Untitled - Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era
Transcription
Untitled - Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era
DAWN Global Secretariat c/o Gender Institute College, Katipunan Road Loyola Heights, Quezon City, 1108 Philippines +632 4359240 ext. 221 | +632 4346440 | info@dawnnet.org | www.dawnnet.org CONTENTS Vision Statement Our Mission Activities & Accomplishment Report p.4 p.5 KRA 1: Global Feminist Research and Analyses 1.1. The DAWN Development Debates Book p.6 1.2. The Research Project on SRHR, Anti-Poverty Policies & MDGs p.6 1.3. Case Studies on Conflicts in Asia p.7 1.4. DAWN Short Analyses at Various Events p.7 KRA 2: Global Feminist Advocacies 2.1. DAWN’s Advocacy at the Human Rights Council p.9 2.2. DAWN’s Advocacy at the CSW 55th Session p.9 2.3. DAWN’s Advocacy and Research on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights p.10 2.4. DAWN’s Advocacy for a General Recommendation on Women and Armed Conflict to CEDAW p.10 2.5. Women’s Working Group on Financing for Development Statement p.11 2.6. Hearings of the General Assembly with Non-Governmental Organizations, Civil Society Organizations and Private Sector p.11 2.7. Public Forum and 1st Asia Pacific Intensive Course on Gender and Macro economics with UNDP p.11 2.8. DAWN at the CBD-COP 10 People’s Forum p.12 2.9. Workshop on a Human Rights Approach to Economic Policy in Agriculture: Engendering the Kuala Lumpur Guidelines in Response to a Fierce New World (January 2011, Manila) & Meeting of the International Working Group on Trade and Finance Linkages p.13 KRA 3: Remobilizing Feminist Activism 3.1. DAWN Regional Consultations and Training Institutes on Strengthening Policy Analysis and Advocacy on Gender, Economic and Climate Justice (GEEJ) p.14 3.2. DAWN Training Institute 2011 p.15 KRA 4: Organizational Development 4.1. Board and Executive Committee p.16 4.2. Strengthening Secretariat Capacity p.16 4.3. InfoCom and Media Support Work p.17 Writers: Erika Sales, Sarah Domingo-Lipura Copy Editor: Anjani Abella Layout / Design: Ryan Crisostomo, Resty Capitle With inputs and guidance from the DAWN Executive Committee. 4 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT V I S I O N S TAT E M EN T “We want a world where inequalities and discrimination based on gender and all other identities are eliminated across countries and amongst peoples; where development processes are founded on the principles of social solidarity and economic, political, ecological, social, and personal justice; where poverty and violence are eradicated; where human rights in their fullest and most expansive sense evolve as the foundation of laws, public policies, and private actions. We want a world where massive resources now used to produce the means of destruction are diverted to building ethically and socially responsive development alternatives — alternatives that promote lasting peace, and justice within and outside the home — establishing a world where people interact with ecological systems in humane and sustainable ways. Such a world would ensure bodily integrity and security of personhood in every dimension of our lives, promote inclusiveness and respect for diversities, and facilitate the realization of sexual and reproductive rights for all. Such a world would be home to women who are considered equal partners in determining priorities and making decisions at all levels and in every location and where inclusive, participatory and democratic processes serve as the basis for governance. In such a world, the human rights of all peoples form as the gravitational centre for action, therefore affirming the ethical basis for a just and humane world.” (Revised 2011) 5 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT OU R M ISS ION Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) is a network of feminist scholars, researchers and activists from the economic South working for economic and gender justice, and sustainable and democratic development. Founded in 1984, DAWN provides a forum for feminist research, analyses and advocacy on global issues (economic, social and political) that affect the livelihoods, living standards, rights and development of women, most especially poor and marginalized women in regions of the South. Through research, analyses, advocacy and training, DAWN advances feminist alternatives and mobilizes women in civil society towards challenging inequitable social, economic and political relations (and structures) at global, regional and national levels. DAWN counters the material bases of social, economic and political inequalities, injustices and exclusions and envisions processes of economic and social development geared towards enabling human rights and freedoms. DAWN draws strength from, and is committed to further empowering the women‘s movements in the economic South. Twenty years after DAWN was founded, its work entails: •developing and disseminating analyses of economic, social, cultural and political processes, which cause and perpetuate inequalities of gender, class, race and other forms of unjust social ordering and discrimination; •engaging in global and regional inter-governmental and nongovernmental forums and processes to challenge and change mainstream thinking, policy and practice which hurt poor women in the South; •co-sponsoring global civil society initiatives aimed at achieving sustainable, equitable and genderjust social, economic and political development; •contributing to selected reform initiatives instituted in response to feminist or civil society demands for global institutional or policy changes; and •providing training that strengthen analytical and advocacy skills amongst young feminists from the South who are engaged (or interested) in working on global issues covered by DAWN’s four core themes. 6 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT KEY R ESULT S AR E A G l o b al F e min ist Re se arc h an d A n alyse s One of the goals in the DAWN Strategic Plan for 2008/09-2012/13 is to internally re-invigorate DAWN’s capacity in producing timely and ground-breaking research and analyses through a sharper south inter-linkages lens on global development, social justice and democracy processes and issues. Given the changed environment, DAWN has now been compelled to revisit and refresh its analytical work on the impact of development on women in the south first put forward in the seminal DAWN book (Sen and Grown 1984). Halfway through the strategic plan, outputs and processes reveal that DAWN is well on its way in achieving this goal. During the current fiscal year, DAWN vigorously promoted its analysis of the “fierce new world” that was first advanced during the DAWN Development Debates in January 2010, through analytical pieces and advocacy interventions made by DAWN members in different platforms of engagement. The concept, used by DAWN to describe the current fragmentation and silo-ization in global governance, is now widely used in alternative and mainstream development circles and is searchable in the world wide web. This serves as a validation of the continued relevance and ground-breaking work of the network. Moreover, DAWN’s analysis of a “fierce new world” now underpins the papers produced for the regional consolidation work around Gender, Economic and Environment/Climate Justice (GEEJ) in three regions of the economic south – Pacific, Africa and Latin America. The DAWN team’s collective efforts in research and analyses in FY 20102011 have resulted in the following: the conceptual development and writing of the DAWN Development Debates publication; firming up DAWN’s strategic input in preparation for Rio Plus 20 processes through the Gender, Economic and Environment/ Climate Justice project (see report on GEEJ under Mobilizing Feminist Activism); and finalizing DAWN’s analytical and advocacy work on two global research tracks, namely, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Political Restructuring and Social Transformation (PRST) – Conflict. 1.1 The DAWN Development Debates Book 1.2 The Research Project on SRHR, Anti-Poverty Polices & MDGs DAWN is developing the DAWN Development Debates book that synthesizes the series of debates produced by DAWN’s regional consultations and paper presentations worldwide. The writing and editing of the DDD Book are led by Gita Sen and Marina Durano, who met in Bangalore, India in March 2011 to finalize its content. The book features how the “fierce new world” was born out of broken promises and uncertain outcomes for people, especially women from the economic South, and how people continue to struggle to rewrite social contracts and explore the potential of a new and interlinked approach to human rights and development in confronting this “fierce new world”. The book, which will be published by Zed, will be completed in 2012. Rolling out the theoretical and practical contributions of the book in various regions of the economic South is planned in 2013. This publication is a result of DAWN’s active and diverse engagements in debates and research on the inter-linked crises spawned by globalization in the last 10 years. The analysis reflects DAWN’s continued feminist reflection on and monitoring of progress in achieving the network’s vision of socially just and equitable development. DAWN is finalizing a global study focused on analyzing the extent by which Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights policies and the MDGs are integrated in national anti-poverty policy and structures. The study is being undertaken in India, Mexico and Nigeria. As part of the review process, a 3rd Global Research Project Meeting took place in Bangalore in August 2010. The three country researchers - Erika Troncoso (Mexico), Rhenu Khanna (India), Ngukwase Surma (Nigeria) were joined at this meeting by Carol Ruiz, former coordinator of the project and its inter-linked advocacy around the ICPD Plus 15 process; Sonia Correa, former SRHR Coordinator of DAWN and now Co-Coordinator of the Sexuality Policy Watch; and Gita Sen and Gigi Francisco. The researchers’ meeting led to the finalization of the country drafts, based on feedback given by DAWN women and external experts. The review process resulted in clarity on the overarching framework of the emergence of multiple silos around old and new actors in global governance for SRHR. The reports are currently undergoing final production and will be released in 2012. The output from the workshops and case studies and the critique offered by the studies will serve as one of DAWN’s contribution to the review processes and debates during the Cairo +20 meeting. 7 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT 1.3 Case Studies on Conflicts in Asia Through Kumudini Samuel, Coordinator of the thematic track on Political Restructuring and Social Transformation (PRST), DAWN together with Jyotsna Maskay of Women’s Rehabilitation Center(WOREC), Nepal and Kamla Chandrakirana of Komnass Perempuan, Indonesia, are finalizing the compilation of feminist methodologies in conflict and postconflict situations in the Asian Region. Related analysis may be culled from Kumi Samuel’s opinion piece entitled The Importance of Autonomy: Women and the Sri Lankan Peace Negotiations and her interventions in the Women at the Peace Table: Asia and the Pacific roundtable discussion held in Kathmandu last February 2010, organized by Humanitarian Dialogue Geneva, and supported by the Open Society Initiative and the Australian Agency for International Development (To see transcript, click here). 1.4 DAWN Short Analyses at Various Events In addition to DAWN’s knowledge production projects, DAWN members have actively promoted its research and analyses in regional and global platforms. Some of these engagements are the following: 1. Expert Seminar on Human Rights Impact Assessment for Trade and Investment Agreements June 23-24 2010, Geneva) Gigi Francisco represented DAWN at the Expert Seminar on the Use of Human Rights Impact Assessment, which was co-organized with several non-governmental organizations by the UN Rapporteur on the Right to Food and the South Centre. During her presentation, she highlighted the need to enrich the concept of human rights with the application of a gender analysis. In today’s world, she argued that a gender lens becomes all the more important in that the lens of gender provides institutions and advocates with alternative analytical approaches that can support in interrogating trade and investment agreements. Given DAWN’s longterm engagement in interlinking women’s rights and economic issues, Gigi explained the need to explore how human rights may be effectively deployed in shaping the institutional and regulatory environments, in more people-centered and rightsrespecting ways. For the full meeting report, click here. 2. The Triple Crisis and the Global Aid Architecture (May 2010, Helsinki) In the UNU-WIDER 25th Anniversary Conference on the Triple Crisis, Gita Sen was invited to participate as one of the speakers of the Summing Up Panel for the theme on Poverty, Inequality, and Human Development: Strengthening the Foundations (view web page). Her presentation focused the three interlinking global crises of finance, climate change and hunger that result in the greatest impact on human lives, affecting present and future generations, especially women from the economic South. 3. Human Rights: Foundation for Progress on MDGs (June 2010, New York) Marina Durano represented DAWN at the Human Rights: Foundation for Progress on the MDGs, organized by Amnesty International and at the Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative hosted by the Ford Foundation. The meetings catalyzed greater attention to the human rights dimension of the MDGs. Inside the United nations, she presented in Session 2 at the Informal Interactive Hearings of the General Assembly on the Millenium Development Goals 14-15 June 2010, United Nations Headquarters in New York. In her intervention entitled Equal and inclusive partnerships: accountability in the fight against poverty, Marina discussed the linkages between MDGS 3, 5 and 8, the important role played by global democratic governance institutions and mechanisms, and the nexus between trade and employment in developing a global partnership on development (view web page). 4. Re-politicizing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (August 2010, Penang) In Penang, Anita Nayar represented DAWN in a meeting of SRHR activists and researchers that sought to confront the issues of fragmentation and de-politicization within SRHR. In the meeting, all participants were unanimous in saying that there is a need to more actively link up with the new generation of (younger) feminists whose closer proximity to the changing times will be valuable in co-designing and carrying forward agreements that will be generated from the next Cairo Plan of Action. For full proceedings report, click here) 5. DAWN statement on SRHR & MDG at the MDG High Level Meeting (September 2010, New York) On the occasion of the high level meeting, representatives of DAWN released its statement entitled MDG 5: Maternal Mortality: In Need of Rescuing from the Depths of the Silo. The statement highlighted DAWN’s research work in SRHR; critiqued the MDGS’s narrow definition of maternal mortality, which invisibilizes injuries experienced by women during pregnancy (as well as during their sexual and reproductive years); and explained the need to recover and re-position maternal health within the context of a broader SRHR agenda (view web page). 6. Meetings on Maternal Mortality, Human Rights & Accountability (Sept 2010, Geneva) and Global Conference on Maternal Health (Aug 2010, New Delhi) In Geneva, Erika Troncoso, researcher for the SRHR Mexico country study, represented DAWN in two separate events: the International Roundtable on Maternal Mortality, Human Rights and Accountability, co-hosted by the Clemens Nathan Research Centre and the International Initiative on Maternal Mortality and Human Rights, in association with the Human Rights Centre of Essex University and an Indian NGO, SAHAYOG, followed by the Maternal Mortality, Morbidity, Human Rights and Accountability (A Dialogue with Human Rights Bodies) hosted by the Center for Reproductive Rights and the UNFPA. Prior to the meetings, Erika was also at the Global Conference on Maternal Health in New Delhi (view web page). In these meetings, Erika explained the significance of applying the concept of human rights in reestablishing the feminist agenda in international development and policy arenas. She also expressed the need to simplify the language of human rights in order to make the concept more accessible, thereby equipping individuals with the competency to arrive at socially just decisions and choices. 8 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT 7. Asia-Pacific Alliance for SRHR Conference (October 2010, Penang) During the 10th Asia-Pacific Alliance for SRHR Conference in Penang, Malaysia, Marina Durano, in collaboration with Carolina S. Ruiz Austria made a presentation entitled “Fund-Raising in the age of Corporate Bailouts: Restoring Rights, Engaging States and Reframing AID for SRHR.” This presentation was part of the panel on Investing SRHR in the MDGs. Their presentation revealed that given the size of stimulus packages made available during crises by governments, money is available. However, they also pointed out that the use of this money is constrained by macroeconomic stability considerations. For them, the best approach in securing financing for SRHR lies in strengthening the SRHR advocates’ scope of influence throughout the budget cycle (view web page). 8. National Meetings on Maternal Health (India and Mexico) Rhenu Khanna, DAWN researcher for the SRHR India country study, participated in national and international advocacy activities and initiatives as well as contributed to the production of the CommonHealth (Coalition for Maternal-Health and Safe Abortion) shadow report for India. Erika Troncoso also made a presentation before the Global Maternal Health Task Force Conference, which focused on Abortion related Maternal Mortality in Mexico. an indispensable actor that legitimizes and sets the legal frame and enforces standards of human rights, equity and long-term ecological thinking (view web page). 9. DAWN’s membership to the Civil Society Reflection Group on Global Development Perspectives 10. Engagements contributing to the Rio +20 Process Representing DAWN, Gigi Francisco attended the 1st Meeting of the Civil Society Reflection Group on Global Development Perspectives. The reflection group aimed to propose an alternative perspective for post-MDG that better facilitates sustainable economic growth. During the meeting, members of the group committed themselves to produce a sharp and comprehensive political manifesto on alternative perspective, and a publication of essays, models and indicators of well-being for production in December 2011. A statement entitled “An Appeal to Change the Dominant Mindset” was released during the first preparatory meeting on the upcoming review of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. The statement expressed the need to restore public rights over corporate privileges; ground policies on principles of equity and justice; rescue (and protect) our natural environments; and re-affirm the democratic principle of the state as Anita Nayar, coordinator of DAWN’s Political Ecology and Sustainability (PEAS) thematic area, attended the “Gender and Environmental Series Editorial Committee” (March 2011, Luxembourg) where she engaged with Diane Rocheleau on the need to produce analytical papers on Feminist Political Ecology. Anita also represented DAWN in the “New Foundations for the Future: Looking Ahead to Earth Summit 2012” organized by the Stakeholder Forum and UN NGLS (May 2010, New York; view web page) and the “Worlds People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth (April 2010, Cochabamba; to see final conference statement, click here). Anita also participated in the “Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration”, Dag Hammarskjold’s “What Next?” initiative, “Stakeholder Forum International Advisory Board (IAB) and the Women’s Major Group, which are leading to DAWN’s more intensive engagement with the Rio +20 processes. 9 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT KEY RES ULT S AR E A 2 In the last 15 years, DAWN had focused its advocacy work on the review of development-related commitments that came out of major conferences in the 1990s – many of these having had taken place in the UN headquarters in New York. DAWN had also continued maintaining some presence in the World Trade Organization and in UNCTAD, both of which operate from Geneva. The re-structuring of the United Nations, particularly, the establishment of the Human Rights Council, provides yet another venue in which to pursue DAWN’s interlinkages advocacy. The systemization of the network’s engagement in advocacy to enlarge its impact and position as a key civil society actor in global intergovernmental and multilateral policy arenas, and development agenda setting is a goal that DAWN identified for its current strategic plan. For this fiscal year, DAWN was able to sustain its presence in the Human Rights Council, its contribution and presence in the United Nations-New York, and intensified collaboration with likeminded networks and organizations in responding to a rapid succession of inter-governmental meetings. In addition, DAWN was present in various international and multilateral discussions and sites on development agenda, namely, Aid Effectiveness, Financing for Development, Maternal Mortality, MDGs and Sustainable Development. 2.1 DAWN’s Advocacy at the Human Rights Council Gita Sen served as the chairperson of the 3rd UN Human Rights Council Forum on Minority Issues: “Minorities and Effective Participation in Economic Life,” held in New York on December 2010. The forum convened 500 participants representing governments, treaty bodies, UN agencies, regional and intergovernmental bodies, civil society organizations and minority communities. The forum provided DAWN with the opportunity to lead in a Human Rights Council discussion on the intersection of minority rights and economic rights (view web page). G l ob al F e min ist A d voc ac y 2.2 DAWN’s Advocacy at the CSW 55th Session 1. DAWN in GEAR Panel at CSW55 (February 2011, New York) • Gita Sen, DAWN Executive Committee member, was part of the GEAR (Gender Equality Architecture Reform) Campaign Panel with Lina Abou Habib (CRTD.A), Charlotte Bunch (CWGL) and Rachel T. Harris (WEDO). For years, the GEAR Campaign has been advocating for the presence of the UN Women and has monitored its works to ensure the fulfillment of its promises, which includes the consultation with women’ groups in the planning and implementation of its programs. DAWN is one of the global conveners of the GEAR Campaign. • DAWN hosted a panel on the theme “Gender, Economic and Ecological Justice (GEEJ) – Perspectives of Young Women in the Economic South.” The panel featured young women activists, most of whom are alumnae of the GEEJ Training Institutes, and their works in addressing the interlinked global crises on finance, climate and food. This activity is part of DAWN’s mission to provide training in analysis and advocacy skills to young women and feminists engaged in global issues by supporting them in sharing their analyses and perspectives in advocacy platforms such as the United Nations. The speeches of the four young women activists in the panel were featured as podcasts in the DAWN website (www.dawnnet. org). Moderated by Anita Nayar, the young women speaker panelists and their respective topics were as follows: A. Lice Cokanasiga (FIJI) of Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) and GEEJ Pacific alumna on “Implications for PACER Plus on Women, Economic and Climate Issues in the Pacific” “What do we need to do? We need to say NO TO PACER Plus and find alternatives to free trade in the Pacific, learn from other models for regional processes that are working and protect the domestic industries where there is move value-added, 10 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT more employment and more participation from women.” – Lice, CSW Panel 2011 Group on “LGBT Rights in Relation to Militarization and the Post-Conflict Context in Sri Lanka” ). B. Hibist Kassa (ETHIOPIA/GHANA) of Student Worker Solidarity Society and GEEJ Africa alumna on “Market Reform and Food Crisis in Africa: Locating Women as Agents of Change” “The LGBT movement and women’s movement working together is very crucial. The question now is how do we move forward? There’s a lot of work that supports women’s rights are human rights, how do we make sexual rights, women’s rights?” – Jayanthi, CSW 2011 “I believe that hope lies in the fact that social movements are already confronting the crises in its many facets and levels. Therefore, building the capacity of activists to deepen our understanding of the problems, and their manifestations in the different regions of the global south is a beginning. In addition, it is my hope that the meaningful participation of young women will become integral to activism in Africa. It is important to trust that it is only through struggle that genuine social transformation can occur.” – Hibist, CSW Panel 2011 C. Nicole Bidegain Ponte (URUGUAY) of the International Council of Adult Education and GEEJ Latin America alumna on “The Paradox of Growth and Persistent Inequality in Latin American Progressive Governments” “It is important to combine economic justice debates with ecological justice and gender justice movements. It is important to discuss economic and gender implications of Latin America alternatives such as “Sumak Kawsay” (Living well).” – Nicole, CSW Panel 2011 D. Jayanthi Kuru Utumpala (SRI LANKA) of Women and Media Collective and Women’s Support 2. DAWN Statement at the Launch of UN Women (March 2011, New York) DAWN, in its statement during the launch of the UN Women in New York, expressed its concern about funding, as well as, UN Women’s functions and engagement with CSOs and non-CSO representative at the Executive Board. The statement called upon women’s organizations and civil society groups to be vigilant in their engagements with the UN Women, and to ensure that all UN entities are made equally accountable for women’s positions in society. It emphasized women’s groups’ participation in decisionmaking processes at all levels, in every location, and in all institutions, similar to the UN Women. DAWN also expressed hopefulness for the UN Women to stay committed to being inclusive, participatory and democratic in its processes (view web page). 2.3 DAWN’s Advocacy and Research on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Gita Sen continues to be active in the advocacy against the regression of the SRHR field to population control. In 2011, Gita was invited to participate as a member of the Center for Global Development Working Group on Population. In the CGD and other fora (e.g. WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNCHR, and UN Women), Gita’s main contribution revolves around the development of an interagency statement on Sex Selection and in ensuring that policies do not undermine safe abortion access (view web page). 2.4 DAWN’s Advocacy for a General Recommendation on Women and Armed Conflict to CEDAW In partnership with IWRAW-AP, WILPF/Peace Women, The Berkley WILD Law Clinic, Global Network of Women Peace Makers and Women and Media Collective, Kumudini Samuel played a central role in formulating the conceptual and advocacy plans for global work on peace and women’s lives. Kumudini also helped facilitate the first global consultation in Colombo on the proposed CEDAW General Recommendation (GR) elements and advocacy on women and armed conflict. This consultation was organized in October 2010 by her local organization, Women and Media Collective. The consultation sought to compare the experiences of women in conflict areas and aimed to create a framework for understanding their experiences using the lens of women’s rights (as set out in CEDAW and its interaction with other treaty bodies, UN mechanisms and international obligations). Kumudini also contributed to the GR elements and the case study drafting 11 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT process in preparation for a meeting with CEDAW Committee’s General Day of Discussion, scheduled for July 2012 in New York. Other support activities linked to DAWN’s advocacy work on women and armed conflict include Kumudini’s attendance in the Colloquium 2011 Across Conflict Lines: Women Mediating for Peace organized by the Institute for Inclusive Security in Washington DC (view web page) and meetings held with USG Lynn Pascae and DPA briefings on conflict and CEDAW GR. Kumudini was also invited to make a presentation at a States Consultation hosted by the Finland Mission in New York in support of the Finland sponsored Resolution on Peace Mediation to the General Assembly, and to take a lead in briefing country representatives in attendance in the CEDAW GR. 2.5 Women’s Working Group on Financing for Development Statement WWG on FfD’s statement on the UN Women’s 100-Day Action Plan & Prepcom 2 for Rio +20 was entitled “Financing Meaningful Integration of Women’s Rights & Gender Equality into Sustainable Development”. The statement articulates the following recommendations for the UN Women: 1. Emphasize the potential of SouthSouth cooperation in the current context where emerging donors are creating and introducing innovative approaches to the new international development architecture. 2. Support the monitor and tracking of procedures and mechanisms for development financing by aid donors, vertical funds and other global institutional funding instruments to assess the impacts of their contributions. 3. Develop appropriate indicators that will track policy responses to the global economic and ecological crises, and if these responses meet the gender-differentiated needs of those who are affected by these global crises. 4. Support the development of multiple and heterodox approaches to the empowerment of rural women, recognize and address the underlying structural conditions behind the poverty of women farmers. In March 2011, Marina Durano was invited as speaker in the Economics Workshop: Applying a Human Rights Perspective to Macroeconomic Policy in New York. During the workshop, Marina shared and discussed the statement produced by the WWG. The workshop was convened by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL), with co-sponsors – AWID, DAWN, ESCR-Net, IAFFE and the Urban Justice Center (to see event flyer, click here). 2.6 Hearings of the General Assembly with Non-Governmental Organizations, Civil Society Organizations and Private Sector (June 2010, New York) Marina Durano also represented DAWN at the hearings of the General Assembly with non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and private sector all held at the UN headquarters. The hearings were preparatory activities that sought to provide input to the preparatory process for the MDG Summit (HighLevel Plenary Meeting) on September 2010 (view web page). 2.7 Public Forum and 1st Asia Pacific Intensive Course on Gender and Macroeconomics with UNDP (June 2010, Manila) On June 14-25 2010, DAWN hosted a UNDP Bangkok-organized intensive course on Gender and Macroeconomics in Miriam College, Quezon City, Philippines. The course was a collaborative initiative amongst the UNDP Bangkok, DAWN, the Asian Institute of Technology, and the Gender and Macroeconomics International Working Group. The course was meant to equip economists, government practitioners, academics and civil society representatives with the necessary tools and information to analyze, design and implement gender-responsive policies and plans. It was attended by 50 participants from across different Asian countries (view web page). Following the conclusion of the course, a DAWN public forum was organized. During the forum, Marina Durano shared her recent intervention on Policy Coherence at the Civil Society Consultations on the Millennium Development Goals, and Gita Sen presented on the Tobin Tax and Women via videoconferencing. 12 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT 2.8 DAWN at the CBD-COP 10 People’s Forum (October 2010, Nagoya In cooperation with the Gender Minority Working Group of the Japan Civil Network for Convention on Biological Diversity (JCN-CBD), DAWN women spoke in two plenary sessions at the Global People’s Forum alongside the 10th CBD-Conference of Parties in Nagoya, Japan. The plenary sessions were co-chaired by Seiko Hanochi of the JCN-CBD and Gigi Francisco. The speeches of the DAWN women were featured as podcasts at the DAWN website (click here). The highlights of the presentations of each speaker are presented below: 1. Gita Sen, “Sustainability, Human Development and Growth: A Gendered Look” In her presentation, Gita called for grounding production for consumption on the principle of sustainability in the process of rethinking current production practices. Gita explained the importance of collective consumption, job and incentive generation supportive of the “consumption of services” as opposed to today’s focus on materially-based commodities. She also raised the need to take more seriously Bhutan’s gross national happiness because such approaches would recognize the care economy or the work that women do for social reproduction. 2. Marina Durano, “On the Road to Economic Recovery: Financing Challenges to Biodiversity” In her presentation, Marina stressed that while governments are currently restructuring towards green economies, it is observed that women’s work and responsibilities with their environment, as well as access to environmental resources continue to remain in the margins. This according to Marina is indicative of a flawed restructuring process wherein mainstream alternatives continue to be industry, technology and services-driven. 3. Anita Nayar, “Beyond Market Mechanisms and Technological Fixes: Building Feminist Principles and Alternatives with Justice Movements” “Using feminist principles, how can we elaborate on the demand for environmental, climate and biodiversity justice toward alternative development? I would like to offer 6 points of entry from which to begin this conversation around what women’s movements need to be mindful of and advocate for: 1. Resist false market-based and technological ‘solutions’ to climate change 2. Recover sustainable development 3. Public investment in green energy 4. Confront the contradictions between the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) 5. Challenge neo-Malthusian notions linking population stabilization and climate change 6. Challenge gender-neutral agreements” 4. Kumudini Samuel, “Some Questions on the Relationship Between Gender, Militarization, Armed Conflict and Their Effects in Biodiversity” In her presentation, Kumudini emphasized that the promotion of just and sustainable peace may become more achievable if we refocus our attention to concerns for survival, the protection of biodiversity, and the security of communities. Kumudini explained that linking environmental justice with peace through the experience of women is necessary, if we are to attain sustainable development. 5. Zo Randriamaro, “Gender, Development and Agrarian Reforms in Africa” In her presentation, Zo asserted the need to explore the potential for a market-based economy and subsistence economy to co-exist. Examining, for example, the marketbased policies in the African region, Zo emphasized the importance of understanding and historically contextualizing the current political economy of market-based policies in the African region. To illustrate, Zo explained that as far as the African continent is concerned, market-based reforms and globalization builds on the history of slavery, colonialism and exploitation with gender dimensions. Any market reform must therefore effectively redress these issues. 13 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT 2.9 Workshop on a Human Rights Approach to Economic Policy in Agriculture: Engendering the Kuala Lumpur Guidelines in Response to a Fierce New World (January 2011, Manila) & Meeting of the International Working Group on Trade and Finance Linkages In her capacity as a DAWN representative member of the Steering Committee of the Trade-Finances Linkages Network, Gigi Francisco convened a capacity building workshop in Manila last January 2011 for activists working on economic justice in rural areas and the agricultural sector in the Asian region. The workshop aimed to contribute towards the development of a more holistic, integrative and interlinked approach to analysis and advocacy amongst CSOs/NGOs, including women’s rights and gender justice advocates working in the Asian and Philippine contexts. During the workshop, Anita Nayar shared DAWN’s Inter-linkages Analysis and Aldo Caliari of Center of Concern presented on the linkages between human rights and economic policy, taking the Kuala Lumpur Guidelines as an example. The workshop was attended by 22 participants: 10 international participants and 12 local participants representing national and regional farmers/women organizations, the academe and government agencies. The workshop analyzed cases in the agricultural sector and identified barriers to human rights access. With the barriers unpacked, the workshop moved on to discuss strategies that can potentially promote accountability and policy alternatives/options (view web page). After the workshop, a Steering Committee Meeting of the TradeFinance Linkages Asia Group was held in Manila last January 2011. Following this meeting, DAWN cosigned the IWH’s recommendations on the proposed rulemaking for position limits on derivatives on March 2011. The recommendations primarily call upon the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to engage and enter in discussion with members of the Commodity Markets Technical Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on how to harmonize position limit rules towards the prevention of regulatory circumvention in less rigorous jurisdictions. The recommendations further suggest for the CFTC to propose to IOSCO the need to invite UNCTAD, UN Food and Agriculture Organization and other relevant inter-governmental agencies as observers in the process. Linked to this, IWG Members expressed the need for IOSCO to develop procedures that enable the participation of accredited INGOs in the development of their best practice guidelines. 14 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT KEY RES ULT S AR E A 3 R emob ilizin g F e min ist A c tivism our political analyses and actions. By this we mean that care of individuals should not be bargained away by governments when they negotiate trade and environmental agreements like PACER PLUS, WTO, UNFCC, CBD, etc. In guaranteeing social reproduction, such as health, education, water, livelihoods, etc. the state must also protect and promote the right of women to control our bodies and our sexualities in all places - our homes, schools, communities, etc.” – from GEEJ Pacific Statement A core activity of DAWN is found in its training workshops for young women from the economic South. Organized in collaboration with regional focal points to facilitate south-south feminist interlinkages analyses, the workshops seek to ensure the sustained impact and significance of women’s movements and feminist political actions in development. regional institutions, young and local women activists. The consultations and training institutes provided venues for sharing information on a wide range of global and regional crosscutting responses to the global crises. At the end of each regional activity, statements collectively drawn up by the participants were released in various fora. During this fiscal year, DAWN’s regional training workshops focused on “Strengthening Policy Analysis and Advocacy on Gender, Economic and Climate Justice”. The regional training workshops aimed to produce specific inter-linkages analysis in preparation to global processes linked to the Rio +20. Led by an inter-thematic analysis team of the Executive Committee and co-organized by regional focal points, the year’s regional training workshops took place in three regions – the Pacific, Africa and Latin America. 1. DAWN in collaboration with the Pacific Action Network on Globalization (PANG) held the GEEJ Pacific Regional Consultation and Training Institute on September 6-9, 2010 in Suva, Fiji. This was attended by 22 young women activists and 12 regional experts. A regional statement was drafted after the training institute. A Public Forum entitled “The Pacific in the Fierce new World: Possibilities for Solidarity, Knowledge Networking and Social Dialogue” was also held at the Lower Civic Auditorium in Suva on September 9, 2010. 2. DAWN in collaboration with the Third World Network-Africa held the GEEJ Africa Regional Consultation and Training Institute on November 20-23, 2010 in Accra, Ghana. This was attended by 11 young women activists and 8 regional experts. A regional statement was drafted after the training institute. DAWN also participated in the TWN Roundtable on Gender and Regional Integration in Africa. “While we are in solidarity with the struggle of people’s movements and nongovernmental organizations, a political response based on a feminist inter-linkages perspective on gender, economic, and climate justice, is yet another way by which we can contribute to the development of an alternative paradigm of sustainable development in the Pacific. Such a feminist approach utilizes concepts of social reproduction and women’s right over our bodies and sexualities as core principles in “Recognizing the challenges and uncertainties that the Africa region is facing in the context of systemic global crises, we affirm the central role of women in the resolution of these crises and the crucial need to address the gaps and fragmentation in the institutional and policy responses from Governments and global governance institutions. Taking into consideration the everincreasing pace of globalization and the disastrous impact of the multiple crises of climate, finance, food, 3.1 DAWN Regional Consultations and Training Institutes on Strengthening Policy Analysis and Advocacy on Gender, Economic and Climate Justice (GEEJ) The series of regional consultations and training institutes brought together actors working in the areas of gender, economic and climate justice in the three regions of the Pacific, Africa and Latin America. Participants included researchers and analysts from academia and civil society, policy makers from government, inter-governmental and 15 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT and energy, we urge governments and all stakeholders to ensure the long-term sustainability of policies and programs for addressing all the themes of the African Women’s Decade. As young women activists, we call for the full ratification and implementation of the Maputo Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, especially as regards food sovereignty and climate justice, in order to make the African Women’s Decade a meaningful reality.” – from GEEJ Africa Statement. 3. DAWN in collaboration with the Gender & Education Office (GEO) of the International Council on Adult Education (ICAE) held the GEEJ Latin America Regional Consultation and Training institute on March 18-21, 2011 in Montevideo, Uruguay. This was attended by 15 young women activists and 10 regional experts. A Public Forum entitled “Hacia la justicia economica, ecologia y de genero: perspectivas, globales y locales” was held followed by a debate at the Sala de Dorada in the Municipality of Montevideo (“Towards Rio +20: How to Achieve Gender Redistributive and Ecological Justice”). “We recognize the failure of the prevailing growth and development models, driven by the invisible hand of the market that the majority of our governments practice and promote. We reject these models based on extractive-ism and the current production and consumption patterns that do not contemplate an integral vision of development but on the contrary, deepen social inequalities and undermine environmental sustainability. These are hetero-normative, racist and colonialist models among whose economic consequences are labor discrimination, lack of access to social security and quality education for persons of African descent, indigenous people, migrants, homosexuals, lesbians, transgender and intersex persons. The systemic crises in our region is happening in a wider context of deep disparity between the global North and South based on a historically unfair international division of labor and reflected in the sexual division of labor of the global care economy.” – from the GEEJ Latin America Statement 3.2 DAWN Training Institute 2011 DAWN announced its call for application for the 4th global DAWN Training Institute (DTI) last September 2010. The three-week course aimed to prepare young feminist activists from Southern countries for the challenges entailed in working for gender justice in the present global context, build their capacity in understanding linkages between different issues and advocacy agendas, and strengthen feminist analysis and advocacy work on complex issues at global and regional levels. The selection process was primarily undertaken by Kumudini Samuel and Zo Randriamaro who met at the Manila Secretariat in February 2011. Thirty-five (35) participants were selected for the DTI, which will be held in Siem Reap, Cambodia from October 9-27, 2011. Prior to the meeting, a pre-selection of the most qualified applicants (among the 220 applications received) had already taken place. The pre-selection was conducted by DAWN’s Selection Committee, with the support of Noelene Nabulivou. Selected applicants represented outstanding young feminist activists with the potential to lead progressive change in the years to come. From the DTI, the DAWN Selection Committee is now more assured that for the upcoming DTI in 2011, high-caliber young feminist activists will join the DAWN network. 16 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT K EY RES ULT S AR E A 4 O r g an ization al De ve lop me n t By 2012, DAWN is committed to sustaining the network’s leadership in the global women’s movement for the next 20-25 years. In order to facilitate this, DAWN recognizes the need to continue strengthening its organizational capacities and strategies for communications. In 2010-2011, DAWN strengthened its secretariat capacities and started the process of developing its guidelines for communications. economic South were recruited during the year. Pregs Govender (Africa) of the South African Human Rights Commission was invited to become DAWN’s 4th Board member; while Erika Troncoso (Mexico) and Cai Yiping (China) of ISIS International were invited to join the Executive Committee. The new EC members are expected to participate in the next Board and EC Joint Meeting that will take place in Bali, Indonesia on May 2011. 4.1 Board and Executive Committee 4.2 Strengthening Secretariat Capacity Members of the DAWN Board and Executive Committee met twice in 2010 to discuss priorities, platforms for engagements, as well as budgets and operational matters. The first meeting – a Board and EC Joint Meeting – was held last May 23-28, 2010 in Boracay, Philippines. The second meeting – an EC Meeting – was held last October 1923, 2010 in Nagoya, Japan. To pursuit of DAWN’s desire for increased accountability as well as intergenerational sustainability, feminists with diverse expertise and different regional representations from the The DAWN secretariat provides dayto-day programmatic and administrative support to DAWN‘s research, activism/ advocacy, networking, training and communications work. The DAWN secretariat, based in Manila, Philippines, hired a new staff member towards the end of this fiscal year. On February 1, 2011, Erika Sales assumed the position of Program Officer. Claire Slatter and Zenebeworke Tadesse of the DAWN Board Sarah Domingo-Lipura and Erika Sales of the DAWN Secretariat 4.3 InfoCom and Media Support Work Information and communications (InfoCom) support work remained an important part of DAWN’s strategy for attaining its networking and advocacy goals. This year, DAWN gained increasing awareness on the importance of new ICTs not only for disseminating its research and advocacy outputs but also for reaching out to more diverse stakeholders, including young feminists from the South. Similarly, DAWN’s InfoCom work seek to inspire actions that support the promotion of gender, economic and ecological justice through the vehicles of cyberspace communications and social media, bringing in fierce challenges but useful learnings that have helped enhance the network’s InfoCom capacities and operations. The following outlines some of the network’s major InfoCom outputs as well as the obstacles DAWN had faced – both contributing to the development of an improved InfoCom platform for DAWN’s continuing research, advocacy, networking and training initiatives. 17 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT Web s i t e The website continues to gain increasing importance in strengthening DAWN’s presence in cyberspace but also in drawing potential partners for DAWN’s work. Through the website, DAWN was able to effectively reach and recruit young feminists from the South for the 4th global DAWN Training Institute. Efforts to make the DAWN website more interactive had also been put in practice during this fiscal year. Through DAWN’s online application service for the DTI, 200 applications were received worldwide. Likewise, its online request feature proved to be an effective platform through which the network connects to the public and engages with them on a wide range of correspondence from inquiries on internship, training and membership to requests for interviews, subscription and resources such as the following: “I work in Nepal, would love to be part of training on gender, climate change, etc.” (Nepal) subscribe and get more information about the organization.” (Reseau Femme et Developpement Senegal) The website also serves as a repository of multimedia resources, including podcasts, which based on the number of visitors (see below), proves to be an effective way of packaging DAWN analyses. For this year, DAWN produced web podcasts for the following events: • 1st Asia Pacific Intensive Course on Gender and Macroeconomics (June 2010, Manila) • DAWN at the CBD-COP 10 People’s Forum (October 2010, Nagoya) • Workshop on a Human Rights Approach to Economic Policy in Agriculture: Engendering the Kuala Lumpur Guidelines in Response to a Fierce New World (January 2011, Manila) “I would like to be full member of DAWN; you do a great job and I will be happy if you allow me in your team.” (Zambia) • GEEJ Regional Consultation and Training Institutes (Pacific, Africa, Latin America in September 2010, November 2010, March 2011, respectively) “I visited your website and I am amazed with DAWN’s work. I want to • CSW 55 (February 2011, Manila) – former DAWN Intern Linley Faulkner from the University of Victoria led the documentation of DAWN’s participation at CSW 55 in New York, of which podcast production was included. Linley is also currently finishing her MA thesis on DAWN’s InfoCom platform, the final results of which will be handed over to the secretariat to help inform its present and future InfoCom strategies. Measuring Web Impact Monitoring web statistics through internal and external web traffic tracking tools remains to be a regular part of InfoCom operations that aims to gauge the impact of DAWN’s cyberspace visibility (primarily through the website) and to identify measures by which it can improve its use of web-based tools to better attain its advocacy and networking goals. Compared to the previous fiscal year of 2009-2010, a 50% increase in visitors had been registered, with the highest monthly unique visits averaging to 2500. The graphs below show that both the internal and external tracking statistics have consistent results as to the trend and amount of web traffic: The highest traffic was generated in the months of July and August when 18 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT the DTI application was announced and the online application system was opened (58.42% new visits). This shows that DAWN was able to reach out to new stakeholders and that the DAWN training institute is among one of the most sought after initiatives of the network. The web was also busy in the months of September and November 2010, and January- March 2011. In those months, some notable DAWN announcements and resources posted on the web and circulated in the network’s mailing list (listserv) contributed to DAWN’s increased visibility: Gita Sen’s appointment as Chair of the HRC Forum on Minority Issues (Dec 2010); DAWN Nagoya podcasts (Nov 2010); GEEJ Africa Training Institute Statement (Nov 2010); DAWN Informs (Jan 2011); DAWN at CSW 55 (March 2011); Human Rights Approach to Economic Policy workshop podcasts (Jan 2011); Recommendations of the UN HRC Forum on Minority Issues (Dec 2010); and GEEJ Latin America press release (March 2011). Apart from tracking unique visits, statistics have also shown that the top countries where most visitors come from are a combination of Northern and Southern-based countries, including the US, Philippines, Canada, UK, India, Ethiopia, China, Fiji, Spain, Brazil. Most visited pages, on the other hand, include About Us, News, Issues/ Announcement box, Multimedia Resources, Research and Analyses, DAWN Informs, History and Training Institutes, with viewers spending an average of 3:43 minutes on the site. Connections to the site are recorded to have mostly come from direct traffic, meaning through the website URL itself, followed by Google, Facebook and the AWID site. Other traffic sources come from South organizations in Latin America and Africa like Red Argentina para la Cooperacion Internacional (raci.org.ar), African Women Blog (pepeta.org), Cuaderno Intercultural (cuadernointercultural. com/feminism-y-culturas), and Talking about Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues India (tarshi.net), as well as from long time partners of DAWN such as the ICAE, Choike, World Pulse, GEAR Campaign, International Peace and Conflict, ISIS and UNDP. In order to ensure smooth web operations, the DAWN secretariat also renewed the web hosting service and domain registration for 3 years, which covers the remaining first cycle of the secretariat. Challenges. The DAWN website was hacked on February 21, 2011, a few days after it has shared to the public some of the outputs of its Human Rights Approach to Economic Policy workshop held successfully in the Philippines, and a few days prior to its planned coverage of DAWN participation in the 55th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. This mishap, while devastating, provided a new perspective on how the network can further improve its InfoCom infrastructure, particularly its web security. The hacking, which was announced to all DAWN Informs subscribers, resulted in the deletion of most of the site’s database content and the temporary shutdown of the DAWN website. During the 2-week shut down which coincided with CSW 55, DAWN has nonetheless continued disseminating information via the listserv, which remained intact and functional, allowing for the continued and effective sharing of DAWN resources on CSW that inspiringly gained the following feedback: “Great program, congratulations!” (Brazil) “Thank you so much for the statement. Happy to have this. Good job, Gita! Good job and thank you all!” (Young Women in Action, Zambia) By fortifying web security and recovering lost data, DAWN made sure that its cyberspace presence was immediately restored. As soon as the web was up, DAWN circulated new DAWN resources under the title, Celebrating the Fruits of our Feminist Struggles, which was received positively by the subscribers as indicated by the following responses: “Yay DAWN! Congrats on coming back up!” (DAWN Southeast Asia Regional Training Institute Alumna) “Keep them coming in.” (GEEJ Pacific Training Institute Alumna) 19 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT Hostgator (Internal) Google Analytics (External) 20 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT EMA I L S AN D L I S T S E R V S DAWN continues to maintain and effectively manage its electronic mailing lists categorized into 4 types: internal EC listserv, exclusive to DAWN Executive Committee members and the secretariat; training listservs for DAWN training institute alumnae; advocacy listservs dedicated for DAWN-initiated processes, workshops and events; and the DAWN Informs mailing list which is open to public subscriptions. DAWN listservs have played a crucial role in disseminating timely and relevant DAWN analyses and advocacy announcements such as the following: 1. Press Release on Latin America Consultation and Training Institute on Gender, Economic and Climate Justice (March 2011) “Food, fuel, farenheit! Nice one! Sounds like a great initiative!” (Help Age International UK) “Thanks for the update!” (Young Women in Action Zambia) 2. Workshop on a Human Rights Approach to Economic Policy (February 2011) “Very good idea! Congratulations! Sending to contacts who might see the possibility of doing something of this type in their place.” (El Salvador) “I would like to explore with you the possibility of conducting a training programme for South African NGOs on this issue. Whom can I speak with?” (Masimanye Women’s Support Centre) “This is wonderful! I am so glad that DAWN sponsored this workshop. Many thanks for sharing the resources.” (American University) 3. Statement on Gender, Economic and Climate Justice by African Women Activists (January 2011) 4. Strengthening Policy Analysis and Advocacy on Gender, Economic and Climate Justice: DAWN Regional Consultations and Training Institutes (November 2011) “We have posted this on Choike. Please keep us posted on new developments on DAWN debates.” (Choike) “I would like to receive the outcomes of the meeting.” (Gender and Economic Alternatives Trust) 5. DAWN at COP 10 People’s Forum: Promoting Sustainable Development Through Feminist Alternatives (November 2011) “Is it possible to get documentation on this training especially on climate justice?” (Greenpeace) “Thanks for these very interesting resources.” (Kenya) “I would love to attend this. Is there a scholarship?” (Kenana Association for Human Rights and Women Development) 6. Gita Sen Appointed Chairperson of the Forum on Minority Issues (September 2010) “This announcement gained the most responses and almost all the DAWN Training Institute alumnae sent their congratulatory messages to Gita through the DTI listserv.” “Congratulations for your new appointment. Even far away, in Central America, with DAWN I feel joy as I am pretty sure that people like you are the ones who will bring more justice to the world for the best of all us. Anything you need from this end dear, please count on me or my organization.” (Nicaragua) “Congratulations! We, as former trainees of DTI are very proud and happy for this recognition of your commitment and work.” (Bolivia) 7. DAWN Statement on MDG 5 (September 2010) “Dear Sonia and DAWN members, the same is going on in Peru and the 21 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT analyses, links, advocacies, and calls for solidarity support that stimulate discussions and actions on issues surrounding gender, economic and ecological justice. Statements by GEEJ Training Institute participants were similarly circulated through the lists and posted on the website, which received positive feedback. Apart from listservs, DAWN executive committee members and secretariat maintain their use of official dawn emails. The InfoCom Officer likewise created dawn emails for the new Board members, which they use for DAWNrelated correspondence and internal communications. Challenges. This year, the main DAWN list also fell victim to an unwanted correspondence which resulted in its transfer to a new mailing list application. DAWN continues to seek ways on how to further improve the security of its directory, while expanding its reach to more groups and individuals in the South. Another challenge that the network faces is the need to constantly improve its monitoring mechanisms by searching for open source software that will allow the network to more systematically organize contacts and track feedback, in addition to keeping manually generated impact logs. DAWN INFORMS NEWSLETTER Latin American region. This should be documented.” (Red Nacional de Educación| Salud Sexual y Desarrollo para Jóvenes REDESS Peru) The DAWN listserv has also become an effective channel not only for touching base with DAWN founders and former DAWN members but also for keeping them updated on DAWN’s work and linking them up with the public: “On MDG5 Statement: Keep up the good work! Please forward other pieces on MDGs re recent summit.” (Peggy Antrobus) “I am trying to seek Peggy.” (University of California Berkeley) “I would like to contact Kumi to invite her to attend a conference.” (Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect) In addition to these feedbacks, it is also important to note that DAWN received numerous subscription requests this year. From 1900, the primary mailing list of DAWN great to 2400 this year. New listservs for the following DAWN workshops and training institutes were also created to ensure sustained engagement of DAWN with the participants: 1. Asia Workshop on KL Guidelines 2. GEEJ Pacific Listserv 3. GEEJ Africa Listserv 4. GEEJ Latin America Listserv The last 3 listservs are currently being facilitated by InfoCom and Networking Associate, Noelene Nabulivou who, through close collaboration with the InfoCom Officer and the secretariat, animates lists with postings of useful DAWN’s commitment to produce timely analyses on gender and development issues is sustained through the publication of DAWN Informs (DI). Shared biannually in electronic form to the public, DI continues to gain positive feedback from both its regular and new readers. This year’s issues (2 in total) introduced a new design for DAWN’s external newsletter and a new feature that provided a space for young feminist alumnae of the DAWN Training Institutes to contribute and share their analytical and advocacy work. June 2010 DI, in its new look, was launched in June 2010. This edition compiled analytical pieces on critical social concerns such as climate change, rural development, and conflict. Among the 7 articles published in this issue are: BPFA and UNSCR 1325, 1820 and 1888 by Kumudini Samuel; On the 22 DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT Importance of Gender in All MDGs by Marina Durano and Gita Sen; Trade Regimes and the Right to Food by Magda Lanuza; and Financing Market-based Agriculture and Rural Development in the South by Natividad Bernardino. Also featuring articles written by DAWN Training Institute alumnae, this edition received essay contributions from DTI 2007 graduates, Carmen Capriles and Nicole Bidegain on climate change and feminist activism. Their contributions effectively provided an inter-generational scope in DAWN’s analyses of climate change. Finally, the June 2010 DI’s centerfold outlined the reflections of DAWN Executive Committee members on the DAWN Development Debates that took place among academics and activists from around the world in January 2010. December 2010 The year-end issue of DI was broadly shared to the public as DAWN’s way of expressing gratitude for the fruitful collaborations and partnerships developed within the year. This edition focused on DAWN’s ongoing work on Gender, Economic and Environmental Justice (GEEJ), featuring discussions from both the Pacific and Africa GEEJ processes. A special back-to-back advocacy flyer entitled, Young Feminist Reflections, Critique and Struggles, was attached to this issue. The flyer introduced the advocacy work of four young feminists from the GEEJ Pacific and Africa Training Institutes, namely, Rosa Koian from Papua New Guinea on land rights; Ender Rence from Solomon Islands on women empowerment; Christine Njeru from Kenya on climate justice; and Hibist Kassa from Ghana on women’s struggles and strategies. Both issues were printed, reproduced and strategically distributed at different meeting, workshop and training venues such as the 55th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York. Web post and electronic circulation, however, proved to be the most effective dissemination channel: “Enlightening as in previous issues.” (Bahamas) “Excellent June issue!” (USA) “Do you have Spanish version?” (Brazil) WUNRN (Women’s UN Report Network) reposted DI December 2010 to its list Challenges. While the need to innovate the design, which was last year’s main challenge, had already been addressed, translating the DI pieces to other major languages on a regular basis remains a major challenge. This is hoped to be addressed by adopting systematic guidelines for translating DAWN written outputs, including those that are published in the newsletter. SIGN-ONs/PETITIONS For this fiscal year, DAWN supported over 20 petitions produced by civil society organizations on issues linked to gender, economic and climate justice. Most notable of which were the following calls signed on to by the network: Hands off to Mother Earth: Our Home is not a Laboratory with ETC group; NGO Initiative to Call on the Obama Administration to Support Funding to Fight Climate Change through the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and not the World Bank; Stop Stoning Iranian Woman Sanikeh Ashtiani circulated to the DAWN Regional Training Institute listserv; Economists Statement on Capital Controls and Trade Treaties; Financing for Development Letter to the World Bank and the IMF; Letter to HRC Member States on Defamation of Religious; and NGO Joint Statement on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Human Rights. Through these petitions, DAWN expressed its commitment to promote advocacy on social justice through strengthened collaborations and partnerships with civil society groups and networks. OTHER INFOCOM MEDIA DAWN increasingly recognizes the relevance and importance of making use of various InfoCom tools not only for sustaining internal communications but also for strengthening partnerships with external stakeholders. As such, DAWN has continued to use the following online and offline communications media in support of various info-com commitments: 1. Ready Talk teleconferencing – used by executive committee members for internal meetings 2. Online Skype chat/conference – used by executive committee members and secretariat for various meetings 3. Online Oovoo video conferencing – used for live, real-time presentation by speakers who are not physically present in the actual event (e.g. Gita Sen presented via Oovoo at the Workshop on Gender and Macroeconomic Issues held last June 2010 in Miriam College, Philippines) TOWARDS THE FUTURE OF DAWN INFOCOM The explosion and evolution of new technologies have transformed the way people communicate. This creates complex challenges to the daily operations of many organizations, including that of non-profit organizations like DAWN. In response to this, DAWN is beginning to draw up a new set of internal guidelines and cost-efficient strategies aimed at strengthening the network’s InfoCom capacities for the attainment of its overall vision. DAWN expresses its appreciation to the following donors for their generous support: Ford Foundation-NY, Ford Foundation-India, Global Fund for Women, MacArthur Foundation, and United Nations Development Fund for Women.