Lilla: International Women's Network

F conference

lilla — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 01:00:54 +0000

On April 10th -11th 2010, Lilla went to the feminist conference, F at the NSW Teachers Federation. It was the first feminist conference in over 10 years, was open to all genders, and was an amazing opportunity for Lilla people to form connections, organise, participate and learn a whole lot!

The conference was structured around 4 panels: Indigenous Women’s Knowledge, Why is Feminism Relevant?, Power, and Feminist Futures. It also featured over 24 workshops and mini-panels on topics such as Introduction to People of Colour Politics, Veiling, a Women of Colour Story Sharing Workshop, Feminism in Indonesia: How Women Struggle in a Third World Country, and Female Genital Mutilation. Yes it was a packed, vibrant, and sometimes challenging weekend!

Aspects of the conference moved away from tackling oppressions on their own, i.e. sexism was inseparable from racism and colonialism, homophobia, ablism and transphobia. Moreover the following speakers also reinforced the importance of recognising the intersections of these oppressions.

Filmmaker Darlene Johnson and writer, lawyer and professor Larissa Behrendt spoke on the Indigenous Women’s Knowledge and Feminist Futures panels respectively and about different topics. What stood out from both women’s speeches were the importance of the Indigenous cultural values of listening, respect and reciprocity, and of cultures to Indigenous peoples. Larissa mentioned that while there is women’s and men’s business, neither is prioritised over the other in Indigenous cultures.
Larissa advised participants to educate themselves about the Northern Territory Intervention through reading the STICS website and searching for the relevant articles on Crikey.
Liliane Lukoki spoke about the situation for women in Congo.
Feminist blogger, Chally, talked about the importance of intersectionality for feminism and how it relates to the oppression of people with disabilities, and to sexism and other oppressions.
One of the most powerful series of moments came from Elena Jeffreys who spoke on the rights of sex workers within an environment of discrimination and sometimes criminalisation. The speech can be found here.
Writer and performer Candy Bowers from Sydney’s west spoke about how race, class and gender matter in the performance world, and with pride about Campbelltown.

While the bigger panels encouraged a sort of one way learning, the questions to the panelists and the open spaces workshops on a whole range of topics from ageing to veganism, enabled a more equal connection with other participants.

After an action packed conference weekend and from woman-ing a Lilla stall, our vision for Lilla was reinforced. Lilla will learn from amazing women’s groups, and we will facilitate myriad connections between these groups. A bit like F.

Lilla Network Launch and Exhibition

lilla — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:00:47 +0000

The Lilla network will be publicly launched with an exhibition of work by artists who came together for a workshop on International Women’s Day this year. It is an opportunity for anyone with a passion for social justice to hear women’s stories and bear witness to empowering ommunity action in Sydney and around the world.

Works will include photography, digital media, installation, performance, object, sculpture and spoken word. Aboriginal educator & wordsmith Lillian Holt and community artist & activist Paula Abood will be joining in the conversation. The Stiff Gins will be performing in the evening.

Join us for an open mic night on Wednesday 11th November.

Casa de Apoyo a la Mujer

lilla — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:42:24 +0000

Celine spent time at the Casa de Apoyo a al Mujer which translates as support house for women. The ‘Casa’ works mainly in 2 areas: health, which involves consultations by a doctor and sexual health promotion in communities; and support for women’s groups in communities such as micro-credit projects and a community garden.

Centre for Women’s Rights, Chiapas, Mexico (CDMCH)

lilla — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:11:11 +0000

Angela Lauman completed a 3 month internship El Centro de los Derechos de la Mujer, Chiapas, A.C (CDMCH)

http://www.ddhhmujerchiapas.org/

More on the Women of Comalpa, a communique she worked with

http://www.ddhhmujerchiapas.org/lavoz/index.html

Lilla Network announces English-language publication of Chiapas pro-women directory

martirejl — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:01:44 +0000

The Lilla: International Women’s Network is proud to announce the English-language publication of its directory of pro-women organisations operating in Chiapas, Mexico. Entitled The Struggles for Women’s Rights in Chiapas: A Directory of Social Organisations Supporting Chiapas Women, it is the translation of the original Spanish work, Las Luchas por los Derechos de las Mujeres en Chiapas: Un Directorio de Organizaciones Sociales que Trabajan a Favor de las Chiapanecas. The English publication brings an end to a 12-month project, and is introduced with a text by Mercedes Olivera B. of the Centre for Higher Studies of Mexico and Central America (Centro de Estudios Superiores de México y Centroamérica, CESMECA) and the Chiapas Centre for Women’s Rights (Centro de Derechos de la Mujer de Chiapas, CDMCH).

The English edition of the directory can be downloaded at the following links:

The complete publication (also here from this external link).
The complete publication (as a .zip file from an external link).
The prologue, hints and tips, and research methodology.
The introduction by Mercedes Olivera B.
Two maps of Chiapas plus the location index, listing the areas of operation of the organisations registered in the directory.
The directory of organisations (also here from this external link).
The index, including names and abbreviations of civil society organisations mentioned in the directory (in both English and Spanish), as well as the issues dealt with by the organisations and the populations they work with.
The appendices, which include the EZLN’s Women’s Revolutionary Law, the Political Pact: Non-Governmental Organisations, Collectives, Social Organisations and Institutions of Chiapas, Free of Violence Against Women, and the questionnaires used to collect the information which appears in this publication.

In addition, a revised edition of the original Spanish publication has been finalised. Both editions are available for download here: http://lilla.org.au/directory-chiapas.

We appreciate your comments on this publication, which can be sent to info@lilla.org.au.

Launch of the directory of pro-women organisations in Chiapas, México

martirejl — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:14:22 +0000

It is with great pride that the Lilla: International Women’s Network announces the publication of Las Luchas por los Derechos de las Mujeres en Chiapas: Un Directorio de Organizaciones Sociales que Trabajan a Favor de las Chiapanecas (soon to be published in English as The Struggles for Women’s Rights in Chiapas: A Directory of Social Organisations Supporting Chiapas Women). This directory is the result of close to ten months of research and preproduction work, and is introduced with a text by Mercedes Olivera B. of the Centre for Higher Studies of Mexico and Central America (Centro de Estudios Superiores de México y Centroamérica, CESMECA) and the Chiapas Centre for Women’s Rights (Centro de Derechos de la Mujer de Chiapas, CDMCH).

The publication presents the contact details of 62 civil society organisations that operate in Chiapas, Mexico, to improve the lives of Chiapas women, together with descriptions of the work and projects of each organisation. The groups included work on a wide range of issues, such as agroecology, craftwork, popular education and communication, human rights, women’s rights, indigenous rights, sexual and reproductive rights, many forms of development, interreligious dialogue, social business, feminisms, homophobia, youth, natural resource management, nonviolence, prisoners, radio, recovery of indigenous traditions, civil resistance, migrant workers and violence expressed in many forms (to name just a few).

The launch of the directory will take place on Wednesday 29 July at midday, in Café Museo Café in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas. The Café is located in the street María Adelina Flores 10, in the Historical Centre. For those organisations who handed in their completed questionnaire, we will make a printed copy of the directory available to them at the launch or via other means, as necessary. For other interested people or organisations, an electronic version of the directory is available for free download at the following links:

The directory’s cover.
The complete directory in black and white.
The complete directory in colour.

This publicaction has been designed for wide distribution, so we appreciate it if you share the news of the directory with your contacts. The reproduction of any information in this directory is permitted as long as the source is recognised. In the coming weeks the English translation of the directory will be made available for download on this webpage. We hope this publication is of use to organisations both within and outside of Chiapas, particularly for women’s organisations but also those which deal with other issues — local organisations will have a means of contacting each other to strengthen their networks and struggles, while non-Chiapas organisations will be able to use the directory to provide an overview of the situation of women and pro-women’s organisations operating in Chiapas. We appreciate your comments on this publication (which can be sent to info@lilla.org.au).

Launch of the Lilla Network with an exhibition of work by women at the Creativity Workshop

lilla — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:25:12 +0000

Lilla is holding a public exhibition of art works by women who came together on International Women’s Day 09 to explore their passion for social justice through creative expression. Over a weekend in the Blue Mountains, the artists were mentored in their practice of the spoken word, digital media, Aboriginal dot painting, cartooning and performance by practising artists, whilst sharing their experiences with each other.

Connections were formed between the women, whose stories intersected and spawned collaborations and new ideas. The works will be developed over the coming months and exhibited at Mori Gallery Sydney from the 8th to the 15th November, 2009. The exhibtion will coincide with the launch of the Lilla network. Currently we are seeking volunteers Read more…

DEADLINE EXTENDED: Directory of pro-woman organisations in Chiapas, Mexico

martirejl — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:26:07 +0000

Firstly, we’d like to thank the organisations who have already submitted their questionnaires. We are happy to have their participation in our directory of organisations which work to benefit the women of Chiapas.

For those organisations who wish to participate but haven’t been able to submit their completed questionnaire, the due date has been extended.

The new deadline is Wednesday 15 April 2009.

We believe that the directory offers a resources for the women of Chiapas, the grassroots organisations operating in the state, and other organisations at a national and international level. The more organisations participate, the richer the resource. Your valuable participation will increase the usefulness of this directory, and we hope you will choose to be part of the project. We also take this opportunity to remind you that each organisation which shares its contact details and information will receive a copy of the printed directory (in Spanish).

We’re republishing the translation of the Spanish-language questionnaire, designed to be accessible to indigenous, campesino and community groups. It includes instructions on completing and submitting the document, a publishing authorisation and the questionnaire itself.

To download the version designed to complete electronically and submit via email (Word file, 6 pages), click here.

To download the version designed to be filled in by hand and posted or hand delivered (PDF file, 9 pages), click here.

If you have any questions on the questionnaire’s format or the means of submitting the completed questionnaire, contact the directory coordinator, Jodie Lea Martire, via the contact form.

International Women’s Day 2009: Calling all creative women

Beth — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 05:22:44 +0000

Calling all women who are aspiring community leaders, practising artists, activists, creative types and trouble makers with a passion for social justice!

Lilla is running a weekend creativity workshop for women coinciding with International Women’s Day in March 2009. This workshop will bring together a group of practising and emerging musicians, artists, writers and other creative storytellers to explore the connections between social justice and creative expression. The range of creative works initiated at this event will be developed over a few months culminating in an exhibition later in the year. Currently we are seeking participants and creative mentors to be part of the workshop. Please email info@lilla.org.au for more information

Volunteer Opportunity – Graphic Designer needed

Beth — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:25:06 +0000

The Lilla Women’s Network at ERC is looking for a graphic designer to assist with the layout of a directory we are compiling, of women’s NGOs in Chiapas, Mexico. This work is essential in its support of grassroots organisations in terms both of safety, and networking. It would most likely be a few days worth of work. Spanish language skills would be a bonus, but are not essential. Please contact marthese@lilla.org.au.