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 | [email protected] | 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)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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,
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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)
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DAWN ACTIVITIES REPORT
Hostgator (Internal)
Google Analytics (External)
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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
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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
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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.