July 29, 2003

The World YWCA brought together over 1000 women from more than 100 countries and 50 partner organisations in Brisbane, Australia, from July 5-10, 2003 for Leading Change: The Power to Act. During this meeting the World YWCA convened a two-day International Womens Summit to review the status of women within the framework of the womens global agenda adopted in Beijing 1995. To do this the World YWCA brought women leaders, women activists and women from grassroots areas to tell their stories from their perspective.

Testimonies from women experiencing economic injustices, violence, the effects of HIV/AIDS, and women living in conflict situations formed the central part of the Summit. To give these issues a global perspective were plenary keynote speeches from prominent women leaders.

Noleen Heyzer, director of UNIFEM, as keynote speaker at the opening session of the Summit commented on the many contexts affecting the work of the YWCA and suggested strategies to meet current challenges. Major challenges identified by Dr. Heyzer included the need to link global aims to local action agendas and vice versa; to include womens perspectives in efforts to develop safe and secure environment and to recognise the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls. One challenge however stood out and that was to integrate the current agendas, i.e. those covering human rights, the environment, and economic development. As women organising the change, as women organising for a more secure world we have to get out of our single issues. More than at any time our issues interconnect. And that is the challenge today. More than at any time we have to develop the skills to cross boundaries.

Princess Basma Bint Talal (Jordan) identified the impact of armed conflict on women and the need for women to be involved in peace negotiation. The roles of women and religious leaders in peace building seem to me to be significantly under exploited forces for peace making. In conflict ridden areas women are often disproportionately affected by hostilities and thus largely seen to be primary victims of war.

Womens human rights need to be recognised universally before progress can be made in reducing poverty and achieving economic justice and sustainable development. emphasised Eun Kung Park (Korea), Vice President of the World YWCA, as she put in perspective what women can do in relation to promoting sustainable development both at a grassroots and at global level. We need a gender balance at the institutional level. Women need to be prepared to participate, to get involved, and to educate, and play a key role at the local, national, regional and global levels in promoting sustainable development in societies. We must not let poverty and globalisation continue to marginalise and victimise women.

The incorporation of womens perspectives and lives into human rights standards and practice forces recognitions of the dismal failure of countries to accord women the human dignity and respect they deserve - simply as human beings. The activist Charlotte Bunch (USA), founder and Director of the Centre for Womens Global Leadership, stressed the importance of a human rights framework when working to improve the status of women. Using a human rights framework equips women to define, analyse and articulate their experiences of injustice and marginality. It provides a common framework for developing concrete strategies for change.

The sharing of information and experiences is important for a womens global network but information can also be a double-edged sword. Afia Nathaniel (Pakistan), independent filmmaker, cautioned the role of the media in their use of information as a weapon in influencing the world agenda. The biggest weapon of mass destruction is still undeclared and unrecognised. It is not a weapon forged out of nuclear matter but it is one forged in the mass media, namely information.

Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka, Minister for Energy and Minerals in South Africa stretched the thinking of the YWCA by insisting that partnerships with industry, corporations and governments are needed if YWCA women want to achieve the change they wish to see in their communities. Christine Grumm (USA), executive director of the Womens Funding Network, furthered this agenda as she shared her experience of funding with the YWCA movement. Women as social change agents must be fundraisers with big and bold

visions

The International Womens Summit was an opportunity for women from different situations to hear each other, evaluate the progress women are making and adapt strategies to move forward and address barriers that affect progress. It was a time of celebration and joy as more than 1000 women met together and expressed the hope within us and motivates us to be leaders of change. Musimbi Kanyoro, General Secretary of the World YWCA, in her concluding comments of the Summit.

World YWCA