EWL Seminar: “Women- religions – Europe: exploring an intriguing relationship”

N°5 - 2007
EWL Newsflash
May 2007

Editorial
EWL Seminar: “Women- religions – Europe: exploring an intriguing relationship”

On 18th June, the European Women’s Lobby and the Deutscher Frauenrat (National Council of German Women’s Organisations, German coordination for EWL) organised a seminar on women and religions in Potsdam, gathering theologians, experts in the area and women activists. Taking place before the EWL Board meeting, the aim of the seminar was to have a dialogue about the role of religions in Europe and in particular, their influence on women’s rights and life.

Brunhilde Raiser, President of the Deutscher Frauenrat, opened the seminar by linking the issue of religion with current developments taking place in Germany in relation to the integration of migrants, the debate around late abortion and the issue of childcare. Basing their presentation on the position adopted by EWL in 2006 on religion and women’s rights, Kirsti Kolthoff, EWL President, and Annette Lawson, former EWL Vice-President, insisted on the need to “Prohibit and punish practices for which justification is claimed on religious grounds and which damage a woman’s physical integrity and basic human rights, whether this practice takes place within the borders of the EU or in third countries.” Professor Christina von Braun made a very interesting presentation focusing on history of religions and the “Symbolic gender order” in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim religions.

The presentations were followed by participatory sessions on “Religions, fundamentalism and women” and on “Religions and stereotypes”. More information will be available soon on the EWL webpage. Link to the EWL position paper Religion and Women’s Human Rights.



Table of Contents

EWL News
EWL Representation
EWL Civil Society Representation
European & International News in Brief
News from the European Parliament
Update on Violence against Women and Women’s Human Rights
Events
Publications - Web Sites
Funding, Training, Call for Papers


EWL News

EWL Open Letter to President Barroso - On the occasion of the International Day on Families on May 15th 2007, EWL addressed the President of the European Commission in an Open Letter, highlighting issues regarding the European Union’s strategy and commitments in relation to care services for children and people with additional support needs. EWL stressed that families in Europe are of many different kind and that the “breadwinner” model based on nuclear families, on which social protection systems and social policies are often based in Europe doesn’t bring appropriate answers to the daily life of women and men in Europe. Concrete measures to improve the situation in relation to care services and to reconciliation of private and working life are urgently needed. EWL very much hopes that that European Commission will take the lead in tackling these issues in a way that will contribute to achieving equality between women and men and strengthening the European social model. Read the Open Letter

Joint NGO press release for International Day of Families - Ahead of the International Day of Families on 15 May 2007, four social NGOs – EWL, ILGA-Europe, AGE and ENAR - issued a press release reminding the EU that any definition of families should reflect the diversity of families which exist in European societies. Increasingly, the traditional concept of family is challenged by the evolution of society. The number of teenage pregnancies, single-parent families and families based on same-sex unions is on the rise in the EU. A failure to acknowledge their existence, and respond to the particular challenges they face in policy and legislation amounts to discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, age, nationality, religion, disability and sexual orientation. It was also an occasion to remind the EU of the need to implement the principle of family reunification and freedom of movement of families within the EU without discrimination. Read the press release

EWL Statement against homo- and lesbophobia: On the International day against Homophobia 2007 (17 May), EWL issued a strong statement calling on political leaders in all EU countries to take proactive measures to combat homophobia, which persist in all countries of the EU. EWL also highlighted that it is the responsibility of political leaders to take action against hate speeches, in particular when these are expressed by their peers. Some of the measures proposed to strengthen the right and respect for LGBT persons are: supporting the organisation of pride-marches and pro-choice demonstrations; developing initiatives for campaigns in schools and work places against homophobia and promoting sexual rights and choice; and promoting legislation at Member State levels to ensure the rights of LGBT persons to marriage and adoption. Read the full statement here.

EWL Annual Report 2006 “Fifty Year of the European Union: Fifty Fifty for Women and men?” – EWL published its Annual Report for 2006 in English, French and German. The report highlights the main activities carried on in 2006 in areas ranging from gender equality policies, issues of care and reconciliation of private and working life, EU immigration and asylum policies as well as violence against women and trafficking. A separate historical section of the report looks at the achievements of the EU in the area of equality between women and men since 1957 and at the history and activities of the European Women’s since its creation in 1990. Order the report from [email protected] or download it here

EWL Executive and Board meeting in Potsdam – The EWL Executive and Board meeting met in Potsdam (Germany) on 17-20 May 2007. The 32 EWL Board members representing 24 national co ordinations and 8 European-wide women’s organisations discussed EWL projects and activities and participated in working groups looking at different issues, such as the visibility of women’s rights, the links between the work at European and at national level and women’s diversity within the organisations. All Board members also participated in the seminar “Women- religions – Europe: exploring an intriguing relationship” which took place prior to the Board (see editorial).
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EWL Representation

• Myriam Fuentes, member of the EWL Italian co-ordination, attended a conference “Equal opportunities for all: what role for positive action?”, organised by the European Commission in cooperation with the Italian Department for Rights and Equal Opportunities in Rome on 23-24 April 2007.
• Brigitte Triems, member of the Executive committee, attended as a speaker a European conference to support a European Network for Women with Disabilities in Berlin from 2-4 May 2007.
• Brigitte Triems, member of the Executive committee, participated in a meeting with NGOs organised by Ms von der Leyen, German Minister for Equality and Family, in Bad Pyrmont on 16 May 2007.
• Christa Poelzlbauer, President of the ضsterreischischer Frauenring, attended on behalf of the EWL, a conference on the 6th Alliance against Trafficking in Persons “National Monitoring and Report Mechanism to address THB: the role of national rapporteurs”, organised by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vienna on 21 May 2007.
• Cécile Gréboval, acting EWL secretary general, attended a European conference on the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All 2007, organised by the National Women’s Council of Ireland in Dublin on 30 May 2007.

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EWL Civil Society Representation

Platform of European Social NGOs – EWL is member of the Platform of European social NGOs.
• Clarisse Delorme attended the Platform Working Group on Fundamental Rights and anti-discrimination on the 15th of May. Issues addressed during the meeting included the Year 2007 on Equal opportunities, the contribution of the civil society to the European Fundamental Rights Agency, the EU anti-discrimination legislation.
• Clarisse Delorme represented EWL at the Platform Steering Group on the 21st of May. The Steering Committee adopted its common position on services of general interest and discussed a Platform strategy around the Constitutional debate in view of the June Summit.

More information on the Platform: Social Platform

Multiple Discrimination Group - The objective of the working group, formed in May 2006, is to promote effective responses to multiple discrimination at both European and national levels. The group includes European anti-discrimination networks of NGOs.

EU Civil Society Contact Group – EWL is member of the EU Civil Society Contact Group that brings together seven large rights and value based NGO sectors - environment, social, development, women, culture, human rights and public health. More information: Act 4 Europe
• The Civil Society Contact Group published a briefing on the follow-up of the Commission’s green paper ‘European Transparency Initiative .
• Download the May bulletin of the Civil Society Contact Group, which includes the latest developments on the renegotiation of the constitutional Treaty for Europe and information on the European transparency Initiative.

EESC Liaison Group with Organized Civil Society – EWL is member of the NGO Liaison group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). More information: NGO Liaison

EWL is member of the Migration and Asylum sub-groups initiated by the UNHCR to discuss and exchange information on the development of immigration policies and legislations at European level.

EWL is member of the Coalition for Media Freedom and Integrity - In order to strengthen the liberty, quality, variety and integrity of mass media and journalism in Europe, a coalition of concerned professional media organisations and civil society groups call on lawmakers, public authorities, media owners, media professionals organisations, civil society groups and all other interested parties to act urgently to achieve these goals.

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European & International News in Brief

Informal meeting of European ministers for Equality and family affairs 18/05/2007 – During the two-day meeting organised during Germany s EU council presidency in Bad Pyrmont (Germany), participants discussed how equality and family policies can be combined to improve equality of opportunity and social cohesion in Europe. 38 delegations debated four main issues at the two-day meeting: Changing role models and the associated new challenges for men in particular; Strategic alliances with the business community to improve the ability to balance a family and a career and promote equality of opportunity for women and men; Support for women and active fathers in management positions; Support models for migrant women and children - At the occasion of the informal meeting, the EWL sent a message to the Ministers, welcoming the fact that the issues raised by the EWL “Who Cares?” campaign have become central for the European political agenda. EWL stressed that one of the key issues for the achievement of equality between women and men and to face the current demographic challenge in Europe is the organisation and financial support of appropriate care for children and people with additional support needs and called upon the Ministers to account for their actions in support of EWL’s Care petition
Commission welcomes new Declaration on Equality between women and men, 5-05-2007 - Commenting at the informal meeting of ministers for gender equality and family affairs, Vladimيr ٹpidla, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities welcomed the discussions saying "If Europe is to meet its economic, social and demographic challenges, equality between women and men has to be the starting point. Recent success in the EU s labour market performance is largely thanks to more women joining the workforce. We are seeing that, in countries where women participate actively in all aspects of economic, social and political life, well established work-home reconciliation policies are the norm - these are also the countries where women and men have, on average, more children". Following the first session of the two-day meeting, Commissioner ٹpidla added, "The Commission especially welcomes the Team Presidency declaration from Germany, Portugal and Slovenia, on equality. It sets out a concrete work programme for the next 18 months based on Member States commitments to the 2005 Gender Equality Pact and will contribute to the European Commission s Roadmap for Equality between men and women".
The Commission adopts a communication on "Promoting solidarity between the generations" - The Communication, which aims to help Member States meet the demographic challenge, examines how Europeans can achieve a better work-life balance. It also looks at how best to support families so they can have the number of children they desire – very low birth rates are a concern in many Member States and studies continue to show that Europeans would like to have more children. Download the Communication
EU adopts common criminal provisions against racism and xenophobia, 24/04/2007 - The Council of EU Justice Ministers in Brussels achieved a political agreement on a Framework Decision on combating racism and xenophobia. This allowed the negotiations at the European level, underway since 2001, to be successfully concluded under the German EU Presidency. For additional information on the framework decision please click here
New Commission proposal for a Directive on sanctions against employers of illegally staying third-country nationals - The European Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive on sanctions against employers providing illegal work on 16 May. Two Communications on the external dimension of migration were also published. "It is vital to acknowledge that the near certainty of finding illegal work in EU Member States is the main driving force behind illegal immigration from third countries. Not only is this illegal employment unlawful, it is also harmful", stated Vice-President Frattini, EU Commissioner responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security: Read Commission press release – In view of the forthcoming Commission proposal, Solidar, the ETUC (European Trade Union Confederation) and PICUM (Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants) had adopted a joint position joint position on sanctions against employers of illegally resident third-country nationals, that is supported by several organisations, including EWL.

European employers and trade unions commit to tackle violence and harassment at work - On 26th April the European Commission and social partners (ETUC, BUSINESSEUROPE, CEEP and UEAPME) signed a framework agreement on harassment and violence at work. The agreement aims to prevent and manage problems of bullying, sexual harassment and physical violence at the workplace. It requires companies to operate a zero tolerance policy, and to have procedures in place to deal with any cases, providing suitable protection to victims. Employers and trade unions in the member states have until April 2010 to implement the framework agreement. For more information please click here

ETUC calls on EU Member States not to throw out crucial elements of the European Constitution, 18/05/2007 - The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) reminds EU leaders of the potentially dangerous consequences of abandoning parts of the draft Constitution that matter most to citizens. The ETUC reiterates its support for the Constitution as already ratified by 18 EU Member States, and emphasises that any new proposal must be a step forward for Social Europe as well. Above all, the ETUC opposes removing or weakening Part 2 of the Constitution, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which represents the most significant advance for European citizens and must be made legally binding at the earliest opportunity – More information
UNHCR recommendations on the integration of refugees in the EU - On the occasion of an informal meeting of European Union ministers responsible for integration on 10-11 May, UNHCR published a Note containing a number of recommendations on how to help integrate refugees in the European Union. UNHCR recently conducted a series of assessments in several EU countries to identify the main obstacles to the integration of refugees and other people in need of international protection. Read the recommendations

A new forum called Muslim Women for Human Rights and Democracy was established on the 8th of May in Oslo by a group of the world’s most influential women. Former Pakistani Prime Minister and Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto together with Mrs Hoda Badran, Egypt will lead the forum, which has the vision to empower Muslim women in all nations and provide a new, global platform to support the values of peace and justice.

In recent parliamentary elections in Finland the number of women in parliament increased significantly from 75 to 84 among the 200 members. It makes 42 % and thus Finland is the third country after Rwanda and Sweden in the statistics on the proportion of women in the parliaments of Inter Parliamentary Union. The composition of the new Cabinet of twenty members is 12 women and 8 men, which makes 60 % of women. This implies that Finland has the cabinet of the highest proportion of women in the whole world.


Petition of the European Disability Forum for the rights of disabled women and men - 50 million disabled women and men have the ambition to become equal citizens. TAKE A STEP, MAKE A CHANGE One minute of your time can change the lives of 50 million disabled women and men SIGN NOW to reach 1 000 000 signatures: link to the petition

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News from the European Parliament

Daphne III set to combat violence against children, young people and women - On the 22nd of May, the European Parliament adopted at the second reading Daphne III, the EU s specific programme to prevent and combat violence against children, young people and women. The third phase of Daphne covers the period 2007-2013 and has a budget of €116.85m. The programme is open to administrations, local municipalities, NGOs, research centres and other related bodies from all the Member States, candidate countries, EFTA states and the countries of the Western Balkans. Daphne III is the third phase of Daphne and will build on the policies and objectives laid down in the Daphne I (2000-2003; €20m.) and Daphne II (2004-2007; €50m.) programmes. The decision enters into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal - More information

European Parliament report on women with disabilities – 27/04/07, By adopting an own-initiative report on the situation of women with disabilities in the European Union, the European Parliament calls on the Commission and Member States to "ensure the removal of existing barriers and obstacles, including architectural barriers, with a view to creating equal rights and opportunities for women and girls with disabilities to play a part in family, political, cultural, social and professional life". MEPs stressed that it is important to actively combat segregation of people with disabilities from childhood onwards. The Commission and Member States are asked to promote pilot schemes and tried and tested procedures for integrative establishments from kindergarten, school and training to professional life. Read more

EP annual report 2006 on Human rights in the World – On the 26th of April, the European Parliament adopted its annual report on human rights in the world. The situation in Darfur, China and Russia receive special attention in the 2006 report - More information

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Update on Violence against Women and Women’s Human Rights

Violence Against Women: A Briefing Document on International Issues and Responses, Kelly, L. Lovett, J. & Regan L, British Council, 2007 - An updated and revised version of the original British Council Briefing Document published in 1999. This revised document is an introduction to definitions, scale and impact of violence against women, relationship with development and exploration of responses. Download the report

Report on the International Symposium on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Beyond, Brussels 21-23 June 2006 - The objectives of the symposium were to raise awareness among policy makers and opinion leaders about the scale and impact of sexual violence against women and girls in conflict situations, share knowledge and experience on effective responses to such violence, mobilize political and financial support for prevention and response programs and initiate and support development of national action plans for ending sexual violence in conflict and post conflict settings. Topics included: National Action Plans for addressing conflict-related sexual violence and recovery, strategies for prevention protection and prevention, the rule of law and the end of impunity, different ways to meet the health and psychological needs of survivors, data collection, protection and the security sector and joint action for prevention of, and response to, sexual violence in conflict situations and beyond. For an electronic version of this report, please click here or write to [email protected]

Let’s End Violence against Women - London based advertising agency Leo Burnett has produced a public service announcement for UNIFEM, with a striking series of images. The announcement reveals that violence against women is one of the most common forms of violence in the world. More information

Women s Coalition Demands G-8 Action on Violence Against Women
The 2007 G8 Summit is scheduled for June 6-8, in Germany, the country holding the current presidency of the G8. The Women Won t Wait campaign calls on the G-8 to go beyond rhetoric and to commit substantial resources to efforts aimed at responding to, addressing, and eventually ending violence against women and girls, as an epidemic in and of itself and as a major driver in the HIV and AIDS epidemic. The following call to action is directed toward the G8 countries on the eve of the Heiligendamm Summit. Women Won t Wait to the G8

Women’s Initiative for Gender Justice - Eye on the ICC provides up-to-date information on the substantive work of the ICC, its investigations and prosecutions, trials, participation of victims/survivors and judicial decisions in ensuring the prosecution of gender based crimes, access to justice for women in conflict situations and reparations for women victims/survivors of war and armed conflicts. More information about the work of the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice: http://www.iccwomen.org.

Third Regional Seminar on Data Collection as a Prerequisite for Effective Policies to Combat Violence Against Women - This Regional Seminar is the third event organized by the Council of Europe (CoE) under its 2007 Campaign to Combat (Domestic) Violence Against Women. The Seminar will be held on 5 July 2007, Lisbon, Portugal.
More information


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Events

On 27-28 April 2007, the European Platform of Women Scientists held its first General Assembly in Brussels. Following an extensive one-year membership outreach, EPWS now counts 107 members - networks of women scientists and networks promoting women scientists, individuals and supporting organisations - together representing more than 8000 scientists. This event represented both the first annual internal meeting for decision-making on future strategies and work programme and the last stage in the Platform s becoming a membership-based association. Visit EPWS website
Call for applications for the second Women’s Human Rights Training Institute (WHRTI), 2007-2009, organized by the Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation (BGRF), the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) and the Network of East-West Women (NEWW) - The goal of the Institute is to strengthen the ability of lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic states and the Caucasus to litigate cases concerning women’s human rights, particularly, violence against women, sexual and reproductive health and rights and employment discrimination, at the national, regional and international levels through the development of feminist legal analysis and litigation skills, cross-border cooperation, and networking. Deadline: 30 June 2007 – Contact person: Genoveva Tisheva, Director, Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation, [email protected] and [email protected]; tel./fax: +359 2 963 53 57
WIDE Annual Conference 2007: New aid, expanding trade: What do women have to say? - Registration is now open for the WIDE Annual Conference to be held from
14 to 17 June 2007, Madrid, Spain. For further information please contact Louisa Antolin at e-mail: [email protected]. Download the registration form

This years Global Summit of Women will take place in Berlin, Germany, 14-16 of June. For 17 years the Summit has brought together businesswomen, professionals and government leaders from all over the world with the objective to advance women’s economic opportunities. The meeting will focus on the business opportunities that the 21st century global market place offers and the challenges that women face as workers and entrepreneurs. More information

European Feminist Forum (EFF) is a forum to discuss and formulate a collective feminist agenda. The European Feminist Forum process will initially take place through online work on different topics - Feminist movement strategies, EU, Migration, Violence, peace and security, LGBT rights, Labour market, etc. - and conclude with a conference in Poland, on 13-15 June 2008. In order to learn more, and in order to participate in the preparatory dialogues: http://europeanfeministforum.org

Women s Leadership Making a Difference on HIV and AIDS - This International Women’s Summit (IWS) is being convened by the World YWCA in partnership with the International Community of Women Living with HIV and AIDS (ICW) and other international organizations. The Summit will take place on 4-7 July 2007, Nairobi, Kenya, in conjunction with the World Council meeting. For more information on this event and to download the Programme Brochure, IWs flyer and Registration Information please click here

Fifth European Conference on Gender Equality in Higher Education in Berlin, Germany, at Humboldt-University, August 28-31, 2007. The conference will be organized along four main tracks: A) Excellence, Research Policy and Gender Bias, B) Disciplinary Perspectives, C) Gender Equality Programmes, D) Bologna-Process. Click here for more info and registration

Women Deliver, global conference, October 18-20 at the ExCel Centre, London. Its’ purpose is to save the lives of women, mothers and newborns by mobilizing increased investment and commitment on the part of governments, NGO’s and donors. Key themes are girls’ education, sexual and reproductive health and rights, maternal health, violence against women, HIV/AIDS and women’s economic empowerment. Register now

The Women s Fund for Peace and Human Rights - This Award focuses on the global promotion of women s human rights and peace. The Yayori Award calls upon women activists, journalists, and artists (individuals or groups) who work at the grassroots level with socially marginalized peoples in order to create a 21st century free from war and discrimination against women. The deadline for Nominations is 30 June 2007. More information

The World March of Women (WMW) is organizing a European coordinating meeting July 6-8th in Toulouse, in view of participating in the European Social Forum (ESF). Please send registration forms to: [email protected] Main website of the ESF: http://www.fse-esf.org

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Publications - Web Sites

Roma Rights Newsletter: Romani Women’s Rights Movement - The latest April issue of Roma Rights looks at the responses of Romani women to some of the human rights violations Romani women face. The Romani women’s movement has evolved organically through the wider pursuit of Roma rights by Romani women and men over the years in response to the initial (and mostly continuing) lack of attention to women’s issues on the part of the predominantly male "leaders"; some of whom viewed patriarchal traditions as integral components of Romani identity and culture. This issue provides a few examples of current Romani women’s actions and reflections. Read more

Sexuality Education in Europe - 26 European countries are included in this new guide on sexuality. Financed by the European Commission, the guide aims to assist policymakers to develop better policies and practices related to sexual education and in addition help the EU member states to exchange information and practices on the subject. To view the reference guide, please visit: http://www.euro.who.int/Document/RHP/SexEd_in_Europe.pdf

The European Magazine on Sexual and Reproductive Health ENTRE NOUS is in 2007 celebrating its 25th anniversary. The publication issues publications three times a year focusing on sexual and reproductive health in relation to policies, practices or barriers set by the international community. The current issue is covering the topic of cervical cancer and its prevention. More information

A free guide to European reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and population assistance is now available online at http://www.euroresources.org The guide provides current, consolidated and easy-to-use information on European NGO support for programmes and services of all types in developing countries. It includes 67 funding streams from 27 EU Member States plus the European Commission.

European Commission publishes non-discrimination mainstreaming study - The Centre for Strategy and Evaluation Services, on behalf of the European Commission, has produced a new study: ‘Non-discrimination mainstreaming - instruments, case studies and ways forward’. The report defines ‘non-discrimination mainstreaming’ as putting equality concerns into all public policies, legislation and programmes. This means equality must be considered at all stages of decision-making. The publication reviews the case for equality mainstreaming and the factors critical to its success. It also highlights a wide range of approaches and case studies at both European and national levels. Download the study

European Commission thematic brochure on positive action - The brochure ‘Putting Equality into Practice: What role positive action?’, highlights the lack of consensus on what ‘positive action’ and similar terms relate to and the European Communities law provisions and practice. It also gives some perspectives from the use of positive action measures in an employment context and considers the scope of positive action in some sectors outside employment, in education, healthcare and politics. Read more

Second edition of the Commission Handbook on Integration - The second edition of the Handbook on Integration was announced by the European Commission ahead of the Informal Meeting of EU Ministers Responsible for Integration held in Potsdam on 10 and 11 May 2007. The second edition of the Handbook focuses on mainstreaming, housing in an urban environment, economic integration and integration governance. Read more

European Platform on Migrant Workers’ Rights (EPMWR) - The European Platform launched its first set of Shadow Reports on the Rights of Migrant Workers in EU Member States and published the results from a mapping exercise it undertook on positions of civil society actors, government agencies and policy makers in EU Member States: Shadow Reports and Mapping Exercise.

Report of the ENAR policy seminar on ‘Realising integration’ - The purpose of the seminar was to explore the intersections between the racism, anti discrimination, social inclusion and integration agendas from the perspective of migration, recognising that these concepts are intrinsically linked. Read more

Bulletin of the Fundamental Rights Agency – Download the issue n°2 of May 2007 Here

New Awid report: Achieving Women s Economic and Social Rights: Strategies and Lessons from Experience. This report synthesizes and analyzes some important examples and lessons that resulted from an investigative process carried out by AWID in 2005 concerning the useful strategies and the challenges encountered in improving social rights for women and the effectiveness of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) framework. Print copies available soon on request, please e-mail [email protected] Download the report

Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers. This Handbook published by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) examines the obstacles women face in getting into parliament, and proposes how such barriers can be overcome and ways in which they can make a greater impact once they enter parliament. Quotas and electoral systems are examined as well as case studies from Costa Rica, Egypt, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Norway, Russia and South Africa. More information

"femLINKPACIFIC: Media Initiatives for Women" launched its new website, developed as a key component of its Regional Media Project for the promotion of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. The project connects women s peace building and media initiatives in the pacific with the rest of the world via Internet and seeks to strengthen links with other women s media initiatives and advocates of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. More information

Global Monitoring Report 2007 “Millennium Development Goals” published by the World Bank assesses the contributions of developing countries, donor nations, and the international financial institutions as they work toward meeting their commitments made in the Millennium Development goals. To access the Report

ILO report on the state of discrimination in the world of work - The International Labour Organisation (ILO) issued on 10 May a major new report on the state of discrimination in the world of work. The report examines the status of "traditional" (gender, age, race and social origin) and "new" (unfair treatment in hiring of younger and older workers, people with disabilities, those living with HIV/AIDS, on the basis of sexual orientation, and others) forms of discrimination and analyses progress in combating them at the national and global levels. More information
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Funding, Training, Call for Papers, Jobs

EC, Call for proposals on the Follow-up and dissemination activities to the Mutual Learning Programme of the European Employment Strategy (EES) - The objective should be to build on, and complement European-wide mutual learning activities which aim to develop partnerships or networks; encourage mutual learning; promote a wider and more effective dissemination of knowledge about the EES. The closing date for applications is 29 June 2007. Read more

EC, call for proposals on Projects contributing to the evaluation of the European Employment Strategy. The objective of the call for proposal is to promote the evaluation practice of employment policies adopted in the framework of the European Employment Strategy. The closing date for applications is 29 June 2007. Read more
EC Open Call for Tenders VT/2007/035, Activities promoting and developing the Business case for diversity – This call concerns activities promoting and developing the business case for diversity. Tasks will include fresh surveys on diversity management strategies in companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises, and reporting on the place of innovation and creativity in the business case for diversity. The deadline is 26/06/2007 – Information: Call VT/2007/035
EC call for proposal regarding social inclusion of Roma - European Commission launched a call for proposal under the CARDS regional programme for activities supporting the social inclusion of Roma and marginalized groups. The deadline for the submission of concept notes is 15 June 2007. Projects must take place at least in three of the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia including Kosovo. Documents: Logical Framework; Concept Note Form; Grant Application Form;

OSI Call for proposals for Roma Initiatives Fellowship - The Open Society Institute invites proposals from Roma activists to support work on questions of social policy, human rights protection, employment policy, culture, education, health policy, and other topics important for the inclusion of Roma in society. Fellows’ projects and initiatives should also contribute to advancing the goals of the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005–2015. Read more

The Nordic Baltic Network for Gender Responsive Budgeting will hold an international conference on Gender responsive Budgeting and Social Justice, 10 and 11 January 2008, Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius, Lithuania. Abstracts of papers on issues of Gender Responsive Budgeting and Social Justice should be sent to [email protected] before 15 October 2007. For further information on the conference click here.

Scholars working on gender and socialism in Central and Eastern Europe are invited to submit a 500 word abstract for an essay for a collected volume examining post-89 approaches to the study, research and analysis of women’s lives and issues of gender under state socialism. Submissions on a diversity of topics are welcomed. Please email abstract and CV by June 15th to Jill Massino [email protected] or Shana Penn [email protected] or fax to: 510 965 0097

The Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) is organizing a workshop from 22 October to 16 November 2007 in Washington, D.C. The workshop is part of the activities carried out by WomenLead, CEDPA s flagship programme, aiming at enhancing leadership abilities, technical expertise and program management skills of women to effectively participate in and shape peace processes and post-conflict reconstruction. Application deadline is May 30, 2006. For more information, please visit: http://www.cedpa.org/section/training/womenlead

The International Conference on Labouring Feminism and Feminist Working-Class History in Europe and Beyond will take place on 28-31 August 2008 in Stockholm. The focus of the conference will be labour and gender from a historical perspective. Deadline for proposals is on 15 June 2007. For more information please visit: http://www.arbark.se/labfem2/ or email [email protected]

The Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies invites graduate students to submit research papers for consideration as the JMEWS bi-annul best graduate student essay. The essays should be of a maximum of 7500 words and submitted no later than June 30th 2007 to Diane James at [email protected]For further information please visit http://inscribe.iupress.org/loi/mew

Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice in San Diego, is currently accepting applications for its Women PeaceMakers Program. The Women PeaceMakers Program is a program for leaders from conflict-affected countries who are seeking ways to have a greater impact on peacemaking efforts in their society. Four Women PeaceMakers are annually selected to spend two months at the institute where their peacemaking stories are documented through film and writing. Deadline for applications is June first. For further information, please visit http://peace.sandiego.edu

Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality, Vilnius (Lithuania) – The deadline for receipts applications is the 5th of June 2007. Full vacancy notice and application form are available on the Commission s website

Solidar, an international network of social and economic justice NGOs linked to the trade union and labour movement, is looking for a Social Policy Coordinator - The process of selection is based on completion of the application form to be downloaded at http://www.solidar.org. . Deadline: 8th June 2007.
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