WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

WIDE is a European feminist network of women´s organisations, development NGOs, gender specialists and women´s rights activists. WIDE monitors and influences international economic and development policy and practice from a feminist perspective.

_____________________________________________________________

http://www.wide-network.org/index.jsp?id=380

WIDE Annual Conference 2008

WIDE Annual Conference 2008 ´Feminist Visions for a Just Europe´, 09-11 October, The Hague, The Netherlands

On 09 to 11 October 2008, the WIDE Annual Conference entitled ´Feminist Visions for a Just Europe´ will take place in The Hague in the Netherlands. This year´s conference will be hosted by WO=MEN, the Dutch Gender Platform, and is expected to convene at least 200 delegates representing the unique triangle of women living and working in the ´West, East and South´. Its general aim is to examine Europe´s role (and responsibilities) in the world, viewed through the lens of women´s rights and gender justice.

´Feminist Visions for a Just Europe´ is a visionary, reflexive and strategic conference that is testament to the dynamism of feminisms of today and our ever-evolving and increasingly interconnected contexts. It is designed to have a strong political agenda that builds on previous WIDE Annual Conferences, which aim to:

• articulate a collective, interdisciplinary and cross-border vision for social change and gender justice for today;
• challenge the ´givens´ and ´discourse´ of WIDE and its delegates in a forward-thinking process for change; and
• generate a conference manifesto that will offer insights for social change and gender justice to various mainstream and alternative political spaces.

´Feminist Visions for a Just Europe´is a three-day conference designed to usher in a logical build-up in this collective feminist exercise to foresee justice. Each day is structured to meet concrete goals:

• Day 1: Feminisms in Europe Today Reflections
• Day 2: Europe´s Role in the World through the Lens of Women´s Rights and Gender Justice Challenges and Opportunities
• Day 3: Building a Feminist Future through a Just Europe Strategies and Alliances

About the theme

The European Union (EU) is a major donor of overseas development aid (ODA), a potential peacekeeping force and a proponent of decent work and positive conditionalities while at the same time a competitor in the global market. As a major ODA donor, the EU has striven to lead the way with its OECD-driven aid effectiveness agenda (the Paris Declaration) in competition with India and China in Africa. In addition, it has considerable power as a peacekeeping and military force a new role for the EU laid out in the Treaty of Lisbon. The different roles Europe plays in the world are divergent and, at times, incompatible.

Set against the backdrop of the current shifts in neoliberal economic globalisation, the questioning of US unilateralism and the new opportunities offered by the new global players such as India, Brazil and China, this year´s WIDE Annual Conference will specifically examine the following:

• Impacts of EU policies on women in Europe, its neighbouring countries and the global South, focusing on: a) development policy (aid effectiveness, Financing for Development); b) trade; c) migration; d) peacekeeping; and e) responses to decent work policy and debate;
• Changes related to the new EU treaty, including a discussion on lack of participation, democracy and citizen´s involvement in decision-making;
• Debates about ongoing Eurocentrism and post-colonialism, with critical reflection on conditionalities, the neoliberal trade regime and asymmetrical development;
• Ways to build new political spaces to reflect on alternative visions for Europe, including the role feminists want Europe to play in the world and how feminists are participating (and can participate); and
• Networking and alliance-building opportunities for feminists/women´s groups with other social movements, development NGOs, trade unions and parliamentarians working for a just Europe.

Further information and contact

For further enquiries and indications of interest (or confirmation) in participating in the WIDE Annual Conference 2008, please write to:

WIDE Annual Conference 2008, WO=MEN, Dutch Gender Platform, Email: wideconference2008@wo-men.nl