Bringing Beijing Back

At the opening session, addresses were given by the CAFRA National Representative of Curaçao, Jacqueline Martis, CAFRA’s Chairperson, Dr. Rhoda Reddock, Carmen de la Cruz of Women in Development Europe (WIDE) and Dr. A. Van Niekerk, Head of the European Union Delegation in the Netherlands Antilles.

Regional NGO networks and UN agencies shared information on some of the work they had done in the post-Beijing period. Activities centred on the following issues:

• Women’s reproductive health
• Violence
• Power-sharing and decision making
• Poverty eradication
• Gender training
• The girl child
• Disaster preparedness
• The Environment
• Resources
• Collaboration with other NGOs and governments
• Geo-political framework
• Advocacy and lobbying.

The Conference also discussed the volcanic eruption in Montserrat and passed a resolution on the situation, to be used for public education, and as a lobbying tool at government ministerial meetings.

The Caribbean NGO strategies for successfully bringing the gains of the Fourth World Conference on Women to communities, focussed on advocacy, new mechanisms/structures, the geo-political situation of the Caribbean and resources.

The following strategic proposals were made:

• Setting up of a Caribbean Women’s Fund
• WIDE support for networking
• Caribbean meeting on the Lomé Agreement and macroeconomic polices
• Training in fundraising, lobbying skills
• Institutional support and institutional strengthening
• E-mail communication in each office regionally, with appropriate training
• Establishment of a small national secretariat in each territory
• A lobby office in each national parliament
• A communication packet in English, French and Spanish
• Dialogue between the regional women’s networks, CAFRA and CARIWA
• Caribbean and Latin American women’s dialogue and exchange.

The Conference, which was held at the Holiday Beach Hotel, Curaçao, was attended by 40 delegates from 20 countries in the Dutch, English, French and Spanish-speaking Caribbean.

The conference was sponsored by WIDE as part of the European Union’s support to Women and Development Issues and was organised by CAFRA.