News from WOCAN WOCAN Newsletter January 2006 in this issue Members and their WOCAN Activities in 2005 New Board of Directors WOCAN Project in Asia Regional Meeting of WOCAN Members Upcoming Events Members and their WOCAN Activities in 2005 We have been very pleased that since the launch of WOCAN and call for members on January 1, 2005, over 290 women and men working in 70 countries and 11 international organizations have been accepted (many more have applied) with the numbers still increasing weekly. Of these, about 25% are from Africa, 36% from Asia and the Pacific, 7% from Latin America, 3% from the Middle East, 7% from Europe, 16% from North America, and 7% from international organizations. The WOCAN website is currently being updated to allow members to engage in an interactive manner, add linkages and view the database of all members. The new website, to be launched in March, will allow us to easily analyze characteristics of members to facilitate networking and planning based on member needs. Members have participated in many regional and international events on behalf of WOCAN and the Major Group WOMEN within the UN Forum on Forests and the SARD Initiative.At the UNFF 5, WOCAN led a Women’s Caucus and organized two side events with members from Latin America, Asia and Africa on ‘Women and Forests’ and ‘HIV/AIDs on Sustainable Forest Management’; WOCAN also attended the FAO consultative meeting with Civil Society and FAO’s Committee on Forestry (CoFo) Ministerial Meeting. At the Commission on the Status of Women Beijing plus 10 meeting, WOCAN sponsored a panel on ‘Paragraph K: Renewing and Implementing the Beijing Commitments on Environment’ to review the Beijing commitments on environment, and to discuss reasons for the neglect of issues related to women and the environment by both the environment and the gender advocates. At the AWID Forum on ‘How Change Happens’, Bangkok WOCAN participated in a panel organized by FAO and IFAD, entitled “Linking Poor Women, Gender and Environment to the Global Women’s Movement”, which was well attended by more than 100 people. Moderated by WOCAN Support Group member Yianna Lambrou, speakers included WOCAN members Jing de la Rosa, Kanchan Lama, Rebecca Pearl and Jeannette Gurung. Participants discussed the need to pool our energy and work together, to propose concrete models of agriculture that favor gender equality. A recommendation was to support WOCAN, and to organize a major global conference to bring global attention to the needs of rural women. Member Helen Dayo presented a paper ‘Enhancing the Capacity of Academic Institutions to Produce Gender-sensitive R and D Professionals’ at the Global Learning Opportunity of the International Farming System Association. Find out more Dear Members The year of 2005 has been one of strengthening the base of WOCAN through its membership in over 69 countries around the world and its governance structure, through a new Board of Directors and Support Group and bylaws. In 2005, WOCAN became a highly visible organization through our participation in many global and regional events in North America, Europe, and Asia. Our role in global advocacy continues to be requested by many agencies, but now we turn our focus to our members, beginning with our first Regional Meeting of Members in Africa, to be followed by other regional meetings elsewhere, as we forge alliances amongst members and those who can support their efforts to strengthen women’s leadership and organizational change in agriculture and NRM. The involvement of each and every member in WOCAN’s growth and development is highly appreciated. Warmest wishes for 2006. New Board of Directors A meeting of the new Board of Directors and Support Group was held in Bangkok in October. Pictured here are Jing de la Rosa, Winston Rudder, Rebecca Pearl, Martha Hirpa, Yianna Lambrou, Kanchan Lama and Jeannette Gurung. The Board and SUpport Group members reaffirmed their commitment to the growth of WOCAN as a significant forum for women in agriculture and NRM, and discussed strategies for raising funds and meeting needs of members. Backgrounds of members of the Board and Support Group WOCAN Project in Asia This project, implemented jointly with the CGIAR’s System-wide Program on Participatory Research and Gender Analysis (PRGA), is an action research activity that includes ten partner organizations in the eastern Himalayan area of NE India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and another two partners from Laos. Institutionalizing Gender-responsive Research & Development in Agriculture and NRM through Women's Networks Regional Meeting of WOCAN Members Regional meetings will be held to bring WOCAN members together , along with allies of other organizations, to build alliances and develop plans of action based on regional realities and needs. The high numbers of members in Africa and South Asia, as well as in other regions, allows us to build on the enthusiasm and commitment of members to contribute their skills and knowledge to capacity building, outreach, advocacy, and pilot projects of WOCAN. This will assure both that the plans are ‘owned’ by members at the national level, and that appropriate voluntary resources of members are mobilized in this process. Such workshops will be held as funding becomes available; we expect to hold the first one in West or Central Africa in the first half of 2006. Plans are being developed for a 3 day meeting, open to all African members. More details will soon be available. Read on... Upcoming Events "Gender in Natural Resources”, Ottawa, 16 Jan. WOCAN has been invited by the International Affairs Service of the Canadian Forest Service/Natural Resources Canada to give a presentation, followed by overviews of five Canadian agencies - Forests, Agriculture and Agri-Food, CIDA, NRCan, and Environment Canada – on issues of gender and employment equity. The meeting is coordinated by three WOCAN members and Support Group members. Read on... Call for Members We are always pleased to add new members to our membership, so please do tell your colleagues and friends about WOCAN. If your email address has changed, please send an email to: jeannettegurung@wocan.org This email was sent to jeannettegurung@wocan.org, by jeannettegurung@wocan.org Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ Privacy Policy.Powered by