, he is 47 years old, and a Mechanical Engineering graduate. He is a black people activist and vice-president of “GT Black People: History, Culture and Society” and member of the Ecumenical Center of Black Culture.

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2.- Lack of Education for Girls: A Global Emergency

AVIVA
Women's World-Wide Web
FREE Monthly Webzine
http://www.aviva.org

UNICEF's new report 'The State of the World's Children, says: 65 million girls receive no schooling is a serious global emergency holding up economic development and leaving the girls themselves open to exploitation and a life of poverty.  While countries that signed the UN Millennium Declaration pledged to achieve universal primary education by 2015, a target that already is slipping out of sight in some regions, the UNICEF report stresses the need for "gender parity." It says that regions that have invested in girls' education, such as South-East Asia, experience faster rates of development.  Educating girls has a multiplier effect because they in turn send their children to school, because the girls learn to defend themselves against HIV/AIDS and because they are less likely to be forced into prostitution. Girls' education also paid off in better family health. "To educate a girl is to educate a whole family," UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said in a foreword to the report. "And what is true of families is also true of communities and, ultimately, whole countries. Study after study has taught us that there is no tool for development more effective than the education of girls." UNICEF urged government leaders to include girls' education as an essential component of development efforts, and create a national ethos "so that communities are as scandalized and concerned about girls kept out of school as they are about boys and girls more visibly exploited at work." No matter how poor a country, it said, "all primary school fees and charges must be immediately abolished." UNICEF added that industrialized countries should direct 10% of official aid to basic education, with programs that benefit girls as their special priority. It is also important, it said, to train teachers to be aware of the importance of gender parity, rather than favoring boys and leaving girls "to sweep the floors or clean the toilets." It urged the adoption of "child-friendly" schools where children feel safe, where their self-esteem is respected and which are healthy with adequate sanitation and separate toilets for girls. The fact that an estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked into forced labor, slavery and prostitution every year was "proof of the world's systematic failure to protect its youngest citizens," UNICEF said. "Human rights principles have not been integrated into economic development programs, and the ultimate objective of development -- human well-being instead of economic performance has thus been lost," UNICEF said. Source: PlanetWire, 11/12/03

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3.- Accommodation in Mumbai, India

Boletim FSM
gerente@forumsocialmundial.org.br

- Book hotel accommodation through our website till 20 December 2003

You can make a reservation at Mumbai hotels through our online booking service. To do so, select the link: http://www.wsfindia.org/sitamice/, choose the hotel region and category, and then, fill in the form. The service provider will answer your request within six days.  In order to confirm the reservation, you must arrange an online deposit (corresponding to a daily rate),  by credit card or bank transfer.  In the latter case, you have to indicate the organization’s name and the aim of the payment (in this case it is “accommodation”). We do not accept checks. See here the payment modes:

Bank Transfer with Swift code (foreign currencies)
Details needed:
SWIFT CODE for USD payment: CHASUS33XXX
SWIFT CODE for EURO payment: CHASDEFXXX
Account Title: WSF INDIA TRUST
Name of the Bank: ICICI Bank Ltd
Branch: Dadar Branch
Branch Code: 0032
Account Number: 003201029472
Address of the Bank:
ICICI Bank Ltd,
Poonawadi,
167 C, Dr. Ambedkar Road,
Dadar, Mumbai -400 014
 
To pay by credit card, click in “Credit Card Payment”, click then on the ¨Credit Card Payment¨ link and select the prefix ¨ACCO¨, entering your booking ID to obtain a credit card payment form.

The closing date for reservation is December 20. You can also make reservation for single rooms now. For more information, write to accommodation@wsfindia.org.
- Intercontinental Youth Camp
Registration is open for the Intercontinental Youth Camp at WSF 2004, in India. There are three different fees, according to the participant’s country of origin:

Group I – US$ 50.00 – OECD countries: Germany, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Korea, Denmark, Spain, United States, Finland, France, Greece, Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Luxemburg, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland.
Group II – US$ 20.00 – Africa, Latin America, Asia (except SAARC member-countries), other European countries.
Group III – US$ 4.00 – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.

Payment can be made by credit card or bank transfer. Access the registration form by clicking on the link: http://www.wsfindia.org/youthforum/procedure_ind.php. See more details about the Intercontinental Youth Camp at http://www.wsfindia.org/youthforum/.
People who have registered for the IYC are automatically registered for the WSF. For further information, write to youth.registration@wsfindia.org

……………………………………………………….

Registration deadline for organisations and individuals has been extended to December 25, 2003
The closing date for organisations and individuals to register on-line has been extended to 25 December 2003. To register, click on the ¨Register Here for WSF2004¨ link on the home page (www.wsfindia.org) and submit the appropriate registration forms. The closing date for registration payments is 20 December 2003.

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4.- WEDO Announcement: Global Advocacy Internship available for Young Women activists from Africa and Asia

WEDO is an international advocacy organization that seeks to increase the power of women worldwide as decision-makers at all levels to achieve economic and social justice, a healthy and peaceful planet, and human rights for all. Following the decade of UN development conferences
culminating at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, WEDO is holding a series of regional meetings in Latin America (November 2003), Africa and Asia (Spring 2004) to assess achievements and challenges in both the global and national/regional women's advocacy and strengthen alliances and strategies among women's organizations.
In preparation for the Africa and Asia regional meetings, WEDO will offer an internship in New York City for young women from and based in Africa and Asia. Both internships will be for 3-4  month duration and begin in February 2004.
Global Advocacy Intern Announcement:
Opportunity for young woman activist from Asia WEDO is an international advocacy organization that seeks to increase the power of women worldwide as decision-makers at all levels to achieve
economic and social justice, a healthy and peaceful planet, and human rights for all. Since its inception WEDO has worked to strengthen the global advocacy skills of its partners-by bringing women from around the world to United Nations meetings and providing information and materials
to women working at the regional and national levels.
Following the decade of UN development conferences culminating at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, WEDO is holding a series of regional meetings in Africa, Asia, and Latin America in order to strengthen alliances and strategies among women's organizations. In
preparation for the Asia regional meeting in Malaysia in Spring 2004, WEDO will offer an internship in New York City for a young woman from and based in Asia.
The Global Advocacy Intern will be a feminist activist from an Asian country who is already active with one of WEDO's partner organizations in the region. The Intern will be fluent in English, have a Bachelor's or Master's degree, and have a background in gender and in one or more of the following: economic justice, environment, governance, human rights, indigenous communities, and/or sustainable development.
The skills the Global Advocacy Intern develops will directly strengthen the capacity of her organization to advocate effectively at the national and international levels. She will become familiar with UN advocacy processes, be involved with the research and production of advocacy
materials, and make linkages with networks in her region. The Global Advocacy Intern will be mentored in international advocacy by the full WEDO program team, with direct supervision from the Economic & Social Justice Program Coordinator.
This is a 3-4 month internship beginning in February 2004 at WEDO's office in New York City. WEDO will cover a roundtrip ticket to New York, housing in New York, and a stipend for meals and incidentals. As part of the internship, the Intern will assist in organizing and facilitating WEDO's Asia regional meeting in Malaysia.
To recommend a candidate for the Global Advocacy Internship, please send a recommendation letter and the applicant's curriculum vitae to econjust@wedo.org. The application must come from an organization based in Asia. ABSOLUTE DEADLINE IS JANUARY 05, 2004. For more information about WEDO, please see www.wedo.org  
Global Advocacy Intern Announcement:
Opportunity for young woman activist from Africa WEDO is an international advocacy organization that seeks to increase the power of women worldwide as decision-makers at all levels to achieve economic and social justice, a healthy and peaceful planet, and human rights for all. Since its inception WEDO has worked to strengthen the global advocacy skills of its partners-by bringing women from around the world to United Nations meetings and providing information and materials
to women working at the regional and national levels.
Following the decade of UN development conferences culminating at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, WEDO is holding a series of regional meetings in Africa, Asia, and Latin America in order to strengthen alliances and strategies among women's organizations. In
preparation for the Africa regional meeting in Senegal in Spring 2004, WEDO will offer an internship in New York City for a young woman from and based in Africa.
The Global Advocacy Intern will be a feminist activist from an African country who is already active with one of WEDO's partner organizations in the region. The Intern will be fluent in English and French, have a Bachelor's or Master's degree, and have a background in gender and in one or more of the following: economic justice, environment, governance, human rights, indigenous communities, and/or sustainable development. The skills the Global Advocacy Intern develops will directly strengthen the capacity of her organization to advocate effectively at the national and international levels. She will become familiar with UN advocacy processes, be involved with the research and production of advocacy materials, and make linkages with networks in her region. The Global Advocacy Intern will be mentored in international advocacy by the full WEDO program team, with direct supervision from the Gender & Governance Program Coordinator.
This is a 3-4 month internship beginning in February 2004 at WEDO's office in New York City. WEDO will cover a roundtrip ticket to New York, housing in New York, and a stipend for meals and incidentals. As part of the internship, the Intern will assist in organizing and facilitating WEDO's Africa regional meeting in Senegal.
To recommend a candidate for the Global Advocacy Internship, please send a recommendation letter and the applicant's curriculum vitae to governance@wedo.org. The application must come from an organization based in Africa. ABSOLUTE DEADLINE IS JANUARY 05, 2004. For more

information about WEDO, please see www.wedo.org  

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5.-Training on Making Governance Gender Responsive

CAPWIP Institute for Gender, Governance & Leadership (CIGGL)

18 December 2003

Dear Friends,

The Center for Asia Pacific Women in Politics (CAPWIP), in cooperation with the Asia Pacific Gender Equality Network (UNDP-APGEN) and the PARAGON Regional Governance Programme for Asia (UNDP-PARAGON), produced a generic training course manual called “MAKING GOVERNANCE GENDER-RESPONSIVE”.  The course is designed for middle and senior level government executives, women and men in local governments, political parties, research & training institutes and civil society organziations who are leading or participating in governance reform initiatives in their respective countries.  It aims to propel them to formulate specific action agenda towards a gender-responsive governance. Specifically, it intends to help participants to:
· gain theoretical and practical understanding and appreciation of the Gender and Development (GAD) and  governance concepts and their inter-relationship;
· acquire skills in identifying and analyzing gender-related issues and biases in governance; and
· formulate a doable action plan to address these gender biases and concerns.
In this regard, we would like to invite you and your organization to send participants to this international three-day training which is slated on the following schedules:
- February 26-28, 2003
- June 24-26, 2003
- October 21-23, 2003
You may pick any of the above schedules. Each training batch is good for only thirty (30) participants to be chosen from across Asia and the Pacific. The venue of the training is the newly-built CAPWIP Institute on Gender, Governance and Leadership (CIGGL) which is located at 4229 Tomas Claudio Street Baclaran, Parañaque City, Philippines.

In general the “MAKING GOVERNANCE GENDER-RESPONSIVE” aims to increase the understanding and appreciation of the process of making governance gender responsive. It also aims to ensure their synergistic and successful implementation of the customized MGGR-ABC in their respective countries. The course is composed of three modules that aim to enhance participants’ understanding of the link between gender and governance as well as increase their awareness of gender biases in governance.

We hope that you will be able send representatives from your organizations, country, regions as participants to "MAKING GOVERNANCE GENDER-RESPONSIVE”.  CAPWIP is shouldering the expenses for the trainers; the participants are expected to pay for their own airfares and for the board and lodging.  We hope that you will be able to find your own sponsors to cover the above expenses. The deadline for sending in your applications is on January 23, 2004 for the February 2004 training, May 20, 2004 for the June 2004 training and September 21, 2004 for the October 2004 training.  We are sending you the information materials and registration forms regarding the MGGR:ABC as an attachment to this invitation.

Let us join hands in promoting a gender responsive governance through transformative leadership and Citizenship in the Asia Pacific region.  We look forward to your participation.

Sincerely yours,

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6.- Position Available: Director Project on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights

(New York Office)

Human Rights Watch, the international monitoring and advocacy organization, seeks a director to create a new Human Rights Watch project documenting human rights abuses based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This project will build on several years of reporting and advocacy on these issues in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and the United States. The director will be the organization's chief strategist, advisor and spokesperson in relation to its work on all issues related to persecution of and discrimination against sexual minorities. He or she also will be a key member of the organization's central management.

Description:

The director will be responsible for the planning and execution of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Project's research and advocacy and the setting of program priorities. He or she will be responsible for overseeing the collection of detailed information on human rights practices in different regions, the publication of reliable, comprehensive, insightful and timely reports on those practices, and the use of those reports and other advocacy material to generate international pressure to curb human rights violations. He or she will take part in research and writing, provide final editing of reports and other written interventions, and coordinate campaigns with allied organizations and local NGOs. He or she will represent the organization frequently before the international press and broadcast media and meet with government and other high-level officials both in different regions and elsewhere, including at the United Nations and other international and regional fora. The director also will assist with fundraising by helping to identify and recruit donors and draft funding proposals. There is a strong preference that the director be based in HRW's New York headquarters.

 Qualifications:

The successful applicant should have a thorough knowledge of human rights issues and public and international affairs, professional experience working on human rights or humanitarian issues, and substantial experience in and knowledge of the human rights issues surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity. He or she must have the ability to pursue an impartial human rights agenda in complex political contexts, an understanding of the regional challenges to human rights, and a strong commitment to promote human rights. He or she must have the demonstrated ability to work with a team of talented professionals in several offices, to think creatively and strategically,
to keep abreast of developments in the human rights field, to exercise sound political judgment, to ensure the highest quality research, to constantly search for innovative ways to marshal support to reduce or eliminate human rights violations in the region, to assist in raising funds, and to perform in a fast-paced, activist environment meeting multiple, simultaneous demands while paying close attention to detail. Applicants must have a demonstrated ability to articulate human rights issues effectively and to write, edit and speak fluently and forcefully in English.

Salary and Benefits:

Human Rights Watch seeks exceptional candidates and offers competitive compensation and generous employer-paid benefits. HRW will pay reasonable relocation expenses and will assist employees in obtaining necessary U.S. work authorization; non-US citizens are encouraged to
apply.

PLEASE APPLY BY JANUARY 2, 2004 by sending a letter of interest, resume, list of references, and two original writing samples (unedited by others) to:

Search Committee (LGBT Director)
Human Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10118-3299 USA
Fax: 212-736-1300
Email: program@hrw.org

Human Rights Watch is an equal opportunity employer.

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7.- !!!AMENDMENT!!!   NEW DATES OF SYMPOSIUM: March 3 & 4, 2004

CALL FOR PAPER

WHITHER GAD? RE-EXAMINING GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

Since the 1970s, it has been recognized that women's contribution to economic and social processes is central to international development.
Since at least the mid-to-late 1980s, donor agencies and NGOs have, to varying degrees tried to integrate gender concerns and sensitivity into their programming.
There have been thousands of books and articles published on "gender issues" and there are countless "toolboxes" and methodological papers on how to integrate gender into development.

Given this concerted effort over the past 25 years, it is time to analyse and evaluate the extent to which women's concerns really have become part of the international development agenda and to judge whether that agenda has changed as women have been better integrated.

This symposium, which will be held at the University of Ottawa on March 3-4, 2004 will address this question. Invited speakers will include representatives of donor agencies and NGOs and development scholars and researchers.

Faculty members and graduate students are invited to submit abstracts for papers addressing gender and development issues in any one of the following areas: health, education, communications (including information, communications technologies), science and technology policy, natural resource management and law. Papers should be suitable for presentation during a 15 minute time slot and should include some consideration as to the success or failure of the "gender and development" approach.

Abstracts, which must be received by January 15, 2004, should be sent to the Joint Chair in Women's Studies, c/o Helene Boudreault, University of Ottawa, 143 Seraphin-Marion, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5, or by fax (613)

562-5994, or by email at hboudre@uottawa.ca

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8.- CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: INTERNATIONAL LEGAL STUDIES LL.M. WITH A SPECIALIZATION IN GENDER AND THE LAW

Women & International Law Program
wilp@wcl.american.edu

American University Washington College of Law proudly invites applications for its International Legal Studies Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree with a specialization on Gender and the Law.

ABOUT THE GENDER AND THE LAW LL.M. SPECIALIZATION:

Founded by two women in 1896 to make legal education available to women, the Washington College of Law has a tradition of promoting women's full and equal participation in society. WCL established the LL.M. Specialization in Gender and the Law as part of its International Legal Studies Program in 1997.

The flexibility of the Gender and the Law specialization enables students to shape a program within our International Legal Studies curriculum that fits their goals and interests. Students can pursue a course of study incorporating international, comparative, and domestic approaches to legal issues related to gender. Courses include comparative family law; sex-based discrimination; gender, cultural difference and international human rights; battered women and the law; and economic, social and cultural rights, among others.

Many of our standard courses also incorporate perspectives based on gender and race.

Our location in Washington, D.C. affords students the opportunity to intern for prominent non-governmental and advocacy organizations devoted to women's rights. Students can also pursue independent study and writing under faculty supervision. In addition, the program organizes conferences and events where students meet officials, policy-makers and advocates shaping the development of the women's rights agenda in different communities.

Gender and the Law LL.M. students have gone on to work at the World Bank, in national women's ministries in their home countries, and for international women's rights programs around the world. Their work has been recognized and highlighted by scholarly organizations such as the Law and Society Association, as well as by the media.

ABOUT WCL AND THE INTERNATIONAL LEGAL STUDIES PROGRAM:

WCL's International Legal Studies Program attracts lawyers from around the world, currently enrolling 180 students from 68 countries.
This diversity enriches students' experiences while at the law school and provides them a lifelong international network to assist them in their subsequent endeavors.

TO APPLY:

For an application and additional information about the International Legal Studies LL.M. and the Gender and the Law specialization, please contact the ILSP Admissions Coordinator at llminfo@wcl.american.edu.

The application is also available online at the ILSP website below.

The application deadline for the 2004 fall semester is May 1, 2004.

Email: llminfo@wcl.american.edu
Phone: (202) 274-4114
Website: http://www.wcl.american.edu/ilsp/
 

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9.- CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2004-2005 KING BAUDOUIN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PRIZE

October 27th, 2003

Dear Sir, Madam,

It is our pleasure to invite you to nominate a candidate for the 2004-2005 King Baudouin International Development Prize, which will be presented in early 2005 at the Royal Palace of Brussels.

Since 1980, the King Baudouin International Development Prize has awarded 150,000 euros biennially to an individual or organization for sustainable achievements in improving the lives of people in the developing world. However, the granting of the prize goes beyond the financial support which it represents. The Prize is also and, above all, designed to raise awareness among "decision makers" and the general public of an issue which merits their attention.

The selection, entrusted to an independent jury, emphasizes the multiplier effect of the initiatives, and the opportunities they give to the people they serve to take control of their own development. Previous prize winners cover a broad spectrum of fields, including micro-credit, HIV/AIDS, land reform, human rights, and the certification of fair trade products.

Nominations must be received by February 1st, 2004. For more information on how to submit a candidate's file, please visit ww.kbprize.org. You may also send us an e-mail at info@kbprize.org, or call +32.2.549.0273. Applications submitted by individuals seeking the Prize for themselves or for an organization in which they are active will not be taken into account.

Thank you in advance for your kind assistance. Yours sincerely,

Luc Tayart de Borms                                        Dr. Peter Piot
Managing Director                                            Chairman of the Prize's Selection Committee
King Baudouin Foundation                                 Executive Director of UNAIDS

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10.- PhD fellowship

Ingrid Goedhart
igo@iisg.nl

The Centre for the Study of Culture and Society (CSCS) offers a fellowship awarded by SEPHIS to a student from any country in the South to spend one academic year in Bangalore, India, beginning July 2004.

The main purpose of the fellowship programme is to help develop alternative frameworks for research and teaching as well as new theoretical paradigms that take into account the specific experiences of non-Western societies.

The student can either register with CSCS for the Ph.D. in Cultural Studies (validated by the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, MAHE, a deemed Indian university, and also by Kuvempu University, a Karnataka State institution) or register in his/her own country and do the CSCS coursework for two semesters.

The Ph.D. programme's uniqueness lies in the following:

- Core research area for the next five years: Culture and Democracy.

- Focus on inter-disciplinarity.

- Emphasis on the formulation of research problems and teaching programmes in relation to democracy and cultural issues that draw on conventional disciplines but cut across their boundaries.

Eligibility: A Master's Degree in any discipline with 55% marks or its grade equivalent if the student is registering with CSCS for the Ph.D., OR proof of Ph.D. registration in any Southern university if the student is coming only for coursework.

Benefits: A substantial stipend, international airfare, furnished housing in Bangalore, travel costs for three weeks within India for visits to different academic institutions, tuition and other fees will be provided for.

Current CSCS faculty are drawn from the fields of literary studies, film and media studies, political theory, history, anthropology and art history, with a strong background in at least ten years of inter-disciplinary cultural studies.

To apply for the CSCS-Sephis Fellowship:

Applications should include a sample of writing such as a term paper, a current CV, two letters of recommendation, transcripts of last two degrees obtained, and proof of eligibility.

Write to Dr.Tejaswini Niranjana, Convenor, Ph.D. Committee, CSCS, 466, 9th Cross, First Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore 560011, India.
Email: teju@cscsban.org; Telephone: 91-80-6562986; Fax: 91-80-6562991.
Website: www.cscsban.org

Deadline:
Complete applications must reach CSCS by February 15, 2004. E-mail and fax applications are acceptable only if followed by a hard copy sent by airmail or courier. Candidates will be informed of the outcome by March 15, 2004. The CSCS academic year begins in the last week of July.

VOICES RISING
YEAR II - VOL 2. Nº78
December 5th, 2003

CONTENT
1.- GEO Workshop at the WSF
2.- Celita Eccher’s message at the Opening Ceremony of CONFINTEA V+6 Review
3.- December issue of the Popular Education News
4. – CSW in March 2004 in New York
5.- World Citizen Legislative Initiative
6. - Call for Nominations: “Women’s Safety Awards 2004”
7.- Funding for projects against racism

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1.- GEO Workshop at the WSF

GEO will hold a workshop at the World Social Forum that will take place in Mumbai, India, January 16-24, 2003.
The workshop is titled “Education for Inclusion: A Gender Perspective”, and it will count with the participation of Sara Longwe, Sofía Valdivielso, Sergio Haddad, and Alejandra Scampini.

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2.- Celita Eccher’s message at the Opening Ceremony of CONFINTEA V+6 Review

We wish to share with you the message of Celita Eccher, ICAE Secretary-General, at the Opening Ceremony of CONFINTEA V+6 Review, Bangkok, on September 8th 2003.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to be here in the opening session of the Review of the Fifth International Conference on Adult Education of UNESCO V.

I was asked to come here today to share with you some of the results and reflections that emerged from the workshop on gender and education, with a special focus on literacy. We, as part of the women’s movements have learnt that personal experiences are also political.

Allow me therefore to start this dialogue with a personal reflection:

I think that equity in gender relationships advances, slowly, but it advances
I think that this is an advance in gender relationships. Today, I am the Secretary General of ICAE. Education is a field in which the majority are women, but high positions are occupied by men. I am a feminist popular educator and my own personal advocacy learning comes from the intense learning space that the Social Women’s movement represents and also from our agency in democratic global spaces such as UN (basically in the decade of the 90´s) and recently in the privileged global space of the civil society that is the World Social Forum of Porto Alegre.

Quoting Freud’s famous question: what do women really want? Well, we want many things. We specially want learning for inclusion. As simple as that, but yet so complex.
This desire implies modifying many things:
It implies working to reduce the multiple discriminations that take place across the globe. It means talking not only about literacy, but also about lifelong education, in the North and in the South.

We want literacy that allows us:
To empower ourselves and become autonomous in our lives.
To promote a gender justice system
Such literacy has to allow free and solidary women and men, to fully exercise the right to exercise their rights: reproductive and sexual rights, right to live in peace, right not to be raped or killed in armed conflicts, right not to be discriminated on basis of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, xenophobia, age, geographical location, right to a decent work, right to live free of any kind of fundamentalisms, whether religious, economic or political
These issues are not only of women’s or excluded groups´ concern. It is a problem that matters each and everyone of us. We are living in a world where 1 billion dollars a week are spent to attack; and very little money is spent on education, we are living in such an unfair and unjust world, where women that are born in Sierra Leona have one out of six chances of dying at delivery, while in Sweden one out of 28 900 may die when delivering their babies.
Therefore, when we talk about gender and literacy, we talk about a lifelong literacy for inclusion. From toddlers to elders. Such inclusive literacy is the one we want for women, for us, for our men, for our children.
This means, going from the failed neoliberal model, based on free market and its always -promised -but never- accomplished leaking, to human rights.
Because the right to education for all men and women is being violated again and again in this very moment. Literacy has to take into consideration the intersection, the multiple discriminations, the marked bodies, as well as the different learning spaces.
Yet, as Paulo Freire said long time ago: “Literacy goes beyond reading the word, literacy is reading the world”. This means, having the power to transform it. Because, ladies and gentlemen we are convinced that ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE

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3.- December issue of the Popular Education News

You can access the December issue of the Popular Education News at www.popednews.org

This month’s theme: Community Organizing, Part I

For further information, contact Larry Olds at <lolds@popednews.org>

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4.- CSW in March 2004 in New York

NGO CSW NY
ngo_csw_ny@hotmail.com
 

Dear Friends,

it is now time to register for the NGO participation at the upcomming CSW in March 2004 in New York.
Before the CSW itself begins there is a day long consultation organized by the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, NY. During this consultation we will discuss the themes for the CSW and learn how to lobby. During the CSW itself we will also provide caucuses and briefings. Please find the registration form for the consultation attached to this message.

Yours sincerely,

Angelica Far
CSW Intern

The NGO Committee on the Status of Women cordially invites you to the following events during the 48th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

The NGO Committee on the Status of Women, NY was created in 1972 as a Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO.)  Committees were later formed in Geneva and Vienna.  These three Committees have worked together over the years to bring a positive presence to women’s issues globally for over 30 years.

It is our goal to help NGO representatives link with those who are like-minded to bring the issues of women from around the world to the attention of decision-makers at the United Nations.  We provide space for NGO meetings and side events, and facilitate training and the sharing of information through an annual consultation.  We work closely with the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women to assist NGO representatives in giving voice to their concerns.

Today, the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, NY has compiled a global list of contacts and has a website – www.ngocongo.org/ngosubs/stwomny.htm – offering information to NGOs worldwide.  The Committee is a voluntary organization, without paid staff, that covers expenses for its administration and programs through membership dues and donations.  We invite you to join us and to contribute to our on-going programs with a donation.  We are a charitable 50l(c)3 organization, which means that your contribution to these efforts is tax deductible to the extent provided by US law.

Pre-Registration Instructions

PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT CLEARLY !

Registration deadline:  20 February 2004.  Advance registration is necessary for ALL.  Please return Pre-Registration Form by fax, e-mail or post, even if your payment will follow.

1.  You may send a check with your registration form for full payment in $ U.S. drawn on a U.S. bank, made payable to ‘NGO/C.S.W./N.Y.’, P.O. Box 3571, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163, U.S.A.
2.  If you are coming from overseas, YOU STILL NEED TO REGISTER NOW!

Since paying at the door is not permitted at this year’s venue, please pay at the Bahá'í International Community office at 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 120 (corner of First Ave. and 48th Street) in Manhattan, on Friday, 27 February from 9 AM – 5 PM, and Saturday, 28 February from 10 AM – 12 noon.  If necessary, you may pay at the door or nearby but this will lead to delays in registration. 

If your organization is paying with one check for several participants:  Enclosed is a check for U.S. $______drawn on a U.S. bank made payable to ‘NGO/C.S.W./N.Y.’ for____ person(s). We are enclosing registration forms for the persons covered by this payment.

Send completed form(s) and check(s) to:  ‘NGO/C.S.W., N.Y.,’ NGO Consultation, P.O. Box 3571,  Grand Central Station, New York, N.Y., 10163,  U.S.A.  

Forms without checks can be Faxed: 212-692-0724 or E-mailed:    NGO_CSW_NY@hotmail.com
Pre-Registration Form for NGO events at the 48th Session of the C.S.W. ~ March 2004

Full Name of Organization (Registration will be sorted by organization)___________________
Name (Please use 1 Registration Form per Attendee)___________________________________ 
Address (Address is for ¨ individual or ¨organization)_____________________________
City______State________Zip_____Country___E-Mail____Telephone_____Fax__
Preferred Language (please choose one):   ¨ English ¨ French ¨ Spanish
Main Area of Interest (please choose one):  
¨ The role of men and boys in achieving gender equality
¨ Women's equal participation in conflict prevention, management and conflict resolution and in post-conflict peace-building

Volunteers
Please check box if you are willing to serve on 29 February during the breakout sessions as a
¨ Facilitator ¨ Rapporteur   
If you can volunteer, please e-mail to: ngo_csw_ny@hotmail.com     

Combined registration:                  Cost:
¨    Please register me for 2 events (NGO Consultation and Reception)
for a combined price of $60.         
Single registrations - Please register me for:                  Cost:
¨    The NGO Consultation, Sunday, 29 February, 8:30 A.M. – 6:00 P.M.        $40
¨    The NGO Orientation, Monday, 1 March, 1:15 – 2:45 P.M.              No charge
¨    The NGO Reception, Wednesday, 3 March, 6 - 8 P.M.                   $25
¨    One table to sell crafts at the NGO Artisan Craft Fair, Thursday, 4 March, 12 - 6 P.M. 
**(Please complete NGO Artisan Craft Fair Registration Form attached)**                No charge
¨    Consultation Meeting on the Future, Saturday, 6 March, 9:30 A.M. - 3 P.M.         No charge
¡ Donation to help the work of the NGO/C.S.W./N.Y. (your registration fees cover A SMALL PORTION of services provided including translation, translation equipment, meeting rooms, etc.) $_____

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             TOTAL DUE:______$_________

[A limited number of scholarships are available.  If interested, please apply by 16 January 2004.]

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5.- World Citizen Legislative Initiative

WWW.REFORMCAMPAIGN.NET   

SPREAD THE CAMPAIGN !

Dear Sir/Madam,

The decision to launch the "World Campaign for In-Depth Reform of the System of International Institutions" was initially taken at the second plenary meeting of UBUNTU World Forum of Civil Society Networks, which took place in April 2002.

International events in recent months have led us to the conclusion that the campaign is more necessary than ever, and to the decision to go ahead with the campaign launch, having previously presented it at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg and the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre.

Over the last year we have made contacts with a series of personalities and international organisations representative of civil society, and these have all contributed to the design and structure of a campaign that is finally launched worldwide today.

You can find full information at the campaign website www.reformcampaign.net , but let me highlight a few points about this initiative. 

The "World Campaign for In-Depth Reform of the System of International Institutions" seeks to give a voice to all those that, individually and/or collectively, in response to the grave problems the world currently faces, claim our democratic right to take part in global decisions that affect our everyday lives. Together we aim to move towards a true system of global democratic governance that can help us to build a world of justice and equality, a diverse, sustainable, peaceful world.

The only way to achieve this is if all those who share this goal with us make it their own, and if each of us, according to our possibilities, become official supporters, actors, spreaders of the campaign.

The simplest way to take part is by signing the campaign manifesto.

It is also possible, however ¾and herein lies the key to the campaign¾ to become an active campaign supporter, helping to obtain the signatures and support of many more people.

It is with this aim in mind, therefore, that I am please to inform you of the campaign launch and, particularly, to invite you, on behalf of Federico Mayor and all the other individuals and organisations promoting the campaign, to give your full, active support to it.

Best wishes,

Josep Xercavins i Valls

Coordinator of the UBUNTU Ad Hoc Secretariat and of the World Campaign
Important note: Due to the nature of this campaign, it will undoubtedly be long and will have to be built up step by step. This large-scale campaign launch only enables individual signatures to be collected for the campaign manifesto by electronic means ¾by Internet or from people with their own e-mail address. This is only the first step, however, and others will follow soon. The first of these will be other signature processes to enable people who do not have their own e-mail address or Internet access to pledge their support for the campaign. We are launching the campaign in the virtual world at first, then, but will soon extend it to embrace all possible dimensions and levels.

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6.- Call for Nominations: “Women’s Safety Awards 2004”

 AWID Resource Net

Announcements / Issue 190

Wednesday, December 3, 2003

For more information on categories, eligibility and selection criteria or to submit an application, please visit: www.femmesetvilles.org or email concours@femmesetvilles.org

The Women's Safety Awards are designed to elicit and reward good practices and municipal policies relating to women's safety and the improvement of women's sense of safety. The focus of the Awards is institutional change at the municipal level, through showcasing 'good practices and policies' and disseminating information on 'what works'. Specifically, the Awards

objectives are to:
-elicit and disseminate information on practices relating to women's safety  and municipal gender-based policies in crime prevention,
-promote local initiatives that include significant elements relating to women's safety and the improvement of women's sense of safety, and
-build capacity of local groups to develop projects and practices relating to women's safety and the improvement of women's sense of safety.
Women's safety focuses on prevention strategies and policies which aim to reduce violence and the risk of violence against women, including women's fear of crime, in public spaces. It does this by creating safer environments (social, physical and institutional) for women and girls, by promoting their participation in community life, by pursuing partnerships between local community organisations and local governments and by involving the full diversity of women and girls in local decision making processes.

Up to 10 Canadian and 10 international initiatives will be awarded. Winners will participate in traveling seminars which will showcase good practices and policies at conferences and meetings on crime prevention and women's safety.
The prize includes travel, accommodation and registration to conferences for a delegation of up to two people for each award-winning good practice or policy.

Winners will receive extensive publicity. Good practices and policies will be announced at a press conference, results will be published on the Femmes et villes/Women in Cities International website (which is linked to other relevant websites) and information will be disseminated through list-servs
and newsletters. A publication documenting results of the competition will also be produced and will be distributed to community groups, municipal governments and other relevant bodies.
A commemorative certificate especially designed for this event will be awarded to winners in all categories.
Women's groups, grassroots community organisations, municipal governments, youth organizations, business community groups, foundations, media, agencies and other groups.
Initiatives must include a significant element relating to women's safety and the improvement of women's sense of safety.
Initiatives must be past the initial planning stage, and some steps taken towards implementation
Initiatives must not be more than five years old, unless they are a revised version of an established intervention.
The term 'initiative' is used to indicate projects, activities and policies in all sizes of communities (from neighbourhood to metropolitan).
Two Canadian and two international initiatives will be awarded in each of the following categories:

-Advocacy, networking and community mobilization
-Capacity-building and training
-Educational programmes and public awareness
-Safety planning and design for public spaces
-Municipal gender-based policies in crime prevention and community safety
The proceedings of the 1st International Seminar on Women’s Safety, held in Montréal from May 9 to 11, 2002 are now on line.
To access presentations, round table discussions and plenary sessions, visit the SEMINAR 2002 section on our website www.femmesetvilles.org

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7.- Funding for projects against racism

AWID Resource Net
Announcements / Issue 190
Wednesday, December 3, 2003

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
For more information, please contact: agirard@ohchr.org

The Anti-Discrimination Unit and the Human Rights Education Team of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights are launching a pilot project that will fund, through small grants (max. US$ 5,000) projects aimed at promoting respect for diversity. It is our hope that this initiative will strengthen civil society and youth groups in their efforts to combat racial discrimination. The project will be implemented in collaboration with UNDP.

Examples of projects eligible for funding - in addition to the ones mentioned in the project description - are:    
-national consultations on NGO and youth participation in the elaboration of national action plans against racism    
-organizing discussions in schools on racism, multi-culturalism and
-respect for diversity
-research projects on aspects racial discrimination
-making leaflets with information of instances to which victims of discrimination can turn
-information sessions on the themes and the outcome of the World Conference against Racism in Durban
-training for journalists and advertising agencies aimed at combating
-stereotypes and prejudice in press reporting, entertainment programmes and advertising
-making a documentary with interviews of victims of racial discrimination
-mobilization campaign for the ratification of international human rights instruments
-training on how to write a "shadow" report to a United Nations human rights treaty monitoring body
-writing a publication or newspaper articles on issues of racial discrimination







VOICES RISING
YEAR II - VOL 2. Nº77
November 28th, 2003

CONTENT

1. - STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: AMNESTY PREPARES TO LAUNCH WORLDWIDE CAMPAIGN

2. - THE PARLIAMENT OF NAVARRA APPROVED THE POLITICAL DECLARATION, WHICH REJECTS GENDER VIOLENCE

3. - MEETING ON EDUCATION

4. - KOFI ANNAN URGED LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES "NOT TO BE SATISFIED WITH THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, BUT TO AIM HIGHER".

5. - DISSEMINATION OF UN VAS - NOVEMBER 2003 (UN VAC)

6. - LOCAL FACULTY FELLOWSHIPS / CIVIC EDUCATION PROJECT / DEADLINE: MARCH 01, 2004.

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1. - STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: AMNESTY PREPARES TO LAUNCH WORLDWIDE CAMPAIGN

25/11/2003

http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ESLPOL300302003

25 November: UN Day for Elimination of Violence against Women Violence against women and girls is the most pervasive human rights challenge of our times. It cuts across cultural and religious boundaries, political, social and economic status. There is a call for help against domestic violence every minute in Britain. In Ciudad Juárez, more than 370 poor young women, the youngest only 11, have been abducted, brutally tortured, raped and murdered in cities on the Mexican/US border without the authorities taking proper measures to investigate and address the problem. In the USA, 700,000 women are reported raped every year. In South Africa, teenage girls are at the greatest risk of rape. Fifty per cent of all murders in Bangladesh are of women by their partners. Around the world, 120 million girls are genitally mutilated. According to the World Bank figures, at least one in five women and girls has been beaten or sexually abused in her life time - that is a shameful statistic at the beginning of the 21st century.

The revelations from UN representatives that a very high proportion of girls in Burundi are raped before they reach the age of 18 were shocking. They showed, once again, that women and girls are the first - and often the forgotten - victims of war.

Women are neither safe in times of war nor in times on peace. In Pakistan, hundreds of women are killed by their fathers or brothers in the name of honor. Brides are burnt to death in India because they fail to bring a sufficient dowry. In parts of Africa, girls are subjected to genital mutilation in the name of religion and culture. Adultery and bearing children outside marriage are crime for which women are sentenced to death by stoning in many countries. In Saudi Arabia, 15 girls died in a fire because they were not allowed to leave school premises not wearing head scarves and without their male relatives there to receive them.

For many women their home is a place of terror, even in rich societies.

On International Women's Day, 8 March 2004, Amnesty International will launch a global campaign to eradicate violence against women. With the support of ordinary people, both men and women, we will put an end to this human rights scandal.

Violence against women is fed by a global culture which, despite the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, despite the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, despite treaties, laws and declarations, denies women equal rights with men. This must stop. Underlying the abuses suffered by women is a discrimination perpetuated by governments and by society -- and here everyone has a responsibility -- political leaders; corporate leaders; community leaders; the media and ordinary people.

Amnesty International has been working to eradicate torture and other human rights abuses for a number of years now. Amnesty International's Secretary General -- the first woman secretary general of the organization -- made a global campaign to combat violence against women one of her own personal goals.

Amnesty International is preparing a launch of a world wide campaign to Stop Violence Against Women in March 2004. The organization would like to think that we are giving voice to all those women whose rights are being violated in prisons, police cells or detention centres, in their homes, their community or their places of work. Giving voice to women like: Radhia Nasraoui of Tunisia, who has been imprisoned, harassed, and placed under constant surveillance because of her work as a human rights lawyer. Women like Digna Ochoa, who was killed in Mexico because she dared to speak out against injustice. Women like Malaysian human rights activist and mother of three, Irene Fernandez, who was sentenced for a report she produced on immigration detention camps. Women like Dr Frances Lovemore, the medical director of an NGO in Zimbabwe, for speaking out against torture and politically-motivated rape and many others.

Every human rights agreement and treaty, from the Universal Declaration on Human Rights onwards, has required states to make sure that discrimination of many kinds is addressed and eradicated. This should include discrimination between men and women. The United Nations General Assembly, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Vienna and Beijing Declarations, have confirmed that violence against women is a form of discrimination which all states are required to eradicate -- because it is a form of discrimination and also because it stops women from enjoying their fundamental human rights.

The international humanitarian law (the "laws of war") and international criminal law, including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, all identify violence against women of many types and in many situations as crimes.

Even though violence against women has been described in international law as illegal and a crime, and requires states to provide assistance and protection for victims, this has often been ignored by many states.

"Despite successes in awareness-raising and standard-setting... very little has changed in the lives of most women. A few women have benefited from these changes, but for the vast majority, violence against women remains a taboo issue, invisible in society and a shameful fact of life. Statistics continue to show high rates of violence and abuse. Most cases of violence against women result in impunity for the perpetrators, which fuels the perpetuation of this grave violation. More must be done to provide equal access to effective judicial protection and guarantees. If the first decade [of the rapporteurship on violence against women] emphasized standard-setting and awareness-raising; the second decade must focus on effective implementation and the development of innovative strategies to ensure that the prohibition against violence is a tangible reality for the world's women." - (Radhika Coomaraswamy, the former Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, E/CN.4/2003/75, para 78-79)

Today Amnesty International reiterates its calls upon all governments to:

· respect women's rights themselves - this means not allowing or condoning, or standing by without action, when their police officers or armed forces commit crimes of violence against women;

· protect women's rights from being violated by private citizens -- particularly family members -- the most prevalent form of violence against women is domestic violence;

· ensure that women can enjoy their human rights - through creating a society that respects women, and acting effectively to help women victims of violence through provision of services and punishing the perpetrators. 

A human rights scandal: Violence against women - 25/11/2003
Irene Khan discusses violence against women - 24/11/2003
© Amnesty International

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Eliane Cavalleiro
GEO/ICAE
elianecavalleiro@uol.com.br

October 2003

“Access to a Non Sexist, Non Racist Education... Women’s Unpostponable Right”

 Introduction:

In Guatemalan education, there is still inequality of opportunities for women, as they have the highest illiteracy levels and drop out of school before finishing third grade, being indigenous women living in poverty and extreme poverty, mostly in rural areas, the most affected; this influences on the fact that they have such precarious living conditions

Beyond illiteracy, school drop out, limited access, deficient quality, scarce equity and scant formal education coverage aimed at women, the system homogenizes the same type of education for all, which lacks elements that guarantee the human beings’ human development in all their lives’ stages, and particularly women’s, for supporting the transformation of the foundations on which subordination lies. 
In the curricula it is neither taken into account the ethnic and cultural diversity of our country, nor the contributions of the Maya, Garifuna, Xinca, Mestizo peoples, thus invisibilizing their history, customs and traditions; its contents are imparted mostly in Spanish, denoting the non appropriation of Guatemala as a multi-ethnic, pluricultural, multi-lingual country.
In addition to the above-mentioned, there is a sociocultural pattern that gives more importance to boys’ education, in detriment of girls’ education; the formation given to girls is based on being homemakers, or in creating conditions and skills for reproduction, thus conditioning them in their access to development and to real possibilities of quality life.
Society and its diverse institutions (State, Churches, Mass Media, etc.) assign the family space the socialization of roles and sexual stereotypes, which are based on acritical affirmations and are legitimized at school through text books and educator/student practices, establishing an unequal education for women and men, while controlling their “must be”; in the case of women, they must be submissive, sensitive, fragile, quiet, passive, designed for the private space; in the case of men, they are prepared to be strong, dominant, providers, designed for the public space. The sexual division of work is thus manifested.
In addition, mass media use women’s image as sexual objects, promoting the consumption of products on the part of men and society, instead of recognizing them as social and political subjects.
We can affirm that formal and non formal education, as part of a country’s education system, is one of the spaces where human beings are socialized and in which patriarchalism is reproduced as a system that perpetuates the devalorization of everything feminine and where sexism and racism are embedded.
Racism is present in a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, and pluricultural country as Guatemala, affecting mostly indigenous peoples, garifuna and xinca. This results non only in the exclusion and differentiation of the major part of the country’s population, but it also aggravates discrimination in the case of women. In the case of racism regarding indigenous, xinca and garifuna peoples, it should be noticed that the effects of discrimination have reached such levels that these persons are not recognized as political subjects, which historically invalidates their origins, proposals, and their access to decision making, development and peace. In our country there is a racist, classist culture regarding the maya, garifuna, and xinca ethnos, and there has not been up to now a discussion, debate and analysis to counter the effects of such racial discrimination, which is still being taught and spread in the family, at school, in the church, the state, etc. 
The devalorization of the mixed culture also exists; there is discrimination on the basis of the ethnic origin; this practice is less visible on account of the concept of a dominating and oppressing culture.
The standby in which the Educational Reform finds itself, the lack of access, coverage, school texts, quality and scarcity of educational resources (schools, teachers), in addition to the general situation of the country, have increased girls’ school dropout.
Girls’s parents’ low or nonexistent schooling and their economic situation force girls to enter the labour market at an early age and/or to be considered families’ auxiliary help in the house chores and in the care of their younger brothers and sisters, denying them the opportunity to access formal education and therefore to have a decent life.

Fundamentation:
On the basis of the following indicators, it is evidenced the existing inequality and inequity in women’s education [1]:
The average illiteracy rate among indigenous women is 51.5%. The highest illiteracy rates can be found in the following provinces: Quiché 52.5%, Alta Verapaz 51.3%, Sololá 47.9%, Totonicapán 43.3%, Baja Verapaz 41.9%, Huehuetenango 41.6%, and the national average illiteracy rate is 31.7%. The average illiteracy rate among indigenous women varies from 50% to 90%; only 43% of these women finish primary school, 5.8% finish secondary education, and only 1% finish tertiary education.

§    From 1995 to 2000 there has not been a significant increase in the percentage of women’s enrolment at all education levels. Out of 8 girls that enroll in primary school, only one finishes sixth grade. Girls’ school dropout in rural areas is of 66.4% from the third grade onwards.
§     The majority of the 556,000 girls and boys between 7 and 17 years old that do not attend school are indigenous.
The actors in the educational processes (teachers, students, parents) still require means, mechanisms and resources to revert roles, stereotypes, racism, sexism and discrimination that still exist in education in general, and in relation to women in particular.

1.       The political statement emerging from the consensus achieved in the Seminar “Equality, Justice and Equity…Women for lives free from racism and discrimination” was taken to Durban, South Africa. This document stated that “.. at the opening of the 21^st Century and within the complex framework of globalisation, women and girls continue to live under discriminatory systems based on ethnicity, gender and class. These forms of multiple discrimination manifest themselves in many spheres, education, culture, work, health, citizenship, family and political life. They particularly affect indigenous women, women of African descent, women with diverse sexual identities and women uprooted from their national and cultural contexts….That these forms of multiple discriminations are a violation of human rights, a violation of the principles of human equality and equity, and a violation of the fundamental liberties of all persons. In particular, they are a violation of the rights to education of women and girls.”

 Several recommendations were issued to the Government States, such as:

-         Demand that education be used to combat the forms of multiple discrimination that limit women’s access and high educational achievement throughout their lifetimes. Education in this context includes formal and non-formal education, adult education, vocational training and citizenship and other forms of lifelong learning.

-         Recognise that education is a means for promoting new democratic practices based on respect for differences and capable of ensuring effective equity and equality of opportunities for girls and women.

The Programme for Action of the World Conference Against Racism, Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance recognizes the need to establish the intersectionality of the multiple forms of institutionalized discrimination, such as gender, ethnos, age, caste, disability, language, class, culture, religion, civil status.
Beyond that, sexism, racism, discrimination and xenophobia are still veiled in daily practices, public policies, in the investments for development implemented by the states, and they manifest themselves in the denial and invisibilization of human beings that are different: indigenous peoples, African descendent peoples, and women.  
Stable, short-, medium-, and long-termed public education policies should take into consideration all stages of life and solve the problem of lack of coverage, equity, quality and pertinence of the services.
The need to open a space in which to develop an agenda to access to a non sexist, non racist education would be assumed as a women’s unpostponable right by political and social subjects.
 

[1] Informe de Verificación de Minugua, septiembre 2001.  Los desafíos para la participación de las mujeres guatemaltecas.  Los pueblos indígenas de Guatemala: la superación de la discriminación en el marco de los Acuerdos de Paz.
[2] Red de Educación Popular Entre Mujeres REPEM, Virtual Seminar 2001.

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FOR YOUR INTEREST

Patricia Garce
pgarce@item.org.uy

Dear watchers,

In his speech at the  XIII Iberoamerican Summit, held in Bolivia, on November 14th, 2003,  Kofi Annan urged Latin American countries "not to be satisfied with the Millennium Development Goals, but to aim higher".

"Should you not aim, by 2015, not just to halve but to eradicate extreme poverty in your countries; to halve poverty of any description; and to significantly reduce inequality in wealth and income?", he added. Further, he pointed out that the Region should also aim higher regarding other Goals. (...)

"I urge you to go further: aim for universal secondary schooling, and aim at equal access for men and women to jobs, at all levels, as well as to positions of power in both public and private sectors".

He also stressed the need for rich countries to comply with Goal 8, and to address the issue of financial flows volatility and "to end the scandal of unequal access and unfair competition and unfair trade".

The full speech is http://www.un.org/spanish/aboutun/sg/mensajes/cumbreiberoa.htm

Best,
Patricia

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Dear All,

      In our efforts to disseminate UN vacancy announcements to reach as many qualified professional women as possible, please find enclosed the latest list of vacancies at the senior levels. I would be grateful if you could distribute this to your network so that we can reach as many women candidates as possible.

   For requirements, eligibility and application deadlines, please visit the United Nations website at UN Human Resources 'Galaxy' e-Staffing System at:

https://jobs.un.org/release1/vacancy/vacancy.asp

The system provides instructions on application procedures. Please follow them. Kindly be aware that online applications are strongly encouraged to enable the UN to place your resume into a permanent database. It is most important that you observe the deadlines for applications. The website provides also information on vacant post in the UN common system. You can also go to www.un.org/womenwatch/daw  where you will find useful links to other UN agencies such as IOM, ILO, IMF, etc.

      In addition, to find more information on vacancies in the UN common system, please visit the following websites for instructions on how to apply:

      *  www.un.org/osagi           * www.wfp.org
      *  www.undp.org                *  www.unicef.org
      *  www.unfpa.org               *  www.who.org
      *  www.fao.org

      For external applicants who do not have access to Internet facilities, you can either complete a UN Personal History Form (P.11) available at UN offices and/or forward a detailed summary that should contain:

·     date of birth
·     nationality
·     educational qualifications
·     a summary of professional skills and/or expertise
·     a summary of relevant work experience
·     publications written, and
·     languages spoken

      The summary should be forwarded to the Staffing Support Section, Office of the Human Resources Management, Room S-2475, United Nations, New York, 10017. Fax no. 212-963 3134, email address: staffing@un.org  Please indicate the vacancy announcement number on the envelope or the fax, and on the application. Should you require additional information, kindly contact OHRM directly.

      With regard to peacekeeping mission assignments, the Department for Peacekeeping Operations is committed to increasing the number of women working in peacekeeping missions, particularly at the senior and managerial levels. Striving to redress the current imbalance, the Department is looking at expanding its recruitment sources and at developing its gender

network. All vacancies are advertised on the Galaxy system.  It would be much appreciated if you could disseminate this information within your organization.

Thank you.
Dr. Ingrid Laxu
Acting Focal Point for Women
in the UN Secretariat

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****************************************************

awid@awid.org
AWID Resource Net
Jobs - Issue 186
Monday, November 10, 2003

CIVIC EDUCATION PROJECT LOCAL FACULTY FELLOWSHIPS 2004-05:

The Civic Education Project (CEP) invites applications for its 2004-05 Local Faculty Fellowship program. Applications accepted from October 1, 2003 to March 1, 2004.

Fellowships begin in September 2004.

The Local Faculty Fellowship program is open to citizens of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Serbia and Montenegro, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

Academics from the above countries having graduated (or expecting to graduate by September 2004) from a North American or West European university with a postgraduate degree in a social science are encouraged to apply. CEP supports efforts to return to, and remain in, university teaching in the Fellow’s home country by providing a monthly stipend, teaching materials, and participation in various CEP events and activities.

Local Faculty Fellowships are awarded in the social sciences (including area studies, anthropology, gender studies, economics, history, political science, psychology, public administration, and sociology). CEP also offers teaching fellowships in law and journalism/media studies.

TO APPLY:

For application forms and guidelines, please see the fellowship programs area of our web site: www.cep.org.hu/programs/index.html

Deadline: March 01, 2004.

(cross-posted from balkans@yahoogroups.com )

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VOICES RISING
YEAR II - VOL 2. Nº76
November 21st, 2003

CONTENT

1. - WELCOME TO RAINBOW PLANET
2.- MOVEMENT OF WOMEN AGAINST WAR “CAMPAIGN FOR DEMILITARIZATION AND THE RECOVERY OF CIVIL LIFE”
3. - FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT
4. - SENIOR ADVISER FOR THE FINNISH NGO COMMITTEE FOR THE 5TH WCW
5. - WORLD SOCIAL FORUM 2004: REGISTRATION AND PAYMENT
6. - FELLOWSHIPS (GENDER-TECHNOLOGY-ENVIRONMENT)

………………………………………………………………….

1. - WELCOME TO RAINBOW PLANET

Sonia Correa
DAWN
scorrea@alternex.com.br

Friends,

See below: WSF will be an exciting event with the Rainbow planet....

Elavarthi Manohar
manohar@sangamaonline.org

Welcome to RAINBOW PLANET

Dear friends

Greetings from Rainbow Planet!

We are a coalition of diverse progressive groups working for the rights of sexuality minorities (homosexuals, bisexuals, transsexuals, transgenders and others who are oppressed due to their sexual orientation and/or gender expression), sex-workers and PLWHA (People Living With HIV/AIDS) in India. We came together to make our issues

visible at the WSF (World Social Forum, 16-21 January 2004, Mumbai, India, www.wsfindia.org ). We hope to organise as many events as possible on issues concerning sexuality minorities, sex-workers and PLWHA. We hope to mobilise 1000+ people. We are requesting WSF organisers to allot us an exclusive space for 1000 people for all days, so that all the activities (initiated by us and others) on sexual rights issues can be organised in one common space. We wish to call it 'Rainbow Planet'.

'Rainbow Planet' Concept Note

The struggles of those who come within the rubric of sexual outlaws be they sexual minorities, sex-workers or those who face stigma because of their sexual behavior  (i.e. those who are affected by/living with HIV/AIDS) have still to attain the status of a movement. It is to use a metaphor common in queer circles still 'coming out'. It is a newcomer, compared to the more established activisms of workers, farmers, adivasis, dalits, women and environment. Its 'legitimacy' is still not clear even as sexual outlaws try to claim a place among the communities of suffering.

While some spaces have opened out, we are still liable to be dismissed as advocating a personal choice or a lifestyle issue at best or a perversion or deviation at worst.

As an activist friend put it, 'More often than not, the abuse suffered by these subaltern sexual cultures has been made invisible even by the activist community using a convoluted logic that arrogates to itself the ability to calibrate pain. First comes class, then comes caste, then come gender, ecology and so on. If there is any space left on this ark of suffering, then sexuality is included as a humble cabin boy. There is no hope of the last being the first in this inheritance of the meek.'

It is in this context that Rainbow Planet is being organized so as to clearly articulate that that the field of sexuality is deeply political and that sexuality remains a basis of deep and pervasive violence and violation which is often unrecognized, under reported and invisibilized by a politics which stubbornly refuses to grant legitimacy to the struggles and aspirations of sexual minorities, sex-workers and PLWHA. Our objective is not only to put on board the state violence and legal violence which those us, who are sex-workers, sexuality minorities and PLWHA face but also to put on board the notion that there is a societal violence as well, the violence of a judgmental attitude that pushes people, who practice or experience their sexuality differently to the very edge of society. The violence of forced circumstances that lead to the acceptance of survival strategies that increases vulnerability to life threatening situations.  Also, in the context of changes being created by the crises in the current patterns of globalization and governance that are leading to the destruction and devaluation of livelihoods and life systems of entire communities of people in the global south; to the absolute erosion of all notions of rights or dignity for the survivors of the violence of trafficking for the purpose of prostitution.

Apart from testifying to the violence, Rainbow Planet through the voices and visions of survivors and resistors will seek to understand and unravel the hidden realities of persons involved in prostitution and sex-work, sexuality minorities and PLWHA, so as to celebrate the survival among incredible odds of a subculture of resistance to dominant notions of sexuality.

The objectives of Rainbow Planet

- To ensure recognition of sexuality rights as a legitimate human rights struggles based upon the voices of sexual outlaws

- Advocate for and share widely the issues, concerns and opportunities related to the core theme from the perspective of the victims, survivors and resistors of the violence of stigmatization, discrimination and a judgmental attitude.

- Provide a forum for people in prostitution and sex-work, sexuality minorities and PLWHA from different regions of the world to share, reflect and have a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of stigma and discrimination in different contexts.

- Recognize and build upon the strengths and survival strategies of affected persons towards challenging and transforming discriminatory social and legal policies and evolving a notion of rights rooted in their realities.

- Illustrate the critical linkages and the borderless nature of the core issues and the importance of regional networks.

- Deepen knowledge through dialogue among people in the regions and facilitate creative and concrete policies and program action.

- Reiterate the urgency of the crisis related to governance in the global south due to the effects of globalisation and the impact of these on trafficking for prostitution.

- Formulate concrete and relevant follow up actions and campaigns at the regional, national and international levels to evolve long term sustainable strategies to address the issues.

- Strengthen regional and national networking among individuals and groups on this issue in order to work for more effective action and advocacy at various levels.

Present members are Rainbow Planet

Alternative Law Forum (Bangalore), DISC (Bangalore), DMSC (Calcutta), FIRM (Trivandrum), INP+ (Chennai), Peoples Union for Civil Liberties - Karnataka, Sangama (Bangalore), Sangram (Sangli), Sexworkers Forum- Kerala, SWAM (Chennai), WINS (Tirupati), Vaathil (Kerala), VAMP (Maharashtra and Karnataka)

Events registered for WSF

We have registered 3 events online (www.wsfindia.org) for 1000 people each, one event for each of us: sex-workers, sexuality minorities and PLWHA. We have also registered a common event for 4000 people to have a dialogue betweens various social movements on sexuality issues. We need to do a lot of lobbying to make sure that space is allocated for us at WSF.

JOIN US! SUPPORT US!!

The more groups are part of this common effort, the more impact we can make at WSF by mobilising people, lobbying for space, making our issues visible, showing our strength in numbers. We invite all the progressive groups/people in India and abroad to join hands with us to say 'Another World is Possible for sexual outlaws'.

If you wish to join us please send an email to sangama@sangamaonline.org  or sangama@vsnl.net

In Solidarity

SANGAMA
for Rainbow Planet

2. - MOVEMENT OF WOMEN AGAINST WAR “CAMPAIGN FOR DEMILITARIZATION AND THE RECOVERY OF CIVIL LIFE”

Press Release No. 2
Concha Martín Sánchez
concham@nodo50.org  
 

“Because a home and a country without war and without violence is possible”

Hundreds of women in Putumayo are living through the solitude and misery that has been imposed on their region, their communities and their bodies by a long process of social and economic deterioration. On 25 November, along with hundreds of other women from all over the country, they will say to Colombia and to the world no to the aerial spraying of herbicides, no to an anti-narcotic policy that discounts social reality and which, therefore, excludes policies that would lead to real development for the communities.

Close to 47% of the citizens of Putumayo are women, a little over 350,000 women. Of those, more than 67% live in the countryside and 32.5% in the urban areas. A large number of women are head of household and they have low paid jobs with few guarantees for social security.

According to estimate of the health authorities of the department, some 22.7% of the women are of child-bearing age and of these, about 3.3% are pregnant, which increases their health risks because there is little likelihood of integrated care during the pre-natal and post-natal periods and during pregnancy and birth.

To this situation of having been abandoned by the State, one must add the activities of the armed actors. Many mothers have felt impotent in the face of recruitment of their sons and daughters for the war; in the face of how they impose, through force of arms, the regulations that govern daily life among neighbors and within their very homes; the manner in which their daughters should dress and with whom they can fall in love. Bodies of women have been violated [by the armed actors] as a way of demonstrating their power, thus bodies of women become booty of war.

In 2002 the Solidarity Network reported 21,366 persons displaced from the department of Putumayo, of whom more than 50% are women. Because their husbands have been killed by the armed actors, the women flee from their lands to protect their children from being recruited or because their plots of lands have been destroyed by glyphosate.

The Movement of Women against war demands an anti-narcotics policy that will give consideration to the participation of women; that will install a commission for scientific investigation of the effects of glyphosate; and that will implement not military but social policies. Finally, we propose a national and international oversight commission to gauge the effectiveness of the current anti-narcotics policy.

We invite you to join us in this act of solidarity with the women of Putumayo, their families and their communities.

Reports:
Iniciativa de Mujeres por la paz – 310.268.27.92
Mesa Nacional de Mujeres –310-262-08-17
Ruta Pacífica de Mujeres – 310.503.83.44
Irma Ortiz A. Comunicadora 310.803.83.14  comunicaciones@rutapacifica.org.co

Putumayo abandoned (statistics)

Putumayo, borders the departments of Cauca and Caqueta on the north; on the south, Peru and Ecuador; on the west, Narino; and, on the east, the Amazon region. Putumayo measures 24,885 square kilometers and is part of the Colombian Amazon region, along with Caqueta, Vaupes, Guaviare, Amazonas and Guainia.

Statistics regarding lack of basic necessities and poverty levels in Putumayo are among the highest in the country. While the national average poverty level is 37.6%, in Putumayo, it is more than 79%. Among basic services, [only] a 49% [of the population] has aqueducts for water, 45% sewer facilities and 58% electric power.

Only a little over 50% of the children of school age, 3-16 years, attend school. The lowest percentage is among pre-school age children at 14%, basic secondary and middle school with 33%, and the highest percentage in basic primary. In this case, however, it has been shown that of 100 children who enroll in first grade, only 25 finish the fifth grade. The rate for higher education is only 3%, with illiteracy at 11% and 10% quitting school.

Statistics with regard to subsidized health services in Putumayo are several points below the national average. While throughout the entire country, this level reaches 68%, in Putumayo, it is only slightly over 52%. Lack of health services takes on even greater proportions in the rural areas where medical missions have been harassed by the armed groups.

Translated from Spanish by
Trisha Novak, USA

3. - FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT

Draft Resolution on High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development

Daniel Platz
platz@un.org

Dear all,

This is to inform you that the President of the General Assembly (Saint Lucia) has tabled a draft resolution on the Financing for Development follow-up process. The draft will be discussed by member states at informal meetings over the course of the next weeks.

You can find the draft resolution and the GA President's summary of the High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development on our website at:

www.un.org/esa/ffd

Best,

Daniel Platz
NGO-Liaison
Financing for Development Office/DESA
United Nations
Two UN Plaza, DC2-2380
New York, NY 10017
Tel (212) 963 3664
Fax (212) 963 0443
E-mail: platz@un.org
Website: www.un.org/esa/ffd



4. - SENIOR ADVISER FOR THE FINNISH NGO COMMITTEE FOR THE 5TH WCW

Hilkka Pietila
Finland

For everyone who is following the discussions about the forthcoming 10 years review and appraisal of the Beijing PFA as well as the campaign promoting the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.

The UN questionnaire on the Beijing+10 review and assessment is still being awaited, while the preparations for the 48. session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in March 2004 are taking place.

There are a lot of activities going on in the UN system with the view towards 2005. There is an interesting project of the UNDP and UNRISD related to the Beijing+10 and the MDGs+5. I

The UNDP report "Millennium Development Goals: National reports, a look through a gender lens" on gender analyses made on the MDGs country reports of 13 countries are very interesting. You can find it in the UNDP Web: http://www.undp.org/gender/docs/mdgs-genderlens.pdf  (It this web address does not work, there is a link to this report also in the first page of WomenWatch, which is the easiest way to find it!)

There has been prepared also other interesting reports related to the MDGs. UNIFEM has published "Volume 2: World's Women 2002. Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goals" (www.unifem.org/index.php ). The World Bank has produced a good booklet "Gender Equality & the Millennium Development Goals". Both of these and the UNDP Report (above) are also available: http://www.worldbank.org/gender/mdgworkshop/home.htm  

Critical debate on these subjects is going on in many online workshops and also for instance in the latest issue of the DAWN Informs. All issues of DAWN Informs are available on the DAWN website: www.dawn.org.fj   

I find that the UN is very much ahead of its member states by relating gender mainstreaming so strongly with the MDGs. It looks like all these activities are aimed to assure that gender perspective is taken into consideration all the way in the implementation and follow up of the MDGs both in the international community as well as in the member states.

After all, the true implementation of the Beijing PFA and MDGs do take place at the national level in member states. Therefore it is up to us, women in all countries, to keep our governments accountable and see to it that

-  both of these important programmes do have attention and resources, they need;
-  each one, BPFA and MDGs is given due attention albeit seeing also their interrelationships;    
-  the particularly crucial issues for women in the BPFA are duly highlighted in the Beijing+10 review and appraisal. 
 

5. - WORLD SOCIAL FORUM 2004: REGISTRATION AND PAYMENT

Registration of organizations and delegates, as well as participants (people who are not members of any group or organisation) is open. Click here and see all the registration procedures. The closing date is November 30.

Registration of self-organized activities closed on October 30. However, organisations that have proposed activities still may access their profiles in order to modify their data. See here how to do this research.

Click here for registration fees and modes of payment.

Overall Registration Calendar
Organizations and delegates: up to November 30, 2003
Confirmation of activities: October and November (providing the registration fee of at least one delegate was paid by the beginning of November)
Payment for other delegates: up to December 15, 2003
Modification of delegates’ registration profile data: up to December 20, 2003

World Social Forums around the world

Aotearoa Social Forum
Date: November 21 to 23, 2003
Venue: Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand
Website: www.socialforum.org.nz

Central Africa Social Forum
Date: December 2003
Venue: Central African Republic
Contacts: Fulgence Zeneth (email: fzeneth@hotmail.com )
and Barthélemy Mathias Morouba (email: moroubambm@yahoo.fr )
 

6. - FELLOWSHIPS (GENDER-TECHNOLOGY-ENVIRONMENT)

The Institute for Advanced Studies on Science, Technology and Society (IAS-STS)

Graz, Austria
Deadline: January 15, 2004.

AWID Resource Net
Jobs - Issue 186
Monday, November 10, 2003
awid@awid.org 

FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME 2004/2005:
The Institute for Advanced Studies on Science, Technology and Society (IAS-STS) offers five grants (EUR 1,000.- per month) for fellowships at the IAS-STS in Graz starting 1 October 2004, ending 30 June 2005. The IAS-STS promotes the interdisciplinary investigation of the links and interactions between science, technology and society as well as research on the development and implementation of socially and environmentally sound technologies.

The IAS-STS provides the necessary research infrastructure, while a number of guest lecturers and workshops foster an atmosphere of creativity and scholarly discussion.

The grants of the fellowship programme 2004/2005 are dedicated to projects investigating the following issues:

1. GENDER - TECHNOLOGY ­ ENVIRONMENT:
Women with their various interests, competencies and potentials play important parts in the process of shaping socially sound and environmentally friendly, sustainable technologies - be it as users and consumers, or as experts. Applications should focus on research in the field of women in traditionally male fields of engineering, on ways of creating cultures of success for women engineers (students, graduates), and on masculinity and the culture of engineering.

2. ETHICAL, LEGAL AND SOCIAL ASPECTS OF GENOME RESEARCH AND BIOTECHNOLOGY:
A main focus of the grant scheme lies on the analysis of ethical, legal and social aspects of genome research. Research projects are expected to provide a better understanding of life sciences in concrete socio-cultural contexts of their fabrication, application and regulation. Researchers investigating risk issues are especially encouraged to apply.

3. TECHNOLOGY STUDIES AND SUSTAINABILITY:
Grants will be awarded for research projects contributing to the issue of sustainable development from the perspective of social studies or the history of science and technology. Projects should aim at socio-economic aspects of environmental technologies or at strategies of environmental technology policy, such as user participation, strategic niche management or ecological product policy. We encourage both theoretical analysis and practically oriented case studies.

TO APPLY:
The grant application must be submitted together with an application for a fellowship to the IAS-STS.  Prof. Arno Bamme, Director of the IAS-STS, decides on the awarding of fellowships and grants in consultation with the Scientific Advisory Board.

Please note that it is also possible to apply for a fellowship without a grant or to apply for a short-term fellowship without grant (not longer than one month: Visiting Fellows). We also encourage senior scientists to apply as guest lecturers.

Closing date for applications is 15 January 2004.

For application forms and further information:
Please visit our website: www.sts.tu-graz.ac.at

Institute for Advanced Studies on Science, Technology and Society
(IAS-STS)
Attn. Guenter Getzinger
Kopernikusgasse 9
A-8010 Graz - Austria
E-mail: info@sts.tu-graz.ac.at

(cross-posted from genderstudies@kcgs.org.ua )

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CONTENT

1.- EUROPEAN SOCIAL FORUM
2.- INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE VIRTUALLY IN THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM
3.- "THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION FOR ALL - HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION AND THE RELEVANCE OF PAULO FREIRE'S EDUCATIONAL APPROACH"
4.- AMERICAS FREE TRADE ZONE
5.- HUMANITARIAN SUPPORT PERSONNEL - GENDER & REPRESENTATION
6.- THE WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (WSIS)
................................... 

1.- EUROPEAN SOCIAL FORUM

Other News - Roberto Savio / IPS
soros@topica.email-publisher.com

Social Forum Seeks Alternative to Globalisation
By Julio Godoy

PARIS, Nov 10 (IPS) - The European Social Forum opening in Paris Wednesday will look for an economic model that could become an alternative to capital-led globalisation.

This search will be a central theme during the three days of meetings that will see 270 seminars, 55 conferences and 287 workshops in and around Paris. Close to 60,000 delegates from 1,500 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are expected to attend.
Other themes will include a critical review of European agriculture policy, women's rights and xenophobia. The European Social Forum (ESF) will also seek to promote dialogue between cultures and peoples, organisers say.
The ESF will end Nov. 15 "with a festive, massive protest to evoke a European culture of peace and citizens' rights," says Pierre Khalfa, member of the forum's organising committee.
"The march will be held in an artistic and activist form," Khalfa added. "It will be a manifestation of the European Social Forum, and will unite diverse and active movements into one rally to celebrate them all."
The Paris forum will be the second such European meeting following the ESF in Florence in Italy last year. It will follow the principles of the World Social Forum (WSF) launched in Porto Alegre in Brazil in 2001.
"We consider the ESF a European basis to the WSF, and a complement to it," Laurent Vannini, one of the ESF organisers in Paris told IPS. The ESF will prepare European civil society participation at the fourth World Social Forum to take place in January next year in the Indian city Mumbai.
"We will be discussing WSF subjects on a European basis, and will give peoples and organisations on our continent who cannot attend meetings in faraway places the opportunity to express themselves and to exchange views with other organisations," Vannini said.
The ESF will focus on "how to create an alternative model of economic and diplomatic relations based on human development, and not on capitalist profits," he added.
The ESF will aim to create international networks among civil society organisations, find ways for them to reinforce one another's work, and enrich the common assessment against neo-liberalism, Vannini said. It will seek to promote a Europe that stands for peace, solidarity and human rights.
Among the civil society representatives attending the ESF are unions, environmental and humanitarian committees such as Greenpeace and Doctors of the World, women's groups, supporters of immigrants' rights, and human rights organisations from all over the continent, including Central and Eastern Europe.
The ESF programme will follow five "lines of discussions". The first line against war will bring debates on international law, global disarmament, military globalisation and imperial politics. It will propose new North-South relations based on development and economic cooperation.

A second line of discussion against neo-liberalism calls for debates on citizens' and democratic rights in Europe, and an analysis of the draft European Union constitution.
The third and fourth lines of discussions call for an examination of "the logic of profit and for an ecologically sustainable society", and of "the merchandising processes of democratic information, culture, and education."
Within these the ESF will examine deregulation and privatisation of public services, especially water. "Several NGOs working on public services will launch a campaign to keep water in public hands," Hélène Ballande of the French section of Friends of the Earth told IPS.
"We also want implementation of the international legal framework to ensure that private international corporations are held responsible for their noxious behaviour, be it environmental disasters, corruption, or exploitation of human work," Ballande said.
The last line of discussion will cover racism, xenophobia, and exclusion of immigrants in Europe. (END/IPS)

....................................................

Protest-parade ­ November 15th, 2 p.m.

WSF Bulletin On November 12, 2003
Boletim FSM
gerente@forumsocialmundial.org.br

The Forum will end Saturday afternoon with a festive protest parade. It will be on the one hand a protest in the spirit of the European Social Forum, but will unite diverse and active movements into one protest, which will celebrate them all.

Protest departs : Place de la République 2 p.m.
Route : République via Bastille by the boulevards du Temple and the Beaumarchais then to rue de Lyon, avenue Daumesnil, and boulevard Diderot.
Upon arrival at Nation around 6 p.m., two floats will transform into open stages at the place de la Nation.
A workshop for experimental and artistic creation will be open at Ile Saint-Denis from November 8 to 11, Quai du Châteliers at l’Ile Saint-Denis, where the floats will be built. This is an opportunity for social movements, the public and artists to work together.

******************************************************

2.- INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE VIRTUALLY IN THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM

Collective Consultation NGOs EFA
ccngo.efa@unesco.org

Dear all,
Following our previous email regarding the participation of the CC NGO /EFA to the World Social Forum January 2004, to be held in Mumbai (India), we are very pleased to inform you that a discussion forum is now open at your kind attention !
As you already know, some members of the CCNGO in India and other parts of the world (Shikshantar (www.swaraj.org/shikshantar ) , Abhivyakti (www.abhivyakti.org ) Possibilities, Multiworld (www.multiworld.org) in the Asian region, the Arab Education Forum (http://www.almoultaqa.com) , Jordan and IDSP (http://www.idsp.org.pk/), Pakistan) are getting together to organize activities and sessions around the issue of Education and Learning.
Some of you have already replied showing your interest in joining these sessions. The above-mentioned organisations will post the details of their sessions on this platform shortly.
I would highlight that this discussion platform is essentially a space which allows you to exchange your views and ideas on the issues being raised, and get together on themes of common interest. Therefore, I invite all those who are organizing an activity or session to make use of this platform in order to introduce the same and exchange with others who may be interested in them. Please do not forget to specify clearly and  in brief  the title of the contribution, the host organization, the contact person and the e-mail address.
In order to avoid confusion, we would like to precise again that all of you who wish to participate "physically" in the World Social Forum should directly register your participation at the WSF website which is: www.wsfindia.org

(Please note that the last date for administrative registering participation is November 30, 2003).
We would now invite you to access to the Discussion Forum, by clicking at the following address : http://www.unesco.org/education/nfe/forum  

Thank you for your useful participation.

Kind regards,

UNESCO Contact Team

********************************************************

3.- "THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION FOR ALL - HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION AND THE RELEVANCE OF PAULO FREIRE'S EDUCATIONAL APPROACH"

http://www.unesco.org/education/uie/news/index.shtml

Conference of the German Institute for Human Rights the Paulo Freire Kooperation
(PFK), the UNESCO Institute for Education and the Faculty of Educational Research at the Society Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg

Oldenburg, November 27th - 29th 2003

Preliminary Programme

Deutsches Institut für Menschenrechte

Invitation to the Conference

Human Rights Education is a rather new educational approach which has been developing since the 1990s - especially in the English speaking world. In the context of German educational research and practice, a productive combination of Human Rights Education with the approaches of the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire remains to be discovered.

In the light of the current discussions on educational policies - following the results of international comparative studies on education (PISA, IGLU, etc.) - aspects and elements of Freire's categorical education (e.g. dialogue - orientation, project method and situational approach) are gaining increasing importance. Yet, in a time where reform-oriented education is being misunderstood simply as a methodological question, innovative educational approaches like Human Rights Education or Education for Liberation hold a high potential to link the individual with society and the social environment through political acts.

The conference "The Right to Education for All -Human Rights Education and the Relevance of Paulo Freire’s Educational Approach“ will try to create a platform for discussion by addressing the following goals:

. to promote the development and implementation of Human Rights Education in Germany following the principles of the United Nations-Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004);
. to exchange ideas on how to further develop and practice Paulo Freire`s educational approach;
. to discover opportunities and possibilities for innovative impulses within the diverse fields of educational research and practice;
.to develop an organized debate about further developing Human Rights Education and Education for Liberation, as well as, building up networking structures between all actively involved contributors and participants.

To access the preliminary programme of the Conference go to: http://www.unesco.org/education/uie/news/index.shtml

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4.- AMERICAS FREE TRADE ZONE

Wall Street Journal
U.S.-Brazil Split May Doom Americas Free-Trade Zone
By, the Associated Press

November 7, 2003

WASHINGTON -- One of President Bush's most cherished economic goals --creating the world's largest free-trade area covering 34 countries in the Western Hemisphere -- is being threatened by a tense standoff between the U.S. and Brazil.

The differences seem so wide that some predict a coming meeting of trade ministers scheduled for the week of Nov. 17 in Miami could end just as disastrously as the September meetings of the World Trade Organization in Cancun, Mexico. Those talks on a global trade deal collapsed after negotiators were unable to narrow the wide gap between rich and poor countries. "This is a very perilous trade situation facing the United States and the world," said Fred Bergsten, head of the Institute for International Economics, a Washington-based think tank. "You could have another Cancun in Miami. That would mean the administration's goal [of a hemisphere-wide free-trade area] would be, if not up in smoke, at least in suspended animation." In hopes of breaking the current impasse, the U.S. on Friday and Saturday will hold hastily arranged discussions with trade ministers from 16 of the 34 countries involved to try to craft a Free Trade Area of the Americas. Before the talks begin with a dinner Friday night, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick will meet separately with Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorin. The U.S., the world's largest economy, and Brazil, the largest economy in South America, are co-chairing the free-trade discussions as they enter what was to be the final stretch leading up to a Jan. 1, 2005, deadline for an agreement to tear down trade barriers between all nations in the hemisphere, except Cuba. But instead of entering into tough bargaining over how tariffs and other trade barriers will be phased out, the U.S. and Brazil are still fighting over the scope of the agreement. Brazil, miffed at the U.S. refusal to negotiate agriculture subsidies and by how the U.S. imposes antidumping tariffs, has threatened to take off the bargaining table issues such as investment and intellectual-property rights, two high-priority issues for U.S. companies. The U.S. position is that the matters it wants kept out of the free-trade talks are already being negotiated in the broader WTO negotiations, and that Japan and the European Union, two big providers of agricultural subsidies, are part of those negotiations but not involved in the free-trade talks. But Brazil counters that the same thing can be said about investment rules and intellectual-property rights, issues the U.S. insists belong in the free-trade talks. Brazil's demands are coming at a politically awkward time for the Bush administration with the 2004 presidential election looming. Florida farmers don't want to see increased competition from cheaper-priced Brazilian oranges, and Brazil's other big exports -- sugar and soybeans -- also touch sensitive nerves in the U.S. farm belt. Likewise, putting U.S. antidumping practices into the free-trade talks' bargaining mix would upset such politically sensitive industries as steel and textiles, which benefit under the current rules. The Bush administration is unhappy with Brazil because it organized a group of 22 developing countries who stood up to industrialized nations during the Cancun talks, resulting in the stalemate there. Mr. Zoellick called Brazil the leader of the "won't do" countries and warned that America could turn away from stalled talks and strike separate free-trade agreements with "can do" nations in Latin America and elsewhere. Since Cancun, the Group of 22 has shrunk as some nations have dropped out, fearful of raising U.S. ire. But Brazil still has the support of such key developing countries as China, India and South Africa, and neighboring South American power Argentina, whose president, Nestor Kirchner, signed a statement with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva last month pledging jointly to fight for fair trade agreements. The growing tensions create a tough environment in which to reach necessary compromises. "I am pessimistic that Miami can be a success, but trade negotiations are always a 'Perils of Pauline' affair where everything looks completely hopeless until the very moment a breakthrough is achieved," said Brink Lindsey, a trade expert at the Cato Institute, another Washington think tank. Economists, however, warned that the trade brinkmanship the U.S. and other countries are playing could ultimately be dangerous to the global economy if investors become spooked by the discord. "They could trigger a lot of unintended consequences that could be very damaging to financial markets and the economy," Mr. Bergsten said. "Markets abhor trade wars and international conflict."

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5.- HUMANITARIAN SUPPORT PERSONNEL - GENDER & REPRESENTATION

Advisor / Oxfam GB / Oxford, UK / Closing date: December 07, 2003.

awid@awid.org

AWID Resource Net
Jobs - Issue 186
Monday, November 10, 2003

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Title: Humanitarian Support Personnel - Gender & Representation
Advisor
Ref: INT484
Location: Oxfam House (Head Office)
Division: International
Department: Humanitarian
Job Family: Programme

Closes: 7th December 2003

Salary: £16,599-20,920 net salary per annum, equivalent to £22,150-28,600 gross in the UK. (Net = take home pay. Oxfam will meet the tax and social security liabilities of post-holder in addition to net salary.)
Hours: Full time
Contract type: Open ended
Interviews likely to be held in mid December 2003

In order to respond to humanitarian emergencies, Oxfam employs specialist personnel in various disciplines (Managers, Accountants, Engineers etc). These personnel undertake international deployments of around six months on specific humanitarian programmes. The Post Holder will be deployed from Oxford, but other nationals are encouraged to apply and will originate from their home base.

The postholder will help Humanitarian Project staff to understand the issues and implement programmes that are gender sensitive, and more accountable to the affected population. From better-informed consultation with local women and men, and by promoting their participation and involvement, we shall implement better programmes.

Consideration of the needs and priorities for vulnerable groups and minorities is also a priority. Each assignment will be undertaken with a clear Terms of Reference detailing the responsibilities for that assignment.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

* To join humanitarian programmes for about 3-6 months in order to advise and assist regional and country humanitarian staff with improving gender and representation mainstreaming in the starting up, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation phases of projects.

* To advise regional and country programme staff on gender and representation issues as they relate to emergency preparedness.

* To support and act as international counterpart to regional and country managers, through advising, mentoring, coaching and capacity building in gender and representation mainstreaming in humanitarian programmes.

* To undertake short periods of research or project work in Oxford to document experience and build up institutional learning on aspects of gender mainstreamed humanitarian assistance.

* To undertake representational, public speaking, media, and advocacy work on humanitarian assistance response and protection issues as requested.

* To assist Oxfam staff to be familiar with and abide by the NGO/Red Cross Code of Conduct, the People in Aid Code, Oxfam International procedures and other regulatory codes (e.g. InterAction Field Co-operation Protocol).

* To develop links and integrate with other ongoing mainstreaming activities as they relate to HIV and protection, on a case-by-case basis.

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES:

ESSENTIAL:

* At least 3-5 years of practical experience of grassroots development in the NGO context, including in gender and representation mainstreaming and the promotion of basic rights.
* Demonstrated practical experience of advising, mentoring and coaching regional staff.
* Practical experience in and understanding of gender mainstreaming in humanitarian programmes, and commitment to humanitarian principles and action.
* Demonstrated ability to work successfully in a wide variety of cultural contexts.
* Good written and spoken English, as well as basic working knowledge of one or more of the following languages: Spanish, French, Portuguese, Swahili, Arabic.
* Excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills, and an ability to develop, motivate and lead others.
* Proven ability to plan, organise and prioritise work, together with the ability to remain calm under pressure and not loose sight of strategic priorities.
* Willingness to travel at short notice, and often in difficult circumstances.
* Good health.

DESIRABLE:

* Understanding of and experience with Oxfam’s organisational culture.
* Experience in the following areas: disability awareness, refugee representation, traumatic disorder and counseling.
* Fluency in and willingness to learn other languages.
* A social science degree or equivalent. A post-graduate qualification in this field would be an advantage.

TO APPLY:
Ref: INT484
Closes: 7th December 2003

Please apply online at http://www.oxfam.org.uk/jobs/howtoapply.htm,
http://www.i-grasp.com/fe/tpl_oxfam.asp

Organization’s website: http://www.oxfam.org.uk

**************************************************************

6.- THE WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (WSIS)

Geneva, Switzerland
10-12 December 2003

The Summit hosted by the United Nations will bring together all of the world's nations to try to develop a global framework to deal with the challenges of the information society, and to take advantage of its opportunities. After the event of December 2003, the process will continue al regional and national levels. The second Summit, to be held in Tunis in November 2005, will review the process and progress made and will identify a possible further plan of action.

www.itu.int/wsis
www.geneva2003.org/bamako2002

 

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CONTENT

1.- SARA LONGWE, GEO MEMBER, AWARDED WITH THE AFRICA PRIZE FOR LEADERSHIP
2.- GAMBIA - Training workshop addressed to African NGOs
3.- RECOMMITTING TO ADULT EDUCATION AND LEARNING
4.- CONVERGENCE  > Volume 36 Number 1

1.- SARA LONGWE, GEO MEMBER, AWARDED WITH THE AFRICA PRIZE FOR LEADERSHIP

Congratulations to our friend Sara Longwe, FEMNET, member of the Gender and Education Office Team of ICAE!!

The Hunger Project has awarded her the Africa Prize for Leadership, and she received this prize on October 11th in New York. This prize is awarded every two years and this year it has been awarded to her (Zambian) and Maeza Ashenafi (Ethiopian) for their work in women's rights, which is seen as a positive contribution towards ending hunger in African families through women’s empowerment (see www.thp.org for details).

She has decided to dedicate her prize money ($50,000) to establishing a foundation for action-oriented projects on women's rights. She calls the THP award a set of 'golden steps to gender equality'!

2.- GAMBIA - Training workshop addressed to African NGOs

Sandra Aragon
saragon@ohchr.org

Information Note N °28 Banjul

Dear Colleagues,

In the course of preparations for the World Conference against Racism, which took place in Durban, South Africa in September 2001, and also during the Conference itself, non-governmental organizations played an important role in helping to define and analyse the relevant issues. In the final document, states recognized the fundamental role of civil society in the fight against racism. They also encouraged the full participation of non-governmental organizations in the follow-up to the World Conference.

In order to encourage this follow-up, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will convene a training workshop addressed to African NGOs on 6 and 7 November 2003, in Banjul, Gambia, headquarters of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR). The meeting will be held alongside the African Commission 34th ordinary session. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will take advantage of the fact that many national grassroots NGOs in the African region will be gathered in Banjul. The objective of the meeting is to provide NGOs with practical and innovative training regarding the work of the United Nations in combating racism and also to identify in what ways NGOs can play an important role in the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.

Proposed Programme of Work

FIRST SESSION:  6 November  13:00-15:00 hours

- Opening remarks by Ms. Olatokunbo Ige, Coordinator of the African Team at OHCHR, Chairperson of the meeting;
- Presentation of the Anti-Discrimination Unit by Ms. Sandra Aragón;
- Presentation of the role and work of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) by H.E. Ambassador Nozipho January-Bardill, Member of CERD;
- Special Rapporteur on racism's approach to overcome racism and racial discrimination by Mr. Doudou Diène;
- Presentation of the role of African NGOs in the follow up to Durban, by Ms. Hannah Foster, Director of the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights;
- Opening the floor for questions

SECOND SESSION 7 November 11.00-14:00 hours
- CERD's recent general recommendations and how they relate to the provisions of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action by  H.E. Ambassador Nozipho January-Bardill, Member of CERD;
- Strengthening the relationship of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on racism with NGOs by Mr. Doudou Diène;
- Opening the floor for NGOs to present their expectations;
- Presentation on the outcome of the retreat for members of the ACHRP and closing by Ms. Olatokunbo Ige, Coordinator of the African Team at OHCHR.

Participation

Non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council as well as those which have been accredited for the World Conference against Racism, indigenous organizations accredited pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1995/32 and NGOs accredited to the African Commission for Human Rights are invited to participate in the workshop.  Non-governmental organizations wishing to participate in the workshop are invited to indicate the names of their representatives to the Secretariat (only by fax at +41 22 917 90 50 on letterhead, signed by the appropriate official of your organization), no later than 4 November.

Date and venue

The meeting will take place from 6 to 7 November 2003 at the Corinthia Atlantic Hotel, Banjul.

Best regards,

Sandra Aragón-Parriaux
NGO liaison officer
Anti-Discrimination Unit
OHCHR
Tel: 00 41 22 917 93 93
Fax: 00 41 22 917 90 50

3.- RECOMMITTING TO ADULT EDUCATION AND LEARNING

Synthesis Report of the CONFINTEA V Midterm Review

Meeting
September 6 ­11, 2003
Bangkok, Thailand

Preface

The Midterm Review of the Fifth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA V) brought together over three hundred representatives of Member States, including ministers and senior-level officials, and agencies of the United Nations system as well as non-governmental and civil-society organizations and academic and research institutions from more than ninety countries in Bangkok, Thailand, from September 6 to 11, 2003.

Organized by the UNESCO Institute for Education (UIE) in collaboration with the UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education and with support from

the Department of Non-formal Education of the Ministry of Education of Thailand, the Review was aimed at tracking goals accomplished and difficulties encountered over the past six years in executing the CONFINTEA V agenda. Through a series of thematic workshops, regional reviews and plenary sessions, it examined recent trends and new developments in practices and policies of adult learning and education.

In looking forward to the CONFINTEA VI Conference in 2009, the Review was designed to propose strategies for the advancement of adult learning to be followed in future programs. It also sought to ally more closely the CONFINTEA V agenda with the Dakar Framework for Action and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

As a synthesis of the Review proceedings, this Report outlines the major issues and key recommendations which emerged during the six-day meeting. The participants were unanimous in calling for renewed commitment, sharing of national and international

resources and creative partnerships in adult learning.

We hope that UNESCO and all stakeholders in adult education will take our Call for Action and Accountability to heart in affirming the joy of adult learning.

Justin Ellis
Chairperson of the Governing Board
UNESCO Institute for Education
To access the full document, go to http://www.unesco.org/education/uie/pdf/recommitting.pdf
 

4.- CONVERGENCE > Volume 36 Number 1

Contents

Editorial

On Global Wisdom: Some Thoughts About the Role of Adult Education in Rebuilding Civil Society in Argentina
By Marcelo Zwierzynski 5
Learning Our Way In: Sustainable Learning and the Civil Commons
By Jennifer Sumner 21
Rollin’ Down the Global River to Jamaica
By Donovan Plumb 31
Farewell Freire? Conscientisation in Early Twenty-First Century Bangladesh
By Mohammad Rafi 41
Computer Learning of Elderly Industry Workers in South Brazil
By Johannes Doll 61
Adult Education and the Italian University: Politics in Higher Learning and the ‘Social’
By Francesco Romano 71
Universities and Education for Older Adults: Development of Specific Programmes for University
Education of Older Adults in Spain
By Agustín Requejo Osorio 87
 

Editorial

Convergence, the journal of the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE), has a new home base in the United Kingdom, the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE). This change does not affect the ownership, sponsorship, policies or procedures of the journal. What NIACE will do is help ICAE with more efficient production, international promotion and distribution of the journal. Manuscripts for publication should continue to be sent directly to the Editor. The International Council for Adult Education has also transferred its Toronto office to Montevideo under the coordination of Celita Eccher, the new General Secretary, and maintains a Secretariat office in Montreal. However, all journal activity has been moved out of these offices.

We hope you will be challenged by the strength and diversity of the ideas presented in this issue. Zwierzynski’s article on Global Wisdom foreshadows our future special issue on the World Social Forum. While his analysis of empire centers on macro analysis, Summer, Rafi and Plumb concern themselves with micro analysis, as it occurs on the ground in social change. Each is concerned with how activity directed towards liberation can be diverted.

Finally, we have descriptions of three educational programs. Osorio and Doll discuss education for the so called “third age” or older adult in Spain and Brazil respectively; Romano is concerned with the struggle for proletarianising of the Italian university that he sees being carried out through the inclusion of adult education.

I wish to personally thank Stephan Dobson for his excellent work as Managing Editor and especially for his help in breaking me in on my job. This issue represents his last work for ICAE. We welcome David Shaw from NIACE who takes up these duties.

Phyllis Cunningham
pcunning@niu.edu
Editor
http://www.niace.org.uk/Publications/Periodicals/Convergence
 

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The International Gender and Education Office (GEO)
of ICAE creates VOICES RISING
Email voicesrising@icae.org.uy
Web www.icae.org.uy
Tel/fax 00 5982 403 05 99 - 408 00 89
Address Colonia 2069 11200 Montevideo, Uruguay


CONTENT
1.- 93 DAYS / 93 WAYS - CONFINTEA V + 6
2.- CONFINTEA V Mid-Term Review Conference
3.- WSF 2004

Bangkok, Thailand, September 6-11, 2003

Provisional Time Table

September 6-7, Saturday and Sunday, Thematic Reviews

Organized by the thematic networks, the aims of the review are a) to discuss the gains (accomplishments) since 1997 as well as problems areas in achieving Hamburg declaration; b) to look at the latest developments and trends in their respective themes; and c) to come up with concrete recommendations for the CONFINTEA V Review.

It is expected that after the two day meeting, the networks will come up with a written report to be submitted by September 8 and which will be the basis for plenary presentations on September 9.

September 8, Monday, UN Literacy Decade Regional Launching and Opening of CONFINTEA V Review

Regional Launching of the UN Literacy Decade as well as celebration of International Literacy Day (ILD)
Presentation on Literacy and Adult Learning (Theme 3)
Launching of activities for Gender and Literacy
Opening of CONFINTEA V Review

September 9, Tuesday, Thematic Presentations and Regional Reviews

AM Plenary Presentation of Thematic Reviews (based on Sept. 6-7 networks meeting)
09.00 - 11.00 10- 15 minute presentation of 9 CONFINTEA V themes (except theme 3)
11.00 - 1130 Break
11-30 - 1300 Presentation of Key Development Trends and Implications for Adult Learning (e.g. Gender, HIV/AIDS, Peace/Democracy/ Citizenship, Poverty)
1300 - 1430 Lunch break
1430 - 1730 Regional Reviews
Participants will meet according to their respective regions (Africa, Arab States, Europe and North America, Latin America & Caribbean) and discuss regional developments on the basis of prepared regional review reports/documents.

September 10, Wednesday, Regional Presentations and other Reports

09.00 - 11.00 Pleanary Presentation of Regional Reviews
11.00 - 11.30 Break
11.30 - 13.00 Plenary Presentation of ICAE Shadow Report and Highlights of Country Cases
13.00 - 14.30 Lunch
14.30 - 17.30 Caucuses/Discussions on Recommendations and Plans of Action

September 11, Thursday, Policy Dialogue and Plans of Action

9.00 - 11.00 Plenary Presentation of Preliminary Recommendations and Plan of Action
11.00 - 11.30 Break
11.30 - 13.00 Round Table on Policy Dialogue and Advocacy in Adult Learning Key Lessons
13.00 - 14.30 Lunch
14.30 - 16.00 Presentation of final recommendations, plans of action
16.00 Closing


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Boletim FSM
gerente@forumsocialmundial.org.br

WSF Bulletin - August 27, 2003

WSF2004 will be launched in India on September 3, 2003, from 3 to 4 p.m. at Y.B.Chavan / Press Club, in Mumbai. Other regional conferences are to be organized in the follow-up to September 3.

The programme includes a short, 3 to 5 minute film about the WSF and the Asia Social Forum; a presentation on what the WSF is all about, with information about the venue, date and main thematic focuses of the 2004 event, and a press conference.

Launch of WSF 2004 in Brazil

São Paulo ­ Joint launch of the 4 World Social Forum and the 1 Brazil Social Forum, on September 2, 2003, at 700 p.m., in theTUSP (Centro Universitário Maria Antônia). There will be a debate "From Porto Alegre to Mumbai views of the World Social Forum and the antiglobalization movements, with Boaventura de Souza Santos, Christophe Aguiton, Fátima Mello e Teivo Teivainen, and. It will be attended by members of the WSF Secretariat, the Brazilian Council and the WSF International Council.

Porto Alegre ­ Launch of the 4 WSF on September 3, at the Usina do Gasômetro, room 209, at 630 p.m. The event, organized by the Rio Grande do Sul Committee (Comitê Gaúcho), will be attended by representatives of the WSF International Council, WSF Secretariat and civil society organizations.

Natal - On August 19, the 2 Potiguar (Rio Grande do Norte) Social Forum was officially launched in the Sesc Auditorium ­ Cidade Alta, Natal. Also launched during the event was the 1st Brazil Social Forum and the call to action for the World Social Forum 2004, in India.

The 2 Potiguar Social Forum will be held from October 2 to 5, 2003, in Praça Pedro Velho square, in the Petropolis district of Natal.

More information

CDHMP (Aluizio) ­ (+55 84) 9964-7102 / 201-0242 / 221-5932
Tecnee (Joaquim) ­ (+55 84) 9988-2659
World March of Women (Teresa) ­ (+55 84) 9988-3094
Fundação Fé e Alegria (Haroldo) ­ (+55 84) 205-5522
Americas Social Forum and WSF public launching in Quito, Ecuador

On September 3, as a part of the worldwide launch of the WSF, the Americas Social Forum will be launched in Quito, Ecuador. The ASF will take place in this city on March 8-13 2004. This first hemispheric forum plans to discuss global issues from the perspective of their particular expressions in the Americas, including the economic order; the violent face of the neoliberal project; power, democracy and the State; cultures and communication, and the specific situation of indigenous and afro peoples. In each case, emphasis will be placed on resistance, visions for the future and building alternatives.

During September, the ASF website will also be launched, at the URL www.forosocialamericas.org, and registration of organizations and events will begin.

Registering activities - WSF 2004

Since the beginning of August, registration has been open for activities at WSF 2004 in Mumbai, India, and will remain open until September 30. Registration of organizations and delegates will start in early September and continue until November 30.

WSF2004 registration fees for organizations and delegates have been set according to the differing ability of delegates from different parts of the world to pay. They are as follows

US$ 100 the following OECD countries

Germany, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Korea, Denmark, Spain, United States, Finland, France, Greece, Holland, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Luxemburg, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland

US$ 25

Africa Latin America, Asia (except SAARC member-countries), Other European countries

US$ 2 or INR 100

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan Sri Lanka

More information http//www.wsfindia.org/event2004

Meeting of the Europe SF Preparatory Assembly

The European Assembly in Preparation for the Europe Social Forum (ESF) will next meet from September 29 to 30, at Bobigny, France. This is the Assembly’s fourth meeting this year. The last one took place from July 19 to 20, at Genoa Italy.

The organizers of the event expect between 25,000 and 30,000 participants at the 2 ESF, which is to be held from November 12 to 16, 2003, in Paris and Saint-Denis, France. More information on the web site http//www.fse-esf.org. Read too issue No. 2 of the ESF Newsletter (French).

Contacts
General e-mail info@fse-esf.org
French secretariat inforum@fse-esf.org
Programme working group infoprog@fse-esf.org
Expansion working group infonet@fse-esf.org
Organization working group inforga@fse-esf.org
Volunteers for the ESF benevoles@fse-esf.org


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VOICES RISING
YEAR II - VOL 2. Nº64 - July 10th, 2003
CONTENT

1.- 93 DAYS / 93 WAYS 
2.- STATEMENT TO THE WOMEN’S NETWORKS IN LATIN AMERICA
3.- OPEN VACANCIES

AFRICA: REGIONAL CONSULTATIONS OF CONFINTEA V- 8TH- 10TH JULY 2003

Lamine Kane
kane_lamine@hotmail.com

Report for Day One

The session began with a welcome by Marina Simeti who replaced Eva Iversen, the representative of UNESCO/ BREDA who had to go to the airport to assist Jennifer Chiwela. Marina informed participants about the preparation of the midterm review of CONFINTEA and the need to involve CSOs in the monitoring and evaluation of literacy and adult education. She reiterated the need to have stronger partnerships between all stakeholders to attain the objectives of CONFITEA.

Gorgui Sow, the Coordinator for ANCEFA also took turn in welcoming participants to the workshop and also introduced the President of CONGAD and Vice Chairman of International Conference on Adult Education (ICAE). 

Prof Bouba Diop, who asked to chair the morning session in place of Jennifer Chiwela who had not arrived. Prof. Diop apologised on behalf of the people and CSO in Senegal for the postponement of the meeting due to the official visit of President Bush of America. He then gave the background of the activities of ICAE and the expectations of CONGAD and his participation and experiences in CONFITEA V in Hamburg in 1997. Participants were informed of the background of the Terms of references (TOR) and processes of Civil Society regional consultations of CONFINTEA V by the ANCEFA coordinator. He gave a brief description of the meeting in 1997 and referred to the recommendation for Government and CSOs as agreed in the Hamburg Declaration and the Agenda for the Future. After 5 years, there is the need to review the progress of government and CSOs in the implementation of Literacy and adult education. As part of the process, a collective consultation of CSOs from all the regions was held in April 2003 in Paris and the roles of the two big networks, PAALAE and PAMOJA was agreed upon.

The Coordinator took time to discuss logistics- accommodation, confirmation of flights, per diem and communication facilities for the comfort of participants.

After which the rapporteurs for the day were selected.

The participants were given time to introduce themselves. (Refer to the list of Participants). Carol Medel gave a presentation on the CONFINTEA V review which will be held in Bangkok, from the 6th-11th September 2003. She also highlighted the following; 
·           Sept 6th & 7th- Thematic Review on all the 10 themes 
·           Sept 8th-  feedback by the small thematic groups
·           Sept 8th-  launching of the Literacy Decade, 2003-2012, by the Princess of Thailand 
·           Sept 8th-  Global Presentations on Literacy, adult learning fair and giving of Literacy prizes
·           Sept 9th- trend and Reviews, which will include thematic presentations, development trends and implications for adult learning
·           Sept 10th-  Country, Region and Global presentations, country studies, regional review, ICAE  shadow reports, Caucus discussions on what has been presented in the morning
·           Sept 11th- Policy Dialogue( policy dialogue and advocacy), Recommendations and Action Plan
After the presentation, participants went on tea break  for 15 minutes. After that Prof. Cheikh Saad Bouh Kamara took over the chairing of the session after the introduction of Jennifer Chiwela and Eva Iversen.

A second presentation on Africa and UN Literacy Decade (UNLD) was given by Martina Simeti. She highlighted the need to shift from literacy to literacies and concrete actions that must be taken within the decade. She also referred to the Dakar Framework of action.  Participants were informed of the official launching of UNLD in New York by the UNESCO Director General in Feb. 2003.This is to be followed by regional and national launches (refer to detailed paper).

Presentation of Shadow Reports

Lamin Kane presented the shadow report of Senegal. In his report he mentioned the approach which is being used by the government as “faire-faire” which places the responsibility of implementation of Literacy and adult learning on the shoulders on NGOs and private Sector. The study which, took two months compared the state of education in 1997 and 2000, highlighted both positive and negative effects of the approach. He shared the limitations of the study, the principal being the lack of information by the government officials. It was commented that before 1993, there was no adult education policy but this approach of the government provided the opportunity for other stakeholders (CSOs & business men) to be involved in the provision of adult literacy. However there is lack of advocacy skills for the involvement of CSOs in policy formulation. (Refer to detail report).

The Shadow report of Zambia was given by Jennifer Chiwela. The report was conducted over a four month period, comparing the state of education from 1996-2002 and it made use of various methodologies including e-mails, letters and interviews in the collection of data. There were a lot of challenges identified among which was the unavailability of data from government officials and those obtained were not gender disaggregated and it was therefore difficult to identify the gender gaps. It was also found that CSOs were less involved in the formulation of policies. The government uses traditional approach to literacy. However, there is opportunity now for the involvement of CSOs because of the establishment of the national coalitions of NGOs working in education. One major limitation was the fact that the report could not be validated by the government due to lack of funds (see attached report).

Civil society feed back (country report /questionnaire CONFINTEA V)

Participants were given time to read through the questionnaire so that we all be at the same level for discussions. After which every country representative gave the highlights of their country situation as follows; 
a)         Zambia- no new programmes for youth, less NGO participation in youth programmes; establishment of Technical, Vocational education and training Authority; a lot of setback in education and no accountability of NGOs to anybody; youth policy exist but not well publicised; no adult education policy; no significant increase in budget; not much progress in content and methodology; Commonwealth Education Fund (CEF) is being used to support the establishment of Adult education network; Donors are now more willing to support  NGO work. (for more details refer document by country) 
b)         Niger- new policy for youth and adult education; new programmes; budget increase; limited CSOs involvement in policy formulation but are involved in implementation; CSOs contribution has been in literacy, community participation, schools, micro finance, health, environment and agriculture; NGOs interventions are small scale and localised; challenges include lack of human resources especially skills and financial support from the state
c)            Gambia- new programmes; new policies and legal framework on both youth and adult education; budget increased by 30%; CSOs involvement through regular consultations, technical working group, EFA observatory at all levels; CSOs influences through the NGO network; limitations of CSOs are human and financial resources, MOU is signed between CSOs organisations and supervisors of adult literacy programmes; CSOs ‘s contribution have been in the area if training, material production, supervision of facilitators, development of curriculum
d)         Ghana- new policies and legal framework, well articulated in the Education Sector Plan; budget increase for both youth and adult programme; establishment of Ministry of Education, Youth and sports; new programme for youth; CSOs participation in education sector committees and fora; existence of network on adult learning using the Reflect approach; new publications available; CSOs contribution has been in training, material development, programme implementation, research in Health, HIV/AIDS, alternate approaches to basic education 
e)            Mauritania- lack of democracy; no relationship between government and independent CSOs; no independent NGOs in adult education, they are created by Government; literacy programmes are controlled and managed by government; more research needed to improve adult education; CSOs are organising itself through human rights organisations and now starting to reflect on how to implement adult education; people are trying to get educated through private papers, radio, television and through private teachers; suggestion include research on adult education, sharing of good practices and periodic evaluation 
f)            Senegal- a number of reforms since 1981; number of fora to strengthen both formal and non- formal education; increase in budget but no allocation of the budget in the state budget concerning adult education; no linkage between formal and non-formal; lack of political will to implement all reforms; conflict between government and literacy providers; varied interventions by CSOs; need for NGOs to be involved in policy formulation; the recent birth of the coalition of CSOs on education for all and the plan of action adopted by the state and the CSO can help the future; no official status for local languages; suggestions include CSOs participation in adult education policy and also to ensure sustainability of literacy programmes
g)         Mali- government has 10 year education plan; CSOs participation in education; budge increase from 21% in 2001 to 29.9% in 2002; CSOs are involved all consultation (policy formulation and implementation ), more cohesion between CSOs; challenges include human and financial, the need to give more information to local people. 

The day came to a close after the presentations.

Translator: Simon Hartling
Presented By Juliana Adu-Gyamfi and Cheik Mahmadou Diarra

INTERNATIONAL GENDER AND TRADE NETWORK [IGTN]
Rio de Janeiro / 21 June, 2003 

Rogeria Peixinho
rpeixinho@hotmail.com

How important is the 5th WTO Ministerial Meeting to the multilateral trading system? 

The WTO Secretariat and developed countries have avoided answering the question directly and, instead, have resorted to doublespeak. In some instances, they say “Cancun is not important” while at other times, they say “Cancun is crucial.” Their actions, however, reveal something more. The WTO Secretariat and trade ministers from developed and selected developing countries have continued the exclusionary and undemocratic processes characteristic of the world trading body by holding Mini Ministerials in various parts of the world. Bi-lateral talks between the US and the EU continue to take place in hopes of resolving differences in their Cancun trade agendas. An aggressive public relations feat by the WTO General Director Supachai led to the recent formation of two advisory groups composed of NGOs and business people. All these things are taking place in response to two inter-connected developments. In Geneva, the IGTN sees the stalemate in the negotiations and unaccomplished work plans of all of the WTO working committees arising from the active and informed negotiations by developing countries as an opportunity. Elsewhere in the world, the IGTN joins in the expanding base of discontent and global opposition to the multilateral trading system as public awareness of the assault of the free trade system on their lives and communities grows. 

Amidst these contradictions, the WTO is, once again, reeling from both external public pressure and its internal differences. The developed countries and the trans-national corporations, however, are determined to persist and utilize their political edge to get the agreements that will secure their commercial interests above all else. In Doha, we saw how the pressure tactics of developed countries succeeded in eroding the unified stand of developing country negotiators. We expect that similar pressure will be applied in Cancun. Therefore, it is important to maintain our ongoing national campaigns and mobilizations in order to seek greater public accountability from our elected officials. As our trade ministers negotiate in Cancun, we must intensify the pressure from civil society in Cancun as well as in our respective countries. To this end, the IGTN supports the call of our sisters and brothers in Latin America for a global day of protest against the WTO on the 13th of September 2003. 

We support ongoing efforts of several women’s networks to hold an International Women’s Forum as part of the People’s Forum in Cancun. The unfettered expansion of the market under the WTO multilateral trading system, including regional trading agreements such as the FTAA/ALCA, have marginalized concerns about human development and human rights. In addition, structural reforms and policies linked to trade intensification and financial liberalization are peddled as engines of women’s increased access to incomes and employment. However, studies show that these policies and reforms have generated a host of concerns over poor women’s rights and welfare. The rapid opening of the economies of developing countries, associated with decreased real incomes, lack of labour protection, and retreat of states from their welfare-provisioning responsibilities, has compromised the provisioning of care and social services at the macroeconomic level. At the same time, it has increased the vulnerability of women’s health, bodily integrity and well-being as they are forced to manoeuvre both the productive economy and the socially reproductive care economy. As women gather at the International Women’s Forum, we must also raise our concern over the lack of women’s perspectives and participation in the politics and leadership of progressive mass organizations. We must unite with our sisters and brothers in global social movements and NGOs that are using critical, feminist constuctivist engagement in fighting for our rights within a volatile economic system.

IGTN’s Demands on Country Negotiators in Cancun

AGRICULTURE: 

IGTN joins the worldwide call of social movements and NGOs for the attainment of food sovereignty for all states and peoples. The concept of food sovereignty not only relates to food production, agricultural expansion and availability of food in the market but also to the operation of a broader social and political arrangement in which the role of government and people-sensitive public policy in both production and social reproduction is central. Our call for food sovereignty is linked with a desire to stop the spread of malnourishment, starvation and hunger among the world’s peoples, particularly those in developing countries where there is a high dependence on agriculture. Despite increasing deprivation of traditional livelihoods, many women and families living in poverty, especially those in rural areas are still expected to be the default providers of food, water and other consumption needs of their households. The structure of the Agreement on Agriculture (AOA) only exacerbates the inequalities in world agricultural trade. Furthermore, its central focus is not about promoting agricultural trade between countries, but rather is aimed primarily at accumulation and profit taking for a handful of big agribusiness corporations. Thus, we say: “Agriculture out of WTO!” In the interim, we should press our government negotiators in Cancun to push vigorously for Food Security Mechanisms (FSM); utilize the Special Safeguard (SSG) measures for protecting domestic production of staple foods; thwart the retention of the Peace Clause and demand that the agricultural subsidies in the developed countries be dismantled. Most importantly, developing countries must be vigilant about trading-off market access of agricultural products for any of the Singapore Issues

GATS: 

We are currently experiencing a crisis in social welfare in much of the world. The South has already experienced the assault on social services through the structural adjustment programs of the 1980s while the welfare states in the North have recently been threatened by the liberalization of services under the WTO discipline. The gross neglect of social reproduction in economic debates among policymakers and government negotiators can be clearly seen in the discussion of the liberalization of services. Moreover, developing countries, many of which have low “social capital,” have not been paying enough attention to the issue of essential services and its implications for the development of the capabilities of their citizens. Not surprisingly, the cost of social reproduction of the labor force is being left to women’s unpaid care functions within households and communities and to labor’s current earning power. Compared with sate control, services in the hands of transnational corporations have become less efficient, less accessible, and less affordable to households and their management has become less accountable through the use of measures such as immunity from liability. This liberalization process has an adverse impact on human development objectives and exacerbates existing social and gender inequalities. Therefore, the IGTN demands the removal of services essential for social reproduction from GATS. Towards this end, IGTN calls on government negotiators in Cancun to push for a moratorium on services negotiations until a human development and gender equity-oriented assessment of their impact on developing countries is completed (Article XIX.3); to assert the domestic right to regulate (VI.4); to defend the right of states not to make further commitments; and to work further on the definition and refinement of services (Para I.3 c). 

TRIPS:  
IGTN maintains that the WTO must confine itself only to trade issues. Therefore, trade-related issues that lie within domestic policy and not international trade policy, such as TRIPS and TRIMS, must be taken out of its built-in agenda. TRIPS essentially promotes monopoly privilege of transnational corporations and blocks developing countries from realizing their potentials by restricting affordable access to drugs that benefit social reproduction. For instance, TRIPS protects patents of the pharmaceutical industry of a select few developed countries while preventing a majority of countries that are without a pharmaceutical industry from pursuing their capabilities in research, innovation and production of essential life-saving medicines. The Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health that was widely hailed by member states as a clear expression of the WTO’s commitment to human development has generated a number of complex issues and concerns and is still undergoing a difficult negotiation process. Moreover, TRIPS has the effect of exacerbating the balance of payments problem for developing countries through transfer payments for royalties and licensing fees, thereby neutralizing actual and potential gains that developing countries could get from the export of their products. The most fundamental opposition to TRIPS lies in its patenting of life forms and its direct assault on the sovereign rights and responsibilities of nations and indigenous peoples in protecting their traditional knowledge and biodiversity. For all of these reasons, we say: “TRIPS out of the WTO”. As we approach the next WTO Ministerial Meeting in Cancun, we demand that governments insist on their sovereign right to adopt the appropriate regimes that protect indigenous knowledge, farmers rights, breeders rights, biological resources, biodiversity, creativity and inventiveness; support the idea of disclosure and benefit sharing especially as it relates to women and indigenous communities; and affirm the review of article 27.3(b) regarding the patenting of all life forms. With relation to Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health, negotiators must oppose its narrow interpretation of what constitutes illnesses and health products and services and ease the procedural and administrative requirement for ‘compulsory licensing’.

SINGAPORE ISSUES: 
The controversy around the Singapore Issues, also known as the New Issues, will rear its head again in Cancun. IGTN strongly maintains its position of saying NO to the Singapore Issues and NO to an Investment Agreement in the WTO. The WTO agenda is already overloaded and its members should instead focus on resolving the implementation issues and strengthening the S&D provisioning for developing countries. The set of Singapore issues, both individually and jointly, aim to ensure and protect the entry and exit of transnational corporations in developing countries as part and parcel of FDI-led growth strategy. They are designed to reach behind national border measures to eliminate market access barriers faced by transnational corporations. Furthermore, these instruments, jointly and individually, will have an adverse impact on the ability of governments to design and implement industrial policies that promote SMEs and local capital as part of long term sustainable, gender equalizing economic development. Women, historically disadvantaged populations and peoples, and small and medium-sized firms, that are often under-capitalized in developing countries, will be unable to compete with the unrestrained and unregulated presence of giant TNCs based in developed countries. These proposed

measures are being introduced at a time when FDI-led growth has been widely discredited. There is a danger that Chapter 11 of NAFTA will become the model for dispute settlement, and this would enable investors to bring cases against states. IGTN calls on government negotiators to oppose proposals on the New Issues such as the EU and the Costa Rica-Canada-South Korea proposals on Investment. Government negotiators must also oppose the intensification of discussion within the General Council of the WTO on neo-liberal Coherence and Cooperation between the IMF, WB and WTO. Finally, we must maintain the resistance lodged by civil society organizations and some developing countries against the application of national treatment and MFN to foreign investments and the restriction of performance requirements related to investments.


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3.- OPEN VACANCIES

Senior Advisor / Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), Development
Policy and Practice / Amsterdam, the Netherlands / Closing date:

July 19, 2003.

awid@awid.org

AWID Resource Net
Jobs - Issue 167
Monday, June 30, 2003

THE ORGANIZATION:
KIT Development Policy and Practice is part of the Royal Tropical
Institute (KIT) in Amsterdam. KIT is a diverse and multi-faceted
international institute that is engaged in the areas of international
co-operation and international communication.

Development Policy and Practice works to achieve this in a number of key areas that include: Social development and gender equity,
Sustainable economic development, Institutional development, Health
and Education. The area Social development and gender equity focuses on gender equity; poverty and equity; citizenship, rights and
participatory governance is seeking a Senior advisor (for 38 hours/week).

JOB DESCRIPTION:
* Initiate and carry out the writing of project proposals, consultancy assignments and action research.
* Develop and implement gender and development training programs at an international, regional and national level. 
* Responsible for projects in developing countries providing support to the design and implementation of social development programs.
* Responsible for processing research results and/or project results for publication and for the development and design of courses and transfer of knowledge.
* Assist in the development of social development and gender networks by contributing to the development of newsletters and other activities. 
* Liase with donors and partners for acquisition of projects.
* Assist in contributing to the international gender and development debate through participation in and organisation of workshops/seminars on key and emerging issues.
* Provide a meaningful contribution to the department's policy development and priority setting.

JOB REQUIREMENTS:
* Academic qualifications in social sciences - anthropology; sociology; human geography; political science and economics - preferably with a post-graduate gender and development degree.
* At least 10 years of practical experience in development - field research; training; institutional development.
* Expertise in the social dimensions of development - knowledge of social research methods, social and institutional analysis, social policy and poverty action planning, Participatory needs assessment and planning approaches, civil society strengthening, Rights based approach.
* Gender expertise - knowledge of gender epistemology, methodologies and tools.
* Ability to work with both government and non-government institutions.
* Ability to work independently on programme development including
acquiring assignments; writing project proposals; evaluating projects; undertaking advisory missions; and writing analytical reports and recommendations.
* Collegial attitude and capacity to work within a team and maintain good working relations with partners in the field.
* Fluency in English, both verbal and written essential - working knowledge of French and/or Arabic is considered an additional advantage.
Type of appointment: two years and renewable.

TO APPLY:
For additional information, please contact M. Mukhopadhyay at KIT Development Policy and Practice, telephone +31 (0)20 5688 271 during office hours or by e-mail: M.Mukhopadhyay@kit.nl
Salary will be in accordance with the KIT salary rates, based on age, qualifications and experience. A 38-hour working week will amount from a minimum of Euro 2,943 to a maximum of Euro 4,042 gross per month. The final salary will be a maximum of Euro 4,597 with additional 8% holiday allowance and admission to the KIT pension foundation (ABP).
Written applications specifying abilities and interest for this job including a curriculum vitae should be submitted before July 19th, 2003 to the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), Department of Personnel, Organization & Information, attn.: Mr. A. Blees, PO Box 95001, 1090 HA Amsterdam, the Netherlands or by e-mail: jobvacancies@kit.nl



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