Discussion Highlights

• Anti-Offshoring Bill myths prevail (Sen. Fielding)
• Offshore BPO employment supports ancillary female workers
• Australia outsources 12% of its contact centre jobs, but 60% of these onshore, with 40% mainly India, Phil, NZ, Malaysia
• Research: US$1 off shored generates US$1.16 to GDP
• Discussion around empowerment vs. social protection
• Just 8% Indian female contact centre workers married (n=638)
• Challenges include family pressure, social stigma of night work, work intensity

Recommendations

• Multi-part approach (all stakeholders)
• Don’t sacrifice social support as margin pressure grows
• Females learn to say ‘No’ to family pressures
• Solutions needed around infrastructure and housing (socio-spatial restrictions in India)
• Education access for the evolution of BPO to KPO

Discussion Highlights

• HIV and AIDS needs to be considered in the broader context of sexual and reproductive health and rights
• Discrimination stops people getting testing and accessing treatment, and fuels the spread of HIV and AIDS
• Funding needs to be directed to addressing intimate partner transmission, which is high in the region
• Food, security and poverty drive risky behaviour
• There are links between education and reduced risks
• Gender analysis and proper needs assessment is needed
• We need positive dialogue with faith-based organisations about condoms and contraception

Recommendations

That the alliance be representative of the region and include faith leaders, donors and private sector, community and government leaders and HIV positive groups

That the alliance:

• lobbies for increased investment in integrated sexual and reproductive health services and research
• promotes faith based leadership in supporting people living with HIV
• shares resources, expertise and good practices, promotes partnership and opportunities for training and networking
• engages in joint-advocacy
• collaborates to overcome stigma and discrimination and promote cultural change

Discussion Highlights

• Ability, space given to share our faith based community and volunteer work
• Share ideas on how to make a space for women in faith and interfaith communities
• Oneness
• Support system and a central hub of learning sharing and collaboration, a focal point for connection
• Providing us a sense of being part of a larger whole
• Easy to get trapped in individual issues – how will an alliance address difficult issues?
• Look to Oneness, lifting up to another level of thinking
• Alliance as an opportunity to be a loud voice, energy filled– just sick of it – want to scream from the mtn tops – could Alliance speak loudly, need pathways for these voices – Alliance is about identifying pathways, a structured way for getting it out

• Each one of us is responsible – yet recognise that there may be possible resistance in ourselves about all three – need to work within to bring nexus of these 3 together in our own thinking and in our own projects – take responsibility to bring the 3rd or 2nd and 3rd partners to our own projects
• Keep issues in the foreground – mobilize actors – importance of networking, ability to mobilise people in different countries
• Core principles – MDGs and gender lens –
• Working from the existing interfaith groups, add development to the mix – might give interfaith groups something to work on
• Building on common ground, valuing different approaches, creativity, men & women, concept of Oneness
• Sharing real stories and experiences that can be used to inform policy
• Model of grass roots up and top down, information flow freely
• Sharing of information between members of Alliance – in this way build a quality Alliance
• Avoid having to relearn same lessons – therefore sharing information important

Recommendations

• Need to engage men leaders
• Need to plan
• Proceed prayerfully, meditatively
• Use web based links and teleconferencing (as opposed to expensive travel, conferences)
• Have the leadership team/steering group table a summary of the summit and recommendations so we have something tangible – this could take form of a regular newsletter, central database with all details
• Attendees take on responsibility of going into local communities and context and talk about the Alliance, presentation evenings, link more people to the alliance, expand
• Suggest the documenting of different faiths’ stands on women and development – misconceptions about what the faith says and what practices are, done in the name of religion, but might be folklore – if scripture taken into account, may see different outcomes
• Recommend a charter of understanding that comes out of this summit – a framework of how to continue – so we don’t dissipate into an abyss to move forward
• Ability to work together but differently – strategic plan for each country each organisation – manage each differently
• Be careful about how to communicate
• Be aware of different contexts, reality – to communicate effectively in each country
• Take action to start Alliance quickly so not to lose momentum
• Approach existing interfaith networks
• Invite wider representation of groups to the steering group
• Have a meeting of faith groups to help identify common ground
• Develop skills of listening to what women’s needs are
• Alliance should start with the education of young people

Discussion Highlights

• Discovering what each sector is doing to eradicate violence against women e.g. respectful relationships, ensuring knowledge for church leaders & promoting women’s leadership
• Sectors are already working together however this can further supported
• Focused on 2 key issues – ensuring adequate legal frameworks and engaging men and boys and key priorities within these areas
• Small actions result in large movements
• Ensuring that discussions on violence against women include all forms of violence

Actions

• Empowering individual actions – micro-movements
• Continuing to work on shifting violence against women out of the private sphere
• Working on the prevention of violence against women in conflict and post-conflict situations

Discussion Highlights

• Women’s wealth is growing significantly – but women get crumbs from the philanthropic table
• Men, not just women, are giving – but there is a difference in giving behaviours
• Donors more recently see philanthropic giving and investment as strategic
• Micro-finance is an avenue for strategic investment – and the majority of beneficiaries are women and girls

Recommendations

• Visit the Women Donor’s website – www.womendonors.org.au – to see statistics on women’s disadvantage which will outrage; stories which will inspire; and projects to connect to
• Undertake the Gender Lens workshop which will take place next year – visit www.vwt.org.au – and purchase the book
• That women’s funds collaborate for greater impact – to build a funding women movement similar to that in the US
• Advocate for women and girls

Discussion Highlights

• Focus was on Social Isolation, Intergenerational issues & Employment & Training barriers
• However, we had a fantastic group discussion of broader issues & the highlights were:
• Women’s lives & issues are complex, and programs/funding should be holistic (ie English language tuition)
• Women are trying to deal with issues from their home country as well as settlement, trauma, family, work etc
• Access to women through the home fits with religious & cultural norms & is an entry point for transformation
• Anglo Aussies sharing life with new arrivals works really well

Recommendations

Social Isolation – BT to advocate for funding for existing leadership courses & distribute successful models that address language & mentoring support needs.

Employment – Initiatives are needed to address fears of women (of immigration work laws, going out to get training), and Govt. to fund holistic refugee work programs.

Intergenerational – Use schools to help, & flexible Govt policies & legislation are needed.

Discussion Highlights

• Mitigation – cut emissions and take responsibility
• Stories from Oz, Solomons, Tibet/India, Samoa, Myanmar
• Government policies & practice – reactive and sometimes in collusion with private sector/industry polluters
• Private sector impacts on environment – e.g. logging, mining
• Land rights and ownership – flairs up in emergencies
• Knowledge and understanding of women about the science
• Counter campaign and addressing that
• Melting ice in Tibet
• Plans for surviving emergencies & warning systems

Priorities for Action

• Gender and climate change education for faith leaders
• Religious practice supporting ecological consciousness
• Education for women and young people on the science and how to protect themselves
• Women’s voice in decisions made in government and private sector
• Collect information around land ownership including gender
• Advocacy around climate change & social justice
• Acknowledge and invest in indigenous women’s knowledge
• Analysis of politics & power & how to influence

Working Together

• Recognise and strengthen the good existing work
• Keep it achievable, realistic & motivating
• Develop new and link existing networks at sub-regional and global levels (e.g. One Million Women and WEDO and their Gender and Climate Change Coalition)
• Capturing stories in different ways (electronic and other) and sharing with other communities and groups
• Local traditional/indigenous knowledge based organisations working together with other groups and organisations
• Interfaith dialogue about climate change to prepare for and respond to climate change

Discussion Highlights

• Globally only 9% reduction in maternal mortality rate. Some of the worst-performing countries on MDG 5 are PNG, Timor Leste, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh
• Only 35% women in Asia Pacific give birth with a skilled birth attendant

Contributing factors:

• – Delay in seeking treatment
• – Access to health services
• – Quality of treatment and staffing
• – ‘myths’ about certain treatments/services- need to “shift the story”

Challenges of an Alliance on MDG 5

• – Different religious and cultural responses to reproductive health
• – Engaging men in advocating for maternal and reproductive health
• – Ensuring that there is political will at different levels of leadership
• – Communication within a large alliance

Opportunities of an Alliance:

• Collective influence at all levels- regional, national, local levels
• Great potential and reach to work with young people- girls and boys through our networks
• Create space for sharing information and learnings eg replicable models

Key Priority Issues of an Asia Pacific Alliance:

• Advocacy at all levels: local, national, regional and with donors. Help empower women in Asia Pacific raise their voices on maternal health, provide platforms for personal stories and build cadre of role models.
• Focus on faith communities and education/awareness around maternal health, and women’s access to decision-making. Harness existing faith structures and institutions.
• Advocate to improve aid effectiveness and implementation around maternal health- where aid is directed and how implemented eg PNG

Recommendations

Build political will around MDG 5 (like example of HIV/AIDs) taking a rights based and gender based approach

Recommendations for Practical Actions:

• Build advocacy capacity by equipping and training civil society in technical issues and lobbying skills- transforming men and women into advocates
• Develop repository of information and resources, and assess political context of each country situation through partnering with governments where possible
• Mass communication strategies-Encourage local leaders, men and women to deliver health messages and model behaviour change in their communities. Identify local champions and use creative media channels eg radio
• Make the case to national decision-makers/government eg economists- economic analysis of costs and benefits/return of investment for maternal health.
• Build a cadre of ambassadors and spokespersons for maternal health from corporate sector and popular public figures

Discussion Highlights

Key Questions:

• What projects/activities initiatives are you involved in that are successfully supporting economic/political empowerment of women?
• What is successful about the current alliance/ networks you participate in?
• How can a Breakthrough Alliance strengthen efforts to achieve sustainable empowerment and equality outcomes?
• Work together grounded in common purpose and values
• Work needs to be grounded in women’s reality
• Importance of intergenerational contributions
• Working at different levels – grassroots, national and international
• Recognise the challenges of difference and inequality between members of network – brings different levels of resourcing, capacity. Risk of competition.
• Power sharing, establishing non-patriarchal models.
• People without faith need to be open to people with faith, and vice versa.
• Respect, solidarity and recognition of individual people’s contribution

Recommendations

• Alliance based on sharing of common focus and values
• Networks break where trust is broken – must recognise diversity of people involved and different contributions
• Importance of grassroots, national, regional and global networks linked by face to face as well as email and media technologies
• Avoid hierarchy, but need a champion and leadership in public spaces
• Keep focussed on a clear common task, motivate and keep the ball rolling