SOROPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL
OF EUROPE
INTRA-ORGANIZATIONAL CORRESPONDENCE
" Women
Building Peace "
To:
Programme Liaisons of Unions
Ref/file: Prog.Liaison 1/03
From:
Date: 2.11.2003
Eveline Wunder
AT – 9020 Klagenfurt
Villacherstrasse 1 B
Copies to:
All
SI/E Board members
Union
Presidents
SEP Marie-Irène Paléologue SI
Programme Director Lois Sagel
SI/E
Rep. CoE Kathy Kaaf
SI Assistant PD Margaret Alderson
SI/E EWL
Helene van Themsche
Programme Directors SI/A, SI/GBI, SI/SWP
Dear Programme Liaison Officers of the Unions,
First of all: For those of you who do not know: Due to
health reasons Ayla Selçuk has resigned from the office as Programme Liaison
and I was appointed and approved for a second period. I am now looking forward
to working with you and I hope we will have a fruitful cooperation.
General
remarks:
Let me start with some thoughts about our identity as Soroptimists, our image in
society and what we could do to justify our main goal: To be “A Global Voice
for Women”.
We are one of almost innumerable NGOs. What is our
special identity which makes us matchless among the great number of NGOs? Do we
stand for a certain and well-known activity? Do we strive for Human Rights and
Women’s Rights? When I read the Programme Focus Reports I find lots of charity
activities e.g. Christmas gift packages, morning teas, Charity Golf Days etc.
Most of these activities mean raising money for needy people or for other
organisations who distribute the money. In public opinion we have the image of
a charity organisation.
But it is our
Programme Work that gives us our identity as Soroptimists. We have to
follow the topics of our Programme Focus. Our activities should coincide with
these topics. The common work on the same topics will give us “Corporate identity”.
We have our 3-pace-method Awareness – Advocacy – Action. If we do not put more stress upon
“Advocacy” we will not get out of this charity image. What does “Advocacy”
mean?
We have to lobby politicians at all levels in order to
change unfavourable measures. We have to strive for gender mainstreaming. We
have to launch resolutions demanding better conditions for disadvantaged
people. We have to speak out our critics and comments to laws and administrative
measures. We have to lobby for the implementation of international agreements.
We have to use the international institutions (CEDAW, EWL*) and point out
grievances.
Somebody may say now, this is acting very politically.
Yes, of course, we have to act politically. But we never support the programme
of a certain political party, nor do we intervene in other countries. But clubs
have to act at the local and at the national level, in order to make a
difference!
How to
implement our programme?
We are starting a new biennium and for the first time
we have no co-ordinators on SI-level, but one Programme Director. It is Lois Sagel, former UN-Representatives
Liaison, living in Las Vegas, USA. The Assistant Programme Director is Margaret Alderson, former SI Programme
Liaison and living in the UK.
A quarterly newsletter will be produced with
instructions and suggestions for our programme work. The first issue will be
sent out by mid of November.
Our main tasks will be the implementation of and
information on the new
- SI-Programme Focus 2003-2007
- Federation Project “Women Building Peace”
- Quadrennial Project “Independence”
- 10th December Appeal “The Dignity Programme”
a) SI-Programme Focus
The Programme Focus 2003-2007 has been elaborated in a
democratic procedure in Sydney.
Please, find it enclosed. It will be printed in an attractive form and
disseminated as widely as possible. The programme area of “Human Rights/Status
of Women” is now on the first place. All clubs should be encouraged to work at
least on ONE of the topics in one of the 6 programme areas.
b) Federation Project “Women
Building Peace”
Peace and conflict resolution are appearing in the SI
Programme Focus as well. It is the main theme of President Heidrun Konrad for
the next 2 years.
In my “Monthly Letter” I give a lot of suggestions on
subjects clubs can tackle. Here I
will mention only two activities, which can be carried out by each club.
1) The Peace Charter: (See attached copy) Each
club should try to find partners e.g. the mayor of a town, a well-known
personality, presidents of other service clubs, youth groups etc who will sign
the “Peace Charter”.
With this charter the undersigned bounds himself to
the following commitments:
- To promote concepts of justice, freedom, dignity and equality for
all people
- To recognise and respect the diversity of races, cultures and
creeds
- To reject all forms of violence, respect and to promote human
rights for all
- To ensure gender mainstreaming in all aspects of life
- To practise solidarity and tolerance
- To share natural resources in a just way
- To contribute to mutual understanding.
At the same time the club could suggest to the signer
a joint peace project, e.g. peace education, campaigns against violence in the
media, measures against mobbing at the workplace, also measures against drug
and substance abuse (which lead to aggression and criminality); hundreds of
local activities can be found. The Peace Charter can be downloaded from the
SI/E homepage in different languages (up to now English, French, and German are
available). Unions and clubs are invited to translate the above mentioned
commitments to their maternal language and to send the translation to Heidrun
Konrad. As many as possible languages should be available at www.soroptimisteurope.org
May be that a Union also could produce printed copies
for all clubs, so that the Peace Charter has a common image and forms part of
the above mentioned “Corporate Identity”.
There are already some prominent signers: The Women
Minister of Austria, the President of the association “Women without Borders”,
some mayors…. it is, of course also a PR-activity.
At the left side of the Peace Charter the Soroptimist
(Club President, Union President) has to sign and at the right side the
countersigned. The name of the countersigned should be legible, as well as
her/his function or position. All names will be published in a “Peace Book” and
presented at the Congress in Vienna, 8-10 July 2005. One copy of the Peace
Charter should be handed over to the signer, another copy should be sent to
Heidrun Konrad. In the “Peace Book” the “Best Practice” examples of Unions and
Clubs will be published.
2) Heritage for a Culture of Peace:
The UNESCO, the UN Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation invites NGOs to start a joint project by identifying one
or more objects in a town or region as “heritage for a culture of peace”. This
cultural heritage could be a monument, a building, a landmark, a mountain, a
work of art, a piece of music, a poem, even traditional dishes or sports. It
should be something characteristic for the place and symbolizing the engagement
of citizens for peace. The element itself can become a messenger of peace.
Soroptimist clubs are invited to choose a local element of cultural heritage
and to build a project around this element. With a festive event this
“messenger of peace” can be inaugurated. This can easily be combined with the
signing of the “Peace Charter”. The cooperation with UNESCO will improve our
reputation. The project also can give us more visibility. In order to take part
in the UNESCO project, please visit www.unesco.org/cp
(under “Information exchange/projects and resources”)
c) Quadrennial project
“Independence – Women Survivors of War”
In partnership with “Women for Women International”
the project will provide at least 1200 women with direct aid and emotional
support. Financial aid allows the women to provide basic needs for their
family. Furthermore the project
will provide 1200 women training in vocational and leadership skills. Finally
through the Micro credit Lending Programme, the project will provide at least
600 women with loans they can use to start their own business. The project will
be realised in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Rwanda. It is a sponsorship programme.
Our members will be asked to collect money and to organize fund raising
activities. I remind you on the most successful project “Limbs for Life” where
during the 4-years-period a total sum of 1,328.000 US-Dollars (1,160.000 Euro)
has been collected and thousands of victims of landmines were provided with
artificial limbs.
d) 10th December
Appeal
The President’s Appeal for 10th of December
2003 is “The Dignity Program” Helping women in Paraguay to move from poverty to
independence. SI is partnering with the Project for the People of Paraguay
(PPP). Families in Paraguay often run short of very basic necessities. Few jobs
pay even the minimum wage. Nutritious meals are rare or non existent. Families
often live in cardboard houses. Women suffer the most. Many of them have been abandoned by
their partners, leaving them alone to raise their children with very little
support. The Dignity Program helps women succeed by providing long-term support
to help them enhance their feelings of self-worth and develop a variety of
skills to support themselves and their families. A key component will be the
Dignity House which will be built in Limpio and which will provide meeting
space for educational and job training and a safe house for women and girls. In
the neighbourhood will be Dignity Village, a community project featuring
organic gardens, beehives, chicken and egg production and small stores. For
more information: www.projectpy.org
Annual Reports
I suggest that all annual reports on programme work
from Unions and Single Clubs should reach the SI/E coordinators by 15 January
2004. The deadline when SEP has to receive the reports is 29 March 2004. So the
SI/E coordinators have one and a half month to prepare their reports (and to
remind late-comers!)
Attention!
The period covered by the reports is 1 October 2002 – 30 September 2003.
Guidelines for Action
The SI/E Coordinators have elaborated “Guidelines for
Action” in each Programme Area. They will be sent to Unions and clubs together
with the November mailing by SEP or with the first circular letters by the SI/E
coordinators. They contain suggestions and focal points of our programme work.
Union Presidents and Union Programme Liaisons are kindly asked to forward these
Guidelines to all Union coordinators and all clubs, eventually after having
translated them to their national language.
Co-ordinator for Environment
Due to serious health reasons, Mariet van der Weele-Minderhoud, who was elected by the Governors
in Nairobi to serve for a second term as SI/E Co-ordinator for Environment has
been obliged to resign from her office. We are very sad about it and we will
miss her very much. Candidates can still be nominated. Deadline 24 November
2003. After the nomination one or two mail ballots have to follow. That means
that we will not have a new SI/E Co-ordinator until next year. In the meantime
I will write to the Union and Single Club Coordinators and send them the
necessary papers and ask them for their annual reports.
Funds
Donations for international projects are always
welcome. I am repeating here the international projects:
a)
Quadrennial project: “Independence – Women Survivors of War” (see above)
b) 10th
December 2003 Appeal: Dignity Programme – Helping Women in Paraguay (see above)
c)
5-O: The 5 organizations
Business
& Professional Women International
International
Council of Women
International
Federation of University Women
Soroptimist
International
Zonta
International
are realising projects in developing countries or
countries in transition, by providing vocational and other training for women
and girls. Donations are welcome.
d)
Relief Aid Fund for immediate help in case of disasters.
The account
numbers for all projects are to be found in the yellow Directory of this year
on the first page inside. Please forward the information to all treasurers,
that they should use the correct account numbers and indicate exactly for which
project a donation is intended.
PEP –
Project Exchange Pool
May I remind you on the PEP. Many clubs in developing countries or countries in
transition are looking for partners, who could help them to realise projects by
offering them money or other kind of support. www.soroptimisteurope.org/pages/news/pep.htm
If you have any question or suggestion, please tell me
and do not hesitate to ask me, if there may arise any question. I wish you
energy and joy for the start of the new Soroptimist year and hope to be
regularly in touch with you.
In
friendship
*) CEDAW: Convention on the Elimination of all Forms
of Discrimination Against Women. The Convention is an instrument for
articulating, advocating and monitoring women’s human rights. NGOs have an
important role in making the Convention an instrument of women’s empowerment,
through advocacy and monitoring their government’s implementation of the
treaty. NGOs should produce “Shadow Reports” for the CEDAW Committee in order
to evaluate the periodic reports of governments on progress made in removing
obstacles to equality.
*) EWL:
European Women’s Lobby. It is the official organisation to represent
women in the EU member states. The European directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June
2000 forbids direct and indirect discrimination and provides for positive
action. The EWL needs more information about the situation at national level,
in particular:
- What are the expectations/interests of women and
women’s organisations in relation to a new European law?
- What is the position of the different governments in
charge of gender equality at national level?