Secretariat News

As many of our member organisations return from 2007 year end holidays and begin their activities for 2008, we are reminded of the many resolutions and commitments that have been made personally, nationally and internationally that need to be further honoured this year if we are going to make it by 2015. The ICPD Programme of Action and The Millennium Development Goals are  achieveable and increasingly relevant for all of us working in the field of population, development and sexual reproductive health and rights.

APA is starting the year with a strong funding base to conduct many new and innovative activities which will be reported to you as they progress. The secretariat will be moving to new designated premises in Bangkok, and looking forward to working very closely with staff of APA member organisation, Planned Parenthood Associaton of Thailand (PPAT), to conduct its business efficiently in accordance with Thai rules and regulations. Other Thai member organisations are also planning project activities with the secretariat, to complete the HIV prevention project funded by the ADB, and to follow up the work with the parliamentarians from the region who  participated in the Dialogue held in Colombo at the ICAAP in 2007.

Funding is currently being negotiated with the Hewlett Foundation for the APA conference and workshops to be held later this year in Chiang Mai, Thailand and members will be asked soon to expand the themes chosen by the Steering Committee into exciting activities and sessions.

The secretariat wishes all its members and readers of Update great success and productive results in their endeavours during 2008.

Member Updates

Showcasing the Small Grants Work of APA Member Organisations

As we begin the year, each issue we will take a look at the Small Grants project work that has been completed by APA Member Organisations.

AUSTRALIA : COMMON GROUND

Common Ground is an awareness raising and advocacy project set up to advance the Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). Common Ground is an alliance between:

 * ARHA;
 * Friends of the Earth; and
 * Sexual Health & Family Planning Australia (SH&FPA).

The Common Ground project aims to:

• promote the links between population, environment and development issues; and
• increase the level of official development assistance for reproductive health and action on domestic environment and population issues.
  

Common Ground has recently launched a traveling photo exhibition, called Common Ground: visions shared. The photos were taken in Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea and illustrate the intersecting issues. 

Regional News

Raising Community Awareness on Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS - India

Source: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/265627

With funding support from the Department for International Development (DFID) Challenge Fund, the India HIV/AIDS Alliance (Alliance India) carried out a13-month project to address the increasing feminisation of HIV/AIDS in India, with a specific focus on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and HIV/AIDS integration. Theatre, film, and posters were used in an effort to develop and strengthen community-centred approaches to meet the SRH and HIV/AIDS-related needs of women in low-income settings. The organisers further sought to focus on creating increased informed demand and enhancing awareness and knowledge of HIV/AIDS and SRH, with special emphasis on increasing access to health, social, and legal support services for women affected by HIV/AIDS or vulnerable to HIV. This project also sought to create a body of knowledge that can be readily used by a range of stakeholders, including policy makers, donors, and representatives from civil society organisations (CSOs) such as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the mass media, and academia. Partnerships were key in approaching these goals; the project worked with 19 NGOs in 17 districts across 6 Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, Orissa, and Delhi.

Communication Strategies

In keeping with the mandate of the Alliance, this project was based on an understanding that locally-based sensitisation, mobilisation, and empowerment efforts can be effective in ensuring that women's needs and rights are brought to the forefront as part of the process of designing and implementing HIV/AIDS and SRH activities.

To that end, pursuing a new community-based approach, the India HIV/AIDS Alliance and its partners conducted theatre campaigns to build mass awareness on SRH and HIV/AIDS in Amritsar (Punjab State) and Bhubaneswar (Orissa State). The street plays and "talking-doll" shows were designed to connect with communities through "edutainment"-style public health education, especially among those with limited access to such information. The shows discussed issues around women's vulnerability and imparted information on SRH, HIV/AIDS, and related services for women, their partners, and their children. Alliance India sought to foster community participation - and to sustain the use of the medium of theatre to raise awareness - by training local people to perform as part of the theatre groups and by building the capacity of partnering NGOs' staff members in theatre techniques.

A post-campaign survey was conducted to understand the outreach and to measure change in terms of overall awareness levels. As part of this process, a 12-minute-long documentary film was produced in an effort to capture the experience; it is designed to serve as a resource for CSOs, community-based organisations (CBOs), and individuals working on or interested in the issues of SRH and HIV/AIDS integration at the community level. The film may be viewed online, by clicking here.

In addition, Alliance India is drawing on the use of printed materials in an effort to facilitate the work of those undertaking community-based work with women around issues of SRH and HIV/AIDS. For example, the organisation produced a poster highlighting the 12 SRH rights identified within the International Planned Parenthood Federation Charter on Sexual and Reproductive Rights; the goal here is to help partner NGOs learn about and remember the sexual and reproductive health rights in order to disseminate accurate information to the community. Two flipbooks for outreach workers and other health educators have also been created to spark discussions in women's group, support group, and self-help group settings. One focuses on SRH and HIV/AIDS (click here to access it), and the other explores the SRH needs of women living with HIV (click here to access it). Part of the strategy of fostering communication involves translation of these resources: the flip books are available in 6 languages: English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, and Manipuri.

For further information about the project and the resources that were developed contactPriya Mohanty pmohanty@allianceindia.org or you can visit www.aidsallianceindia.net

World outsources pregnancies to India

By SAM DOLNICK - Associated Press Writer

Every night in this quiet western Indian city, 15 pregnant women prepare for sleep in the spacious house they share, ascending the stairs in a procession of ballooned bellies, to bedrooms that become a landscape of soft hills. A team of maids, cooks and doctors looks after the women, whose pregnancies would be unusual anywhere else but are common here. The young mothers of Anand, a place famous for its milk, are pregnant with the children of infertile couples from around the world.

The small clinic at Kaival Hospital matches infertile couples with local women, cares for the women during pregnancy and delivery, and counsels them afterward. Anand's surrogate mothers, pioneers in the growing field of outsourced pregnancies, have given birth to roughly 40 babies.  More than 50 women in this city are now pregnant with the children of couples from the United States, Taiwan, Britain and beyond. The women earn more than many would make in 15 years. But the program raises a host of uncomfortable questions that touch on morals and modern science, exploitation and globalization, and that most natural of desires: to have a family.

Dr. Nayna Patel, the woman behind Anand's baby boom, defends her work as meaningful for everyone involved.  "There is this one woman who desperately needs a baby and cannot have her own child without the help of a surrogate. And at the other end there is this woman who badly wants to help her (own) family," Patel said. "If this female wants to help the other one ... why not allow that? ... It's not for any bad cause. They're helping one another to have a new life in this world."  Experts say commercial surrogacy - or what has been called "wombs for rent" - is growing in India. While no reliable numbers track such pregnancies nationwide, doctors work with surrogates in virtually every major city. The women are impregnated in-vitro with the egg and sperm of couples unable to conceive on their own.

Commercial surrogacy has been legal in India since 2002, as it is in many other countries, including the United States. But India is the leader in making it a viable industry rather than a rare fertility treatment. Experts say it could take off for the same reasons outsourcing in other industries has been successful: a wide labor pool working for relatively low rates.  Critics say the couples are exploiting poor women in India - a country with an alarmingly high maternal death rate - by hiring them at a cut-rate cost to undergo the hardship, pain and risks of labor.  "It raises the factor of baby farms in developing countries," said Dr. John Lantos of the Center for Practical Bioethics in Kansas City, Mo. "It comes down to questions of voluntariness and risk."  Patel's surrogates are aware of the risks because they've watched others go through them. Many of the mothers know one another, or are even related. Three sisters have all borne strangers' children, and their sister-in-law is pregnant with a second surrogate baby. Nearly half the babies have been born to foreign couples while the rest have gone to Indians.

Ritu Sodhi, a furniture importer from Los Angeles who was born in India, spent $200,000 trying to get pregnant through in-vitro fertilization, and was considering spending another $80,000 to hire a surrogate mother in the United States.  "We were so desperate," she said. "It was emotionally and financially exhausting."  Then, on the Internet, Sodhi found Patel's clinic.  After spending about $20,000 - more than many couples because it took the surrogate mother several cycles to conceive - Sodhi and her husband are now back home with their 4-month-old baby, Neel. They plan to return to Anand for a second child.  "Even if it cost $1 million, the joy that they had delivered to me is so much more than any money that I have given them," said Sodhi. "They're godsends to deliver something so special."

Patel's center is believed to be unique in offering one-stop service. Other clinics may request that the couple bring in their own surrogate, often a family member or friend, and some place classified ads. But in Anand the couple just provides the egg and sperm and the clinic does the rest, drawing from a waiting list of tested and ready surrogates.  Young women are flocking to the clinic to sign up for the list.  Suman Dodia, a pregnant, baby-faced 26-year-old, said she will buy a house with the $4,500 she receives from the British couple whose child she's carrying. It would have taken her 15 years to earn that on her maid's monthly salary of $25.  Dodia's own three children were delivered at home and she said she never visited a doctor during those pregnancies.  "It's very different with medicine," Dodia said, resting her hands on her hugely pregnant belly. "I'm being more careful now than I was with my own pregnancy."  Patel said she carefully chooses which couples to help and which women to hire as surrogates. She only accepts couples with serious fertility issues, like survivors of uterine cancer. The surrogate mothers have to be between 18 and 45, have at least one child of their own, and be in good medical shape.  Like some fertility reality show, a rotating cast of surrogate mothers live together in a home rented by the clinic and overseen by a former surrogate mother. They receive their children and husbands as visitors during the day, when they're not busy with English or computer classes.

"They feel like my family," said Rubina Mandul, 32, the surrogate house's den mother. "The first 10 days are hard, but then they don't want to go home."  Mandul, who has two sons of her own, gave birth to a child for an American couple in February. She said she misses the baby, but she stays in touch with the parents over the Internet. A photo of the American couple with the child hangs over the sofa.  "They need a baby more than me," she said.  The surrogate mothers and the parents sign a contract that promises the couple will cover all medical expenses in addition to the woman's payment, and the surrogate mother will hand over the baby after birth. The couples fly to Anand for the in-vitro fertilization and again for the birth. Most couples end up paying the clinic less than $10,000 for the entire procedure, including fertilization, the fee to the mother and medical expenses.  Counseling is a major part of the process and Patel tells the women to think of the pregnancy as "someone's child comes to stay at your place for nine months."  Kailas Gheewala, 25, said she doesn't think of the pregnancy as her own.  "The fetus is theirs, so I'm not sad to give it back," said Gheewala, who plans to save the $6,250 she's earning for her two daughters' education. "The child will go to the U.S. and lead a better life and I'll be happy."  Patel said none of the surrogate mothers has had especially difficult births or serious medical problems, but risks are inescapable. "We have to be very careful," she said. "We overdo all the health investigations. We do not take any chances."  Health experts expect to see more Indian commercial surrogacy programs in coming years. Dr. Indira Hinduja, a prominent fertility specialist who was behind India's first test-tube baby two decades ago, receives several surrogacy inquiries a month from couples overseas.

"People are accepting it," said Hinduja. "Earlier they used to be ashamed but now they are becoming more broadminded."  But if commercial surrogacy keeps growing, some fear it could change from a medical necessity for infertile women to a convenience for the rich.  "You can picture the wealthy couples of the West deciding that pregnancy is just not worth the trouble anymore and the whole industry will be farmed out," said Lantos.  Or, Lantos said, competition among clinics could lead to compromised safety measures and "the clinic across the street offers it for 20 percent less and one in Bangladesh undercuts that and pretty soon conditions get bad."

The industry is not regulated by the government. Health officials have issued nonbinding ethical guidelines and called for legislation to protect the surrogates and the children.  For now, the surrogate mothers in Anand seem as pleased with the arrangement as the new parents.  "I know this isn't mine," said Jagrudi Sharma, 34, pointing to her belly. "But I'm giving happiness to another couple. And it's great for me."

International News

How Did Women Fare in 2007? By Kathambi Kinoti

Source: AWID Friday File: Friday January 4, 2008

Last year saw three female presidents come into power. In Argentina, left-leaning Cristina Fernandez was elected president, becoming the country's second ever woman to occupy its highest office. In her inaugural speech, Fernandez vowed to ensure the conclusion of the numerous human rights abuses cases arising from the dictatorship era from 1976 to 1983. Her election means that South America now has two women presidents; Fernandez and Michelle Bachelet of Chile. Pratibha Patil was appointed President of India in July of 2007. She was a compromise candidate for the job and not everyone linked her appointment to progress for women's rights. A columnist in the Asian Age newspaper wrote: 'Don't mock our intelligence and call it a victory for women. It is a selfish victory for the Congress party and its leadership.' [1] Nevertheless, Patil set a precedent as India's first female President. In Switzerland, Micheline Calmy-Rey was appointed President.

Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's former Prime Minister who recently returned from exile, was assassinated on December 27, 2007. Bhutto, who was her country's first female Prime Minister, was set to run for office in the country’s upcoming elections. Her assassination precipitated riots and political turmoil. In February, Zil-e-Huma Usman, a female provincial Cabinet Minister from Pakistan's Punjab region was also assassinated. Her assassin, who confessed to the crime, told police that 'women should not hold important positions.'[2] In May, the country's tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar was forced to resign after 'hardline Islamist clerics branded her 'obscene' for hugging a man after a charity parachute jump.' [3] Another female politician in Afghanistan, Malalai Joya was suspended in what she described as a political conspiracy, after she said that Afghanistan's parliament was 'worse than a stable.' [4]

Women's participation in politics was the subject of a fatwa (religious edict) from Egypt's Grand Mufti in February 2007. In the fatwa, which generated vigorous debate, the Grand Mufti said that 'nothing in Islamic principles prevents women from holding high institutional positions and even becoming president...Islam gives equal political and social rights to men and women.' [5] The president of the Fatwa Commission of the al-Azhar University however drew attention to socio-political realities saying that

'even if Gomaa's fatwa is backed by valid arguments, in fact what he says is not viable, given the political and social situation.' [6]

Kenya's general elections held on December 27, 2007 saw fifteen women elected to parliament, a record for the country whose previous parliament had only nine elected female members, and nine nominated members out of a total of 222. The number of women in parliament is likely to rise after the different political parties nominate more women as required by the state's constitution. Despite this relative progress, in terms of women's representation in parliament, Kenya continues to lag behind its neighbours in eastern and central Africa.

Conflicts around the world continued to take their toll on women in 2007.

The situation in Darfur came no closer to resolution, with women bearing the brunt of the death, destruction, rape and hunger that came in the wake of the conflict. The Democratic Republic of Congo continued to see large scale sexual violence against women and girls. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reported on the rape and recruitment of girls and young women by irregular armed forces such as the ultra-rightwing United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) and the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Leaders of these paramilitary groups reportedly force them to provide sexual services and do domestic work. [7] In February, it was reported that Mynamar's military has been guilty of killing, raping and torturing with impunity ethnic Karen women. [8] Disputes over the result of the presidential elections in Kenya have led to political turmoil. Hundreds of people have been killed, tens of thousands have been displaced, and there has been an upsurge in the rape of women and girls. [9]

In April 2007, the United Nations war crimes tribunal passed a landmark judgement against a Bosnian Serb military policeman for participating in the notorious campaign of rape against Muslim Serb women in the town of Foca in 1992. The indictment against the policeman for the first time charged rape and sexual enslavement as a crime against humanity.

Last year was tumultuous for women's rights defenders in Iran, particularly from the beginning of July. A number of them took part in the One Million Signatures Campaign that seeks to educate women in Iran about their rights and to reform laws that discriminate against women. Several women's rights activists were arrested as they collected signatures in support of the campaign. When some of them refused to sign an agreement to stop their activities, they were charged with 'actions against national security' and transferred to prison. Other activists were arrested when they participated in peaceful demonstrations for women's rights. International pressure helped in securing the release of most of these activists, albeit under stringent bail conditions for many of them. [10]

It was reported that in Zimbabwe security forces were routinely sexually abusing and otherwise torturing women human rights activists who demonstrated against human rights abuses, forced evictions and food shortages in the country. [11]

Abortion continued to be a major women's rights issue in 2007. Pro-choice groups in Nicaragua lobbied their Congress in vain to overturn a no-exceptions law passed in 2006 that banned all abortions even where the woman's life is at risk. It was reported that the ban has had a 'devastating impact on women's health and lives' with women being afraid to seek even health services that are legal. [12] In Portugal, after a referendum, abortion laws were reformed. Abortion is now authorised for pregnancies that are up to ten weeks old. In cases of rape, abortions are permissible up to 16 weeks into gestation and where the foetus is found to have a congenital malformation or incurable disease, up to 24 weeks. However a number of women were unable to take advantage of the new laws due to 'conscientious objection' by doctors. [13] The European Union's highest human rights court challenged Poland's restrictive laws on abortion when it awarded a Polish woman damages after she was denied abortion services in spite of health risks. Mexico City's legislature in April agreed to allow abortion during the first three months of pregnancy. Mozambique also considered legalizing abortion, pushed by its health ministry which argued that unsafe abortion is the third leading cause of maternal mortality in the country. At the end of 2006, Togo had amended its laws to allow for abortion resulting from rape or incest.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that bans women from driving. In September a group of Saudi women formed a committee to lobby for women to be allowed to drive. The action of the group, though it has not yet resulted in a reversal of the law, highlights the fact that no women's rights gains should be taken for granted.

__________________

Notes:

1. Quoted in 'India's first female president sworn in.' Reuters Africa, July 25, 2007.

2. 'Cabinet Minister Killed in East Pakistan.' Guardian Unlimited, February 21, 2007.

3. 'Female Afghan and Pakistani politicians forced from office.' Guardian Unlimited, May 23, 2007.

4. See note 3.

5. Quoted in 'Fatwa over women in politics stirs controversy.' AKI Italy, Febr 5, 2007.

6. See note 5.

7. 'Women Suffer Abuse Behind the Front Lines.' Inter Press Service News Agency, January 23, 2007.

8. 'Myanmar military accused of raping ethnic Karen women.' Guardian Unlimited, February 12, 2007.

9. 'Scores in hospital after rape ordeal.' Daily Nation, January 2, 2008.

10. Radio Free Europe, November 17, 2007.

11. 'Zimbabwe police torture women activists.' Reuters Africa, October 10, 2007.

12. 'Over their Dead Bodies' Human Rights Watch, 2007.

13. 'Epidemic of Conscientious Objection to Performing Abortion. Inter Press Service, July 20, 2007.

UN News

Promoting Gender Equality in the Aid Effectiveness Agenda in Asia Pacific

Engaging the Principles of the Paris Declaration.

UNIFEM Discussion Paper, November 2007

This report examines the main challenges that have emerged from efforts by gender equality advocates in the Asia Pacific region to advance gender equality goals under each of the Paris Declaration principles. It is informed both by the country experiences presented at the meeting and by a background paper on the aid effectiveness principles and their implementation in the region, especially regarding the promotion of gender equality.

To access the report from UNIFEM, follow this link here

WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN POLITICS - WORLDWIDE EXPERIENCES AND PRACTICES

"By the end of June 2007, 17.3% of worldwide legislators were women or, in other words, 6,412 women comparied to 30,156 men."

This toolkit provides a worldwide assessment of women's inroads into politics and the determining factors in these accomplishments. The toolkit also examines key factors in political impacts, offers instruments for women parliamentarians and other supportive institutional structures.

To access the toolkit, follow this link here

Resources and Opportunities

WOMEN'S WORLDS CONGRESS 2008

Universidad Complutense, MADRID, SPAIN

3-9 July, 2008

CALL FOR PAPERS

The 10th International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women, Women’s Worlds / Mundos de Mujeres 2008 will be held in Madrid, Spain July 3-9, at the Complutense University. The motto of the Congress is “Equality: no Utopia” and the general theme “New Frontiers: Dares, Challenges and Changes”. Violence and migrations will be part of the central themes. Please, visit the Congress website at: http://www.mmww08.org/

We invite individuals or groups of people, as well as public and private organizations interested in the Congress themes to submit their proposals (in English or Spanish). WWMM08 will be an international platform, a global forum for researchers, scholars, activists and other participants. The Congress program includes thirteen major theme areas and a total of almost one hundred subthemes. The main areas are:

􀂦 Feminisms and Women's Movements

􀂦 History

􀂦 Proposals for a Different World

􀂦 Economics

􀂦 Political and Legal Action

􀂦 Territories and the Environment

􀂦 Dislocations and Frontiers

􀂦 Human Rights

􀂦 Communication and the Media

􀂦 Science and Technology

􀂦 Creativity and Art

􀂦 Education

􀂦 Health

The Scientific Program will be structured mainly around parallel sessions with different formats, such as individual papers, entire panels, workshops, round tables, debates, talkshops, book presentations, testimonies, readings, audio-video presentations, etc. Moreover, there will also be a great number of plenary and semi-plenary lectures given by eminent specialists. There will also be an attractive Cultural Program (exhibitions, films, theatre plays, dance performances, concerts) on the Congress theme. Cultural activities will take place on campus and its surroundings as well as all over the city of Madrid. In addition, participants will enjoy a Social Program including the opening and closing ceremonies, book exhibit, arts and crafts fair, free access to sports facilities, child care, etc. If required, room will be provided for holding Associations business meetings and the like. Finally, the Congress will offer an attractive Tourist Program to discover the highlights of Madrid and neighbouring towns.

Queries about registration, hotel reservation, call for papers and grants:

Unicongress: C/ Bárbara de Braganza, 12-3ºD 28004 – Madrid (España) Tels: +34 91 310 4376 Fax: +34 91 319 57 46

E-mail: mmww08@unicongress.com

Dates for the Diary

JANUARY 2008

Prevention of drug related HIV transmission Consultation, 28 – 31^st January, Goa, India

The first Asian consultation on the prevention of drug related transmission of HIV/AIDS will bring together Parliamentarians, Policy-Makers, INGOs, and Community Groups to develop a program of Action and to review policy and services for HIV positive people, Drug Users and communities in Asia.

http://www.responsebeyondborders.com/

FEBRUARY 2008

Seminar: “Strategies in Life Skills Development for Adolescents”, 5-15 February 2008, Bangkok, Thailand

Intended for implementers of adolescent sexual and reproductive health and life skills development programmes, this course will provide participants with competencies in various areas of life skills development for adolescents. Course content will include examining the underlying purpose of introducing life skills as well as activity planning. More information can be found here.

MARCH 2008

3rd National Conference on Population, Health and Environment, March 5 – 7, 2008, Taal Vista Hotel, Tagaytay City, PHILLIPINES.

The theme of the Conference will be “Scaling Up PHE”. The conference explores increasing the impact of integrated PHE projects and programs in various dimensions: geographically, programmatically, organizationally, and networking. The conference will look at the potential for intensifying, replicating and expanding the population, health and environment programmatic approach to different landscapes (urban and rural settings; from a community to an ecosystem approach; across varying landscapes such as coastal and upland areas; and others; and to different strategic points of intervention (disaster mitigation, poverty alleviation, food security, HIV-AIDS programming, and others). The gathering will explore the successes and challenges of scaling up PHE projects and programs in the Philippines.

Visit the website for more conference information and to register before January 30 next year.

JUNE 2008

HARVARD UNIVERSITY JOHN F. KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

LEADERS IN DEVELOPMENT: MANAGING POLITICAL & ECONOMIC CHANGE

JUNE 9 - 20, 2008

During times of great change, leadership is critically important. This is particularly true today in developing and newly industrialized countries where the pace of political and economic change is accelerating rapidly. Today's leaders face an increasingly complex tapestry of economic, political, and social challenges.

• Globalization is advancing rapidly. Leaders must understand how new rules of the game for global governance will affect their countries and organizations. They must develop the technical and political skills to be heard in international arenas at the same time that they mediate the impact of global change on the economic and social futures of their countries.
• Decentralization of decision-making authority creates more challenges. Leaders in times of transition must understand how to build coalitions and negotiate across multiple layers of government and networks of interested parties. At the same time, leaders at local and regional levels are reaching beyond central governments to build relationships with global markets, international civil society, and supra-national institutions.
• Pressures for democratization and participation are increasing. Political parties, NGOs, interest groups, and a variety of other organizations in civil society are making more claims on government at all levels and are holding leaders more accountable for their actions. Increasingly, leaders must develop capacities to lead through consultative and participatory processes.
• Knowledge is expanding exponentially. Leaders must spend more time acquiring knowledge for informed decision making and must guide their organizations in adapting new technologies and new knowledge to improve performance and responsiveness to the needs of citizens.

Increasingly, leaders encounter arenas in which authority to respond to problems is more diffuse, the issues they are called upon to deal with are more complex, and the imperative to incorporate knowledge and participation is greater.

Leaders in Development is designed for leaders in public affairs whose responsibilities place them at the center of these issues. During the program, participants will:

• Sharpen problem solving, analytic, and strategic action skills to help them plan, introduce, and sustain major policy and institutional reform.
• Consider new ways to strengthen representative politics and open markets, and manage the challenges of globalization.
• Share experiences with their counterparts in other countries in a collective search for effective responses to change.

Participants return to their countries with enhanced understanding of the tasks of leadership in promoting reform, greater knowledge of changes taking place internationally, and a renewed commitment to working with others to develop their societies.

For more information, follow this link here

JULY 2008

G8 Summit 2008, 7-9 July 2008, Tokyo, Japan

The G8 Summit 2008, which will include global health as a focus theme, will take place in Tokyo, Japan. An outline of the summit, including preliminary and fixed dates of minister meetings, as well as additional information, can be found at the official website.

Preparatory Ministers Meetings:

April 5-6 2008, Tokyo: Development Ministers Meeting
May 28-30 2008, Yokohama: TICAD IV – Tokyo International Conference on African Development
June 13-14 2008, Osaka: Finance Ministers Meeting
June 26-27 2008, Kyoto: Foreign Ministers Meeting

AUGUST 2008

International AIDS Conference – Mexico 2008

The AIDS 2008 theme, Universal Action Now, underscores the continued urgency of the pandemic and reminds us of the responsibility we have to take individual and collective action. For scientists, researchers, people living with HIV and other civil society leaders and professionals working in the field of HIV/AIDS, AIDS 2008 is an ideal opportunity to meet new colleagues and learn from the experiences of others engaged at the local, national and international levels. Join us in México City and help bring us closer to the goals of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. For more information about this conference visit the IAC Website.

SEPTEMBER 2008

Global Course: Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: Poverty Reduction, Reproductive Health and Health Sector Reform (Sep 15-27 2008), Bangkok, Thailand

The course explores key elements in designing efficient, equitable and financially sustainable population policies and reproductive health programs in the context of health sector reform and Millennium Development Goals. After attending the course, participants learn to recognize how the changing international and national policy environments affect their work in population and reproductive health and to identify the linkages among health, gender and poverty.

This two-week course is designed for staff from governments, donor agencies, international organizations, the World Bank, and NGOs working in the health sector. In addition, it targets staff from training and research institutions, as well as academics and researchers working in the areas of health, public administration and social sector reform.

The course is a face-to-face learning event and will be held at the Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. The sessions will consist of presentations, readings, case studies and group work. Participants must have a good working knowledge of English to participate.

Information about how to apply and fees can be found through the website which you can access by following this link here.

NOVEMBER 2008

The AWID International Forum on Women's Rights and Development, November 14 - 17, 2008, South Africa.

You can expect to be enlightened, provoked and inspired by an exceptional group of thoughtful, forward-looking and fiercely committed women and men. You can expect to move beyond simply talking to getting involved in global action plans and campaigns that will emerge out of the Forum, but will last well beyond it. You can expect to work hard and gain an abundance of new skills, new knowledge, new colleagues, and new ideas for the long road ahead. You can expect to be welcomed, nurtured, fortified and challenged by a group of like-minded activists, academics and practitioners. And finally, you can expect to have more fun than you thought was possible at a conference!

For more information, visit the AWID Website.