Power – Movements – Change December 2009, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Is it possible to build a strong transnational organization – part movement, part NGO, part network – that retains flexibility and energy, resists bureaucratization, and truly recognizes and builds on differences? That’s our goal as JASS! In December 2009, we gathered to track our journey, learn from each other and from allies’ experiences, and name the principles that underpin this work. Read more..
Women Redefining Democracy May 2009, Antigua, Guatemala
The
Nobel Women's Initiative, in partnership with JASS and the
Rigoberta Menchú Tum Foundation, hosted "Women Redefining
Democracy for Peace, Justice and Equality," May 10-12, 2009, in
Antigua, Guatemala. Women from around the world examined the challenges of democratization and reshaping democracy. Reporting on the conference is available on the JASS blog, JASS Facebook, the NWI blog, and
Open Democracy.
JASS Cross Regional Dialogue November 2008, Cape Town,
South Africa
-How are
changing power dynamics in the local-to-global context shaping women’s
lives, freedoms and agendas?
-How do 21st century feminists build movements, especially across
sector, age, class, location and other differences – what are
challenges and what does collective organizing power look like in each
context?
-What does it take to be a feminist movement-builder and an activist
leader?
-How does new communications technology interact with valuable,
old-fashioned organizing?
-What fresh, relevant visions are emerging, to make feminist agendas
appealing to all of society?
On November 11th, 12th
and 13th, 2008, JASS brought together, for the first
time, over 55 diverse activists involved in our fast-growing and
pioneering Feminist Movement-Building Initiative
in Mesoamerica, Southern Africa and Southeast Asia. The gathering was
timed to take advantage of the AWID Forum
in Cape Town, November 14-17 (where JASS convened and participate in
half a dozen workshops) and of its relevant theme: The Power of
Movements. The aims of the three-day dialogue were to reflect on and
share the experience in all three regions, to generate fresh knowledge
about movement-building from this accumulated practice, and to forge
cross-regional alliances, agendas and strategies going forward.
Following the AWID Forum, JASS brought together its
core teams and board for a two-day strategic planning meeting that
integrated the insights generated from the dialogue and the Forum into
a forward-looking four-year vision and plan.
Oceans separate us
united we stand by our voices...
Borders divide us
Our actions make us one...
Great distances keep us apart
Yet hope brings us together...
JASS weaves us closer
Older / younger, women all
With our histories
And our roots.
Martha Sanchez
JASS Cross Regional
Dialogue August 2008, Mexico City,
Mexico
Taking advantage of the presence of
feminist activists from around the world at the International
AIDS Conference (IAC) in Mexico, JASS
convened a dialogue among women from Africa and the Americas –
primarily Mexico and Central America – to share perspectives about the
state of women’s movements in their context, the distinct challenges
they face, and the new directions they see in women’s organizing. A
number of the African and Central American women have been involved in
JASS’ multiregional feminist movement-building initiative which seeks
to build the voice, visibility and collective organizing power of
women.
