What to expect tomorrow: European Global Players

The WIDE Annual Conference aims to come up with new strategies for feminists to promote a transformation towards an equal world. To do so, WIDE has gathered almost 200 feminists from all over the globe. At the last day of this conference, these participants will exchange successful strategies and find new ways to achieve their goals.


By Suvi Kilpeläinen

Did you think 'the players of Europe' were the same as 'the European Union'? Or was I the only one? My thinking could have been narrowed by the fact that I have been living and working in Brussels for a while. Considering Europe as the same as the EU is definitely a negative side effect of living inside the infamous Brussels bubble. So it is positive to notice that the Brussels bubble hasn't affected the programme committee of the Wide Annual Conference. They have managed to see outside of the box of EU and outside the traditional concept of Europe.
And do you still remember how strictly the concept of Europe was defined for us in school books? Well, I do. Hopefully this will change when the EU, now identified as only one of the European players, is ready to talk about what Europe is and what it means to its inhabitants. Moreover, there needs to be a discussion about what Europe means to women outside of Europe and what kind of effect Europe has on the global world and it's habitants.

The European players don't only affect women in Europe but also to women outside of Europe. This is a fact that seems to be forgotten so often. Women's rights and gender equality aren't topping high in the trade negotiations. Trade is not charity, trade is business. Unfortunately in business, the weakest people don't have room for input. The most vulnerable people are normally women who are working 14 hours per day without any overtime compensation. They sleep on the floors of factories because they don't have means or time to go to home. And when such a worker becomes sick, or too old to work, it is easy to replace her because there is always somebody else to do the work.

This could be a description of an Indian factory, but the same reality can be found inside Europe. And the responsibility to change this belongs to us all. The second day of the WIDE Annual Conference will offer us challenges, but also opportunities for a just Europe.


This article has been published in Daily Visions 10-10-2008