GCAP eletter 6th March 2008

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THE GCAP E-LETTER 2007

March 6th 2008- Edition #19

The Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) is a growing alliance of trade unions, community groups, faith groups, women and youth organisations, NGOs and other campaigners working together across more than 100 national platforms. GCAP is calling for action from the world’s leaders to meet their promises to end poverty and inequality. The white band is our symbol and expression of solidarity against poverty.

Dear friends,

International Women’s Day is just days away (Saturday March 8th) and we are delighted to present a special e-letter for all our GCAP coalitions outlining the actions you can take and the plans of some are taking on Saturday.

Actions, Materials and Inspiration for IWD 2008

ACTION - To support your mobilisation and advocacy efforts we have produced an E-Card, which has been circulated in four languages to all coalitions.  If you haven’t received this, go to www.whiteband.org and download it there.  You can e-mail this card to your members, politicians and the public to spread the word of our demand for gender equality to end poverty.  There is also a Word version to which you can add your own demands.

MATERIALS - A physical postcard was also designed and made for the CSW event in New York last week.  You can download and print this locally as well from the website.

We have also produced a Photo Slideshow with music dedicated to mobilisations by and for women against poverty and inequality. This is currently on the homepage of whiteband.org to view and we aim to post a link later to enable you to download it.  Use this slideshow at your events and presentations as it really illustrates the work of GCAP on women’s issues. If you are unable to view it, contact sarah.gregory@civicus.org for an e-mailable version.

Thirdly we have produced a global statement of political demands for IWD 2008, a generic press release based on these demands and which you can adapt with local information or just send to media in its current format.  We have a specific statement from the Arab region, which everyone can circulate and use to support their work.  To complement these a press release outlining the highlights from our 2008 mobilisation plans is also available for dissemination as part of IWD events.

INSPIRATION - Following the success of the Feminist Taskforce’s launch event at last week’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York -read Ana Agostino’s blog, the day will be marked in South Africa, Bangladesh, India, Georgia, Nigeria and Peru among others.  

Beginning with a press conference in Johannesburg this Friday, March 7th, Ana Agostino and Kumi Naidoo will be joined by the South African Commissioner for Human Rights, Jody Kollapen, and leaders from local women’s rights NGOs.  Foreign and local media will hear about our demands and our plans to Take Action during the rest of 2008.  

GCAP Arab region will release their statement to media and at several events.

The Indian coalition is pushing its 'Women's Charter Against Poverty' - based on the outcomes of the Women's Tribunal Against Poverty. Download the reports on wadanatodo.net/reports and watch the tribunal on youtube.com

Members of the People’s Forum on MDGs in Bangladesh are holding rallies, discussion meetings and will culminate the day with a march on National Parliament in Dhaka led by over 40 development and rights organizations.

In Georgia, the Future without Poverty bus will carry members of the GCAP coalition to towns in the countryside campaign for better maternal and child healthcare services.  

Finally, in Nigeria there will be a lecture in Taraba state to which they have invited key dignitaries to hear their policy demands.

I hope you are inspired to join in the spirit of International Women’s Day by celebrating our achievements and demanding gender equality to end poverty.

As March 8th is a crucial date for our mobilization efforts we would request you to use this opportunity to highlight the issues of women rights, gender justice and equality at all levels. Please engage with women rights groups, organize public events and highlight the demands that are part of GCAP policy document. Please share the details of your events on IWD with us so that we can highlight your efforts in our global events and media engagements. We ask you to also register your events on internationalwomensday.com

We are also happy to inform that a plan for regional meetings is being discussed. Asia, Africa and Latin America–Caribbean regional meetings will take place during the period from March-May and will help to take the process forward.

Regards,

Irfan Mufti, GCAP Campaign Manager & the IFT Support Team

TEAM UPDATES

MOBILISATION Update
Launch the 2008 Mobilisation Plans
International Women’s Day is a perfect opportunity for national coalitions to launch the 2008 mobilisation plans.
The 2008 mobilisation proposal has been finalized, circulated and is available on www.whiteband.org. It has been updated to include “50 Days of Action”, from 1 September to 20 October to incorporate different mobilisation opportunities taking place during this time including the MDG conference in New York in September and Stand Up. If you have plans for International Women’s Day that are not listed above, please email us to so we can include them in our reporting of GCAP activities on the day. For more information contact sarah.gregory@civicus.org

E-COMMUNICATIONS Update
FINAL OPPORTUNITY - The next eCampaigning Forum, organised by Fairsay will be 10-11 April at St Anne's College in Oxford, UK. The 2008 eCampaigning Forum (http://www.fairsay.com/labs/ecf/2008) brings together e-campaigning practitioners, managers, freelancers, entrepreneurs and bloggers to share the essential and emerging trends and practices in campaigning (advocacy) using interactive media. It is a good opportunity for GCAP webmasters and online campaigners, especially those with a regional mandate, to meet there and take part to the Forum. We hope a GCAP group will also use this gathering to meet a day beforehand to discuss the 2008/10 whiteband.org strategic plan (LINK) and coordinate e-campaigning actions in 2008.
If you have not already been in touch and are interested, please contact Henri.Valot@civicus.org, from the IFT support team.

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The GCAP IFT Support Team

Irfan Mufti, Campaign Manager  
Ciara O’Sullivan, Media and Communication Coordinator (E-letter editor)
Sarah Gregory, Outreach and Mobilization Coordinator   
Henri Valot, Organisational Development Advisor  
Caitlin Blaser, Campaign Officer
Frida Hjalmarson@civicus.org, Intern


GCAP IFT support team
C/O CIVICUS
PO Box 933, Southdale 2135
Johannesburg – South-Africa
Email: info@whiteband.org
Tel: + 27 11 833 59 59    Fax: + 27 11 833 97 79