AIC - International Association of Charities
Seminar 2007:
“Female Poverty and Cultural Diversity”
1.
Timetable.
AIC Training Seminar in
Ø
March 5th and 6th,
2007 – Seminar for Participants from
Ø
March 8th to
March 15th 2007
– Seminar “Female Poverty and
Cultural Diversity”
2. Objectives of the
project
a) General objective
To explore
the possible links between cultural attitudes and female poverty and to consider
women’s fundamental rights regardless of culture.
The
following issues will be addressed:
- Cultural
influences – helping or hindering women’s development?
- Culture
based origins of female poverty – how do we tackle the problem?
b) Specific objectives
Ø The growing feminisation of poverty worldwide – as women, how aware are we of this phenomenon?
Ø
What are the
cultural causes of this reality?
- The impact of customs and traditions on the relationship between men and women, education of boys and girls, health issues – specifically the spread of AIDS among African women.
- Power imbalance between men and women,
- Changing moral attitudes.
Ø
Which
structures within the various cultures could help diminish women’s poverty?
- A sense of solidarity within families and communities.
- Women’s ability to transmit values and find solutions to adapt their culture to the survival and development of their families.
-
Women’s determination for
self-empowerment, and the
empowerment of the family and community
-
A multiple
identity leading to greater richness rather than the levelling of the
values;
Ø Human rights in the context of different cultures.
- Are human rights denied to the uneducated?
- Are institutions and society aware that a state of poverty means that human rights are being infringed? How do we promote political awareness?
3 Target group
Women suffering from
poverty in developing countries.
4. Who are
we trying to help?
-The 350
volunteers representing 52 AIC national associations participating in the
seminar.These participants are committed to passing on the benefits of their
project work and the training they received in their national and local
associations, where they will reach 250.000 members of AIC – volunteers working
in the social field in their own communities, 95 % of them women. Many of them
poor themselves they work in projects, networks, and community development. More
than half of the participants come from Africa, Asia, Latin America and
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Women, suffering from poverty, in 52 countries where our volunteers
work.
5 Teaching
methods
a) Theoretical approach
carried out by the
experts:
-
Approach to
female poverty from a gender perspective.
-
How do the
traditions and cultural institutions of a society influence the respective roles
of men and women?
-
Culture and progress – what is the link?
b)
Forums and workshops: making grass-root work more efficient –
how do we do it?
-
What do we mean
by culture and in what way is it spiritual?
- Human rights, who holds the power- man or woman? How do we educate women
- Training on grass root actions and building projects
- Communication; how do we communicate?
- Political action at different levels and in networks
-
The content of
the workshops is determined by the situation in which the grassroots
participants live and by the objectives of the seminar.
c)
Exchanges of experiences and good
practice
-
Presentation
of personal testimonies by women living in poverty;
-
Presentation
of good practice actions on the general theme;
-
Looking for
alternative suggestions for change.
d)
Stands
The participant’s cultural diversity will allow the creation of approximately ten informal meeting areas dedicated to the presentation of the cultural reality found at grass root level by the AIC volunteers. These areas are meant to facilitate the understanding of the situations in which deprived women live in various parts of the world.
6. Methodologies
6.1 How will the seminars work
?
Ø
There will be theoretical
presentations in plenary sessions alternating with group work, forums and
workshops. Time will be allocated for intercultural exchanges and
reflection.
Ø
Simultaneous translation:
French, English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.
Ø
The proceedings and
publications of the seminar will be published and translated in: French,
English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. The member associations commit
themselves to translating them into Malagasy, Vietnamese and
Polish.
6.2
Preliminary work – preparation of the
seminar
Ø
Preparatory
letters are sent to the national AIC
associations. These will help identify real life of examples of culturally
induced female poverty. Solutions may then be offered on how to overcome poverty
by promoting worthy cultural heritage and transforming harmful
traditions.
Ø
Organisation of
2 preparatory meetings (June and October 2006);
Ø
Visits to local AIC
groups to organise the seminar according to grass root
realities.
Ø
Publication of two
instructional booklets on “women’s poverty and its connection with
culture”;
Ø
Elaboration, analysis and
systematization of the answers to the preparatory
questionnaires;
Ø
Practical preparation for
the seminar and logistics.
This work requires
well-trained, paid staff (one person for one year) and financing of travel
expenses for a multinational volunteer coordination team.
7.
Evaluation
A questionnaire will be sent to the national AIC member associations after the seminar to evaluate its impact on the actions undertaken to fight female poverty. Based on the answers, an evaluation will be sent to all AIC members together with specific recommendations on putting into practice the recommendations of the seminar. The results will as well be published to reach other women’s organizations.
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