Programme Director Reilly Dempsey and President Elect Ann
Garvie attended the 12th AWID International Forum on Women’s Rights
& Development, held in Istanbul.  AWID is the Association For Women’s Rights in
Development, and Soroptimist International joined the association in 2011. 

AWID is an international, multi-generational,
feminist, creative, future-orientated membership organisation committed to
achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women’s human rights.  AWID members are researchers, academics,
students, educators, activists, business people, policy-makers, development
practitioners, funders, and more – of every age and profession – making AWID a
unique global feminist association of both women and men. 

AWID’s work is structured through multi-year
programs known as Strategic Initiatives. Each strategic initiative includes a
range of activities from membership consultations and surveys, primary research
and dialogues with policy makers (including targeted advocacy) to capacity building
institutes, regional networking and information dissemination.

This was the first AWID Forum officially attended by
Soroptimists, and will certainly not be the last. The Forum occurs every three years in
different locations around the world and with
2,200 women and men attending, it is a fantastic networking and learning opportunity. Although we may be gearing up for our Soroptimist Convention in Istanbul,
we’ll absolutely take the time to participate in the next AWID Forum in 2015. A full analytical report will be available for members in
the coming weeks, but here are just some of the highlights of the Forum for the
Soroptimist attendees.

On the first day, AWID ran a series of “Feminist
Economics Toolbox” Sessions, aimed at giving participants a defined set of
skills to use and rely on during the following three days of the Forum.  For example, Reilly attended a session
looking at this history, development, and deeply problematic issues with Gross
Domestic Product as a measurement of state development and growth.

 

The first evening, Reilly and Ann attended a
screening of one of the films in the Women, War, and Peace series by Abigail
Disney.  Called “I Came to Testify”, the
film is the moving story of how a group of 16 women who had been imprisoned by
Serb-led forces in the Bosnian town of Foca
broke history’s great silence – and stepped forward to take the witness stand
in an international court of law.  Their
remarkable courage resulted in a triumphant verdict that led to new
international laws about sexual violence in war.  Abigail Disney herself gave an introduction
and spoke on a panel discussion after the film.

 

On the second day, Reilly attended an incredibly
lively workshop looking at monitoring & evaluation from a feminist
perspective.  Watch out – your PFRs will
never be looked at the same again!  Ann attended many sessions on technology and
development, particularly the use of solar power in remote rural locations.

Throughout the first and second day, Reilly
attended a series of In-depth sessions, spread over six hours, exploring “Changing
World Geopolitics and Global Governance: Making Sense of the Trends, Actors and
their Implications for Women’s Rights.” Reilly and Ann attended many other sessions and
plenaries, many of which will inspire future Monthly Focuses, Where We Stand
statements, and much more.

There was an highly emotional exhibit of photos
of feminist activists who have passed away since the last forum – 30% have been
killed or murdered or disappeared because of their work.

Reilly
and Ann also took time to visit with the Turkish Soroptimists who are planning the 2015
SI Convention.  Ann even had a tour of
the convention centre we will call home from 9 – 12 July, 2015.  Ann and Reilly spent time with the Convention
Chair, Nilgun Ozler, and other Committee members Emine Erdem, Yasemin Ozes, and
Esra Disperati.  Not only did the group have some wonderful discussions and planning meetings for the 2015 Convention, but
they also had the pleasure of seeing the ‘heart’ of the Soroptimists in Istanbul, the Balat Cultural House.

 

International President Elect Ann, Convention Committee members Nilgun and Ermine

The House was completed restored by the local Soroptimists. It is now used as a café and exhibition space to
fund Soroptimist projects, house their offices and meeting rooms, and even has
classrooms for educational programmes for local Turkish women, including
literacy, sewing, handicrafts, and cooking.

Watch this space for more reports back from this amazing
trip to Istanbul!