Helga Neumayer asked three newcomers to WIDE Annual Conference (AC) for their impressions.
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Saturday 11 October 2008
It ain't over yet!
You think you can go home without WIDE? Think again! WIDE has set up different ways for you to keep in touch with each other in order to fully profit from this conferences network.
By Esmeralda Tijhoff
This is the last day of the WIDE conference, but WIDE has found some innovative ways to keep the conference alive. In your WIDE goody bag, you will find a list with the names and addresses of the participants and speakers. But you can also keep in touch online. The WIDE organization will start a 'group' at LinkedIn, an online personal directory for professional use (www.linkedin.com). LinkedIn is used by many people to present themselves online, and to connect with other people for professional reasons. WIDE will send you an invitation to join the group.
WIDE has also set up a blog: http://feministvisionsforeurope.blogspot.com. You can leave messages at this blog, or react to other people's messages. This is also a great place to drop your articles and feedback for other participants to read! And don't forget to keep an eye on the WIDE website for the upcoming WIDE newsletter: www.wide-network.org.
This article was publised in Daily Visions 11-10-2008
By Esmeralda Tijhoff
This is the last day of the WIDE conference, but WIDE has found some innovative ways to keep the conference alive. In your WIDE goody bag, you will find a list with the names and addresses of the participants and speakers. But you can also keep in touch online. The WIDE organization will start a 'group' at LinkedIn, an online personal directory for professional use (www.linkedin.com). LinkedIn is used by many people to present themselves online, and to connect with other people for professional reasons. WIDE will send you an invitation to join the group.
WIDE has also set up a blog: http://feministvisionsforeurope.blogspot.com. You can leave messages at this blog, or react to other people's messages. This is also a great place to drop your articles and feedback for other participants to read! And don't forget to keep an eye on the WIDE website for the upcoming WIDE newsletter: www.wide-network.org.
This article was publised in Daily Visions 11-10-2008
Highlights from the second day; Reconstruction and reorganization
Speakers at the WIDE conference expressed their views on the challenges facing Europe and the consequences of the financial crisis. The crisis is said to effect what is generally referred to as 'the real economy'. As such, the crisis represents a great opportunity to prove that the current system cannot continue and needs to be rebuilt.
By Isabelle Gentilhomme
According to Kinga Lohmann European feminists need to strengthen cooperation among EU countries to ensure that funds will be provided by institutions in order to reach equality at the European level. Therefore the issue of funding has to be placed at the forefront of organizations’ agendas.
Sonja Lokar of the CEE pointed out the fact that women’s empowerment in Europe will be reached only with the work done primarily by feminist organizations, especially in the eastern part of Europe, where they are very active and efficient. We cannot count on the EU, and especially not on the European Commission, to improve the conditions of women in the new member states because it misuses its possibilities to enlarge in order to sponsor neo-liberal policies.
Ruth Pearson spoke of the feminization of labour that is occurring in the world, and urged feminists to promote issues raised by this feminization of labour in different contexts (geographical, political and sectoral) so that women do not have to pay the price of flexi-security.
Dot Keet of the AIDC pointed out in yesterday’s discussion that the European Commission is led by corporate interests. Thus, European policies are shaped by trade interests rather than by human ones. While the EU is speaking about failure in trade agreements, we at WIDE should speak about success. Success in the resistance to governments who face the threat of having their aid cut. In fact, in order to freely access their markets, the EU is putting conditions on the aid they offer. From this point of view, aid is not a self-evident ‘good’ since it is creating financial dependency and then decreases bargaining power. The EU is acting as a dictator which forces countries to open their barriers, while turning Europe into a ‘fortress’.
Brid Brennan from the TNI talked about the ‘Return Directive’, or so-called ‘Shame Directive’ by civil societies, adopted by the European Parliament this last summer. She identifies migration as a very challenging issue for the EU, which also has to do with human rights. These rights are seriously threatened by some practices which worsen the tensions that can appear between communities. This is well illustrated by what is happening in Italy with Roma people, or with the numerous deaths that are happening in some detentions camps for illegal migrants. The main problem is that ‘state violence’ is not considered illegal.
But this is just one side of the picture. We have extraordinary movements in the EU protesting against these practices, especially among migrant community themselves. There protests are very active and vibrant. We should strengthen these actions within the EU and all around the world to address policies with a human rights approach, including gender equality. We need to raise awareness about the fact that statements made by institutions about the supposed health of the global system, are in fact not true. This system is sick and it needs urgent rethinking in cooperation with all the involved stakeholders to reconstruct a more equitable world.
This article was published in Daily News 11-10-2008
By Isabelle Gentilhomme
According to Kinga Lohmann European feminists need to strengthen cooperation among EU countries to ensure that funds will be provided by institutions in order to reach equality at the European level. Therefore the issue of funding has to be placed at the forefront of organizations’ agendas.
Sonja Lokar of the CEE pointed out the fact that women’s empowerment in Europe will be reached only with the work done primarily by feminist organizations, especially in the eastern part of Europe, where they are very active and efficient. We cannot count on the EU, and especially not on the European Commission, to improve the conditions of women in the new member states because it misuses its possibilities to enlarge in order to sponsor neo-liberal policies.
Ruth Pearson spoke of the feminization of labour that is occurring in the world, and urged feminists to promote issues raised by this feminization of labour in different contexts (geographical, political and sectoral) so that women do not have to pay the price of flexi-security.
Dot Keet of the AIDC pointed out in yesterday’s discussion that the European Commission is led by corporate interests. Thus, European policies are shaped by trade interests rather than by human ones. While the EU is speaking about failure in trade agreements, we at WIDE should speak about success. Success in the resistance to governments who face the threat of having their aid cut. In fact, in order to freely access their markets, the EU is putting conditions on the aid they offer. From this point of view, aid is not a self-evident ‘good’ since it is creating financial dependency and then decreases bargaining power. The EU is acting as a dictator which forces countries to open their barriers, while turning Europe into a ‘fortress’.
Brid Brennan from the TNI talked about the ‘Return Directive’, or so-called ‘Shame Directive’ by civil societies, adopted by the European Parliament this last summer. She identifies migration as a very challenging issue for the EU, which also has to do with human rights. These rights are seriously threatened by some practices which worsen the tensions that can appear between communities. This is well illustrated by what is happening in Italy with Roma people, or with the numerous deaths that are happening in some detentions camps for illegal migrants. The main problem is that ‘state violence’ is not considered illegal.
But this is just one side of the picture. We have extraordinary movements in the EU protesting against these practices, especially among migrant community themselves. There protests are very active and vibrant. We should strengthen these actions within the EU and all around the world to address policies with a human rights approach, including gender equality. We need to raise awareness about the fact that statements made by institutions about the supposed health of the global system, are in fact not true. This system is sick and it needs urgent rethinking in cooperation with all the involved stakeholders to reconstruct a more equitable world.
This article was published in Daily News 11-10-2008
Evgenia Ivanova's questions
One of the wise women of this year’s conference is Evgenia Ivanova from Belarus. She is coordinator of the Center for Gender Studies in Minsk, and has an educational background in law and gender studies.
By Sander van Haperen
'The WIDE conference gives my a great opportunity to meet people from different parts of the world.' Evgenia Ivanova says. 'People who consider themselves feminists and spend their professional or free time fighting for social justice for themselves, their families, communities an
d states.' Ivanova thinks conferences like WIDE play an important role for activists and experts. 'It is about exchange of different perspectives we have on feminisms and current problems, locally as well as globally. It is about all the frustrations and doubts I have as a feminist and that I hope to discuss openly in the circle of people with similar values without any fear to be misunderstood or ignored due to the feminist identity.' Here in the group of people where it is not necessary to prove simple things over and over again - that gender is there, that sex matters, and so on – the participants can meet the common need for practitioners and theorists to make their work more interrelated.
Future of feminisms
'When I think about the future of feminisms and challenges we face, I put my imaginary feminist self in the quite extreme situation when she has to make the concrete choice. Answers are not always clear to me. That’s why I put my concerns in the shape of questions rather than answers. I would like to share them with you and would be very happy to here your own questions you ask yourselves as feminists. A couple of my questions are: to what extent does feminism remain the ideology for gender studies as a discipline and gender mainstreaming as a strategy? Shall we have some theoretical borders which separate feminism from other ideologies? If yes – what shall it be? If not – to what extent we can include different opinions and still be different from non-feminist movements and ideologies? Advocating for women political representation, will we support, for instance women from conservative party or any group practicing fundamentalism? Being a religious women and a feminist, will we bring up our daughters as emancipated women or loyal to religious norms when there is a conflict between these two identities?'
Post your own feminist questions at http://feministvisionsforeurope.blogspot.com
This article has been published in Daily Visions 11-10-2008
By Sander van Haperen
'The WIDE conference gives my a great opportunity to meet people from different parts of the world.' Evgenia Ivanova says. 'People who consider themselves feminists and spend their professional or free time fighting for social justice for themselves, their families, communities an
d states.' Ivanova thinks conferences like WIDE play an important role for activists and experts. 'It is about exchange of different perspectives we have on feminisms and current problems, locally as well as globally. It is about all the frustrations and doubts I have as a feminist and that I hope to discuss openly in the circle of people with similar values without any fear to be misunderstood or ignored due to the feminist identity.' Here in the group of people where it is not necessary to prove simple things over and over again - that gender is there, that sex matters, and so on – the participants can meet the common need for practitioners and theorists to make their work more interrelated.Future of feminisms
'When I think about the future of feminisms and challenges we face, I put my imaginary feminist self in the quite extreme situation when she has to make the concrete choice. Answers are not always clear to me. That’s why I put my concerns in the shape of questions rather than answers. I would like to share them with you and would be very happy to here your own questions you ask yourselves as feminists. A couple of my questions are: to what extent does feminism remain the ideology for gender studies as a discipline and gender mainstreaming as a strategy? Shall we have some theoretical borders which separate feminism from other ideologies? If yes – what shall it be? If not – to what extent we can include different opinions and still be different from non-feminist movements and ideologies? Advocating for women political representation, will we support, for instance women from conservative party or any group practicing fundamentalism? Being a religious women and a feminist, will we bring up our daughters as emancipated women or loyal to religious norms when there is a conflict between these two identities?'
Post your own feminist questions at http://feministvisionsforeurope.blogspot.com
This article has been published in Daily Visions 11-10-2008
Column: Concoction of ideas
By Karoline Kemp
Let me begin by introducing myself. I am a Canadian student who has been studying in The Hague for the past year. Having spent the majority of my undergraduate degree skipping classes in favour of volunteering with women’s collectives and other social justice groups, it has been an interesting experience to live in this city, where institutions, professional organisations and governments are ever present. To add to that, I chose a programme in Public Policy and Management for my MA degree at the Institute of Social Studies. So to be at this WIDE Annual Conference has been an interesting mix for me.
As we saw in the Opening Panel of day one, the people that we share this space with define themselves as activists and professionals alike. One of the things that struck me most about that activity was the interconnectedness and overlap in all of our beliefs and practices. Not once did any woman have to stand up alone, and many of us spent quite a bit of time standing up!
Attending this WIDE Conference has thus been interesting in many ways. To me it has raised questions about my own feminism – and even about whether or not I would even consider myself a feminist, given the interconnectedness I see between gender issues and other structural inequalities. In thinking about the kind of feminisms I have experienced in my previous studies and work in Canada, I’ve been struck with how little the word is used in talking about development – it seems to be a preference to refer to gender. In Canada, whenever talking with people outside of my community of friends or like-minded colleagues, the word 'feminist' was considered almost taboo. In Europe it seems to be slightly more accepted, perhaps owing to a longer and deeper history of feminist thinkers here.
Participants in this WIDE Conference have included Government officials, civil society members, activists and a myriad of other women. These experts bring together issues as diverse as trade, migration, religion, peace, and thinking about ways of not only strengthening the way they interact with their governments and the European Union and Commission but also their own, internal interactions. This bringing together of such diversity is a testament to the potential of WIDE and all of those who are here. So while this is in many ways sombre work, I have been struck by how celebratory it seems, and impressed with the strength that everyone here seems to gather from each other.
This article was publised in Daily Visions 11-10-2008
Let me begin by introducing myself. I am a Canadian student who has been studying in The Hague for the past year. Having spent the majority of my undergraduate degree skipping classes in favour of volunteering with women’s collectives and other social justice groups, it has been an interesting experience to live in this city, where institutions, professional organisations and governments are ever present. To add to that, I chose a programme in Public Policy and Management for my MA degree at the Institute of Social Studies. So to be at this WIDE Annual Conference has been an interesting mix for me.
As we saw in the Opening Panel of day one, the people that we share this space with define themselves as activists and professionals alike. One of the things that struck me most about that activity was the interconnectedness and overlap in all of our beliefs and practices. Not once did any woman have to stand up alone, and many of us spent quite a bit of time standing up!
Attending this WIDE Conference has thus been interesting in many ways. To me it has raised questions about my own feminism – and even about whether or not I would even consider myself a feminist, given the interconnectedness I see between gender issues and other structural inequalities. In thinking about the kind of feminisms I have experienced in my previous studies and work in Canada, I’ve been struck with how little the word is used in talking about development – it seems to be a preference to refer to gender. In Canada, whenever talking with people outside of my community of friends or like-minded colleagues, the word 'feminist' was considered almost taboo. In Europe it seems to be slightly more accepted, perhaps owing to a longer and deeper history of feminist thinkers here.
Participants in this WIDE Conference have included Government officials, civil society members, activists and a myriad of other women. These experts bring together issues as diverse as trade, migration, religion, peace, and thinking about ways of not only strengthening the way they interact with their governments and the European Union and Commission but also their own, internal interactions. This bringing together of such diversity is a testament to the potential of WIDE and all of those who are here. So while this is in many ways sombre work, I have been struck by how celebratory it seems, and impressed with the strength that everyone here seems to gather from each other.
This article was publised in Daily Visions 11-10-2008
Shahrzad News
The WIDE 2008 Annual Conference is not only covered by it’s own Daily Vision. You may have noticed a video camera moving around the venue. It belongs to Shahrzad News an Iranian news agency.
By Suvi Kilpeläinen
Shahrzad News is a bilingual, multimedia news service that provides news and views on gender sensitive issues in Iran. It gives Iranian women a voice in the media and they also offer media training. Besides covering news, this agency reports international events and conferences which concentrate specifically on women’s organisations. Shahrzad News feel that gender sensitive and women related issues are not covered enough in the mainstream media and work to fill this gap. This is the same reason why WIDE started the Daily Vision and the weblog online.
Shahrzad News is working on a documentary about the WIDE Annual Conference. They have interviewed participants, speakers and organisers to find out what kind of expectations various people have for the conference. The documentary will be out in two weeks. You can see the documentary through Shahrzad News` website: www.shahrzadnews.org. The documentary lasts 1001 seconds, which is a direct reference to Shahrzad, meaning Sheherazade – the narrator of 1001 nights.
This article has been published in Daily News 11-10-2008
By Suvi Kilpeläinen
Shahrzad News is a bilingual, multimedia news service that provides news and views on gender sensitive issues in Iran. It gives Iranian women a voice in the media and they also offer media training. Besides covering news, this agency reports international events and conferences which concentrate specifically on women’s organisations. Shahrzad News feel that gender sensitive and women related issues are not covered enough in the mainstream media and work to fill this gap. This is the same reason why WIDE started the Daily Vision and the weblog online.
Shahrzad News is working on a documentary about the WIDE Annual Conference. They have interviewed participants, speakers and organisers to find out what kind of expectations various people have for the conference. The documentary will be out in two weeks. You can see the documentary through Shahrzad News` website: www.shahrzadnews.org. The documentary lasts 1001 seconds, which is a direct reference to Shahrzad, meaning Sheherazade – the narrator of 1001 nights.
This article has been published in Daily News 11-10-2008
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