March 7, 2011

WASHINGTON – Development, Security and Economic Justice: What's Gender Got to Do with It? That is the question raised in the theme for the ninth annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days conference (go to http://advocacydays.org/) Mar. 25 – 28, in Arlington, Va.

The answer, judging by the workshop lineup at the nation's largest annual gathering of faith-based activists is, "Just about everything."

This week, as people the world over commemorate International Women's Day (Mar. 8), with its theme of equal access for women, it is fitting that grassroots activists and experts from around the nation and the world will delve into issues ranging from women and poverty to women and the global economy and women and migration.

In homes and communities, in fields and marketplaces, along borders and in areas of conflict, violence, poverty, and other social evils disproportionately affect women and girls, preventing them from attaining their full potential and impacting the wholeness and vibrancy of the full community.

Ecumenical Advocacy Days, the nation's largest gathering of faith-based advocates, is co-sponsored by global humanitarian agency Church World Service (CWS) and the National Council of Churches (NCC), with broad ecumenical support. This year's conference plenaries and workshops (at http://advocacydays.org/tracks/) will focus on the vital issues of U.S. and global economic justice, safety and security, and sustainable development, with a particular focus on women, girls and families, The development philosophy of CWS underscores the importance of women and long has acknowledged and responded to inequalities and other challenges that serve to bar women from significant involvement in community development initiatives. "By investing in women, we invest in families and communities. Women should always have a role in development efforts leading to the provision and use of critical services like access to safe water, nutritious food, education or health care," said CWS executive director and CEO the Rev. John L. McCullough.

The agency's successes range from water projects in drought-prone regions of East Africa (at http://www.churchworldservice.org/site/News2?id=5740) that now have women serving as planners, implementers, and decision makers in communities where they historically have had no voices, to food cooperatives in Latin America and the Caribbean (at http://www.churchworldservice.org/site/News2?id=9147) where women – traditionally undervalued, undereducated, and underemployed – are both contributing to and benefitting from CWS-supported efforts to improve local food and nutrition security.

"Most of the more than one billion people in the world today living in extreme poverty are women and girls," says McCullough. "Their impoverishment is a product of inequality, circumscribed participation in decision making, and being deprived of economic opportunities, access to resources, education and support services."

Speakers and preachers confirmed so far include the Rev. John Nunes, president and CEO of Lutheran World Relief and Monique Nunes, administrator for the Baltimore Lutheran School, Towson, Md.; the Rev. Peg Chemberlin, president of National Council of Churches in Christ USA and executive director for the Minnesota Council of Churches; Daisy Machado, academic dean and professor of church history, Union Theological Seminary; Regina Oldak, senior counsel for the Women's Law Center; Ritu Sharma, co-founder and president of Women Thrive Worldwide; and Jack Jezreel, founder and executive director of JustFaith Ministries.

Ecumenical Advocacy Days aims to mobilize people of faith to make the case for equitable treatment of women to people with the power to enact policies and legislation on this and other important domestic and international policy issues.

The conference will conclude with a day of lobbying o n Capitol Hill, during which participants will meet with lawmakers and staff from their congressional districts to advocate around issues that will impact the lives of women for years to come.

Register now for "Development, Security and Economic Justice: What's Gender Got to Do with It?" at https://co.clickandpledge.com/advanced/default.aspx?wid=32582.

Church World Service|