Parallel event in contribution to the
IIIrd World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia And Related Intolerance

Organized by
Create Africa South (CAS), Self Employed Women’s Union (SEWU), Women National Coalition (WNC), Commision africaine des Promoteurs de la Santé et des Droits de l’Homme (CAPSDH)

In cooperation with the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
OHCHR- Palais des Nations
Avenue de la Paix 8-14
Geneva 10, CH
Internet: www.unhchr.ch

With the support of
The French Government - Ministère des Affaires étrangères
The Swiss Government- Department Federal for Foreign Affairs (DDC)
L’Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie
The Community of Portuguese- speaking Countries (CPLP)

1.  Context

Within the implementation of the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (1995-2004), for Indigenous and Tribal People, the 3^rd World Conference against Racism represents a crucial opportunity for addressing the full scope of the political, social, economic, educational and cultural scourge of racism and institutionalized discrimination that are still affecting the enjoyment, on an equal footing, of their fundamental human rights, cultural identity and sustainable development. Bearing in mind the recommendation of the General Assembly to dedicate special attention to the problems at the crossroads of gender and racial discrimination, the Project aims at providing special exposure to Indigenous and Tribal Women, taking into consideration the crucial role they are playing in society, at the intersection of cultural heritage and creative modernity.

The advent of the WCAR within the particular historical and social context of South Africa and in Durban, Kwazulu Natal, presents an excellent opportunity of profiling the relationships between local, tribal and indigenous women. To that end, the Project intends to build and affirm networks between recognised Indigenous Women from the global and the local community with Women from local, tribal and traditional communities in acknowledgement of their mutual struggle against racism and gender discrimination and their needs to build meaningful economic and cultural networks that lead to peace, social healing and self sustainable development.

2.  Project Description

"AMAZWI ABESIFAZANE
VOICES OF WOMEN
CREATIVITY IN CRISIS RESPONSE"

The Project, which origin and design were proposed by Zulu women’s organizations and Trade Unions from Durban, will welcome indigenous representatives from South Africa and from all regions of the world, already in Durban for attending the WCAR. It is designed as a three-fold parallel event to the WCAR:

1. An exhibition of works and artworks for promoting initiatives led by indigenous women worldwide to face crisis’ challenges through cultural creativity, decent work, gender equity. The core of this exhibition is AMAZWI ABESIFAZANE, an impressive collection of memory cloths created through a project conceptualized by Create Africa South (CAS) a South African organization, and implemented in close cooperation with Self Employed Women’s Union (SEWU). Based in Durban, CAS and SEWU are working to address, racial and gender discrimination beyond apartheid in South Africa especially in the region of Kwazulu Natal.
2. A two day forum for developing a thematic approach through panels and round table discussions. The two day forum will include:

• The participation of indigenous women from indigenous and tribal organizations worldwide attending the WCAR in Durban.
• A particular participation expected from representatives of Indigenous and Tribal women of South Africa .
• The invited participation of senior officers and representatives from the UN Secretariat, bodies and specialized agencies as well as Government representatives in charge of gender oriented programs.
• The participation of national as well as international NGOs, experts and gender involved contributors from civil society at large.

3. A musical concert with the participation of one of the major representatives of Zulu musical life at the crossroads of traditional heritage and modernity, by Ms Busi MHLONGO resident of Durban.This free concert corresponds to a gift in the true African tradition of embracing visitors. It will be organized by the South African NGOs, CAS, WNC, SEWU in collaboration with CAPSDH and Durban based professionals.

3. Logistics and Organization in Durban

Venue: The parallel event is designed to meet grassroots women in the framework of their daily lives. For that reason it has been decided to locate it at a venue that is situated in the centre of the informal economy of Durban within reasonable proximity of the International Convention Center (ICC) .

Transport between the ICC and the ‘Venue’: Transport will be provided that will ferry the participants from the ICC to the venue at hourly intervals to facilitate the transport from the ICC to the parallel event site.

Strong co-operation will be developed with other parallel events towards the best integration into the WCAR’s advocacy dimension, on the official WCAR website. A special effort will be made through local media and website information to promote AMAZWI ABESIFAZANE and its two-day schedule among the WCAR participants.

4. Objectives and Projected Results

By taking advantage of the context of the WCAR in order to give to these initiatives an adequate and reinforced emphasis , the outputs of the project will be:

• to gather, at local and global level, information disseminated on neglected local realities and to collate existing needs in civil society towards future multilateral and governmental policies, actions and programs in benefit of indigenous and tribal women, to be connected with the follow-up of the Program of Action of the WCAR and with the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People.

• to enhance the major and complex role of Indigenous and Tribal Women as "peace pillars"in Post-Conflict, Crisis Response, and Rehabilitation process, as educators and irrepleceable social and cultural healers.

• to contribute to the networking of indigenous and tribal women’s initiatives for action-oriented field cooperation, mutual technical assistance, equitable trade and convergent civil society strategic planning worldwide.

• to acknowledge the experience of South African Indigenous and Tribal women affording them a platform to be full participants within the historical presence of the WCAR in their own town and regions; Also to raise their awareness about other gender initiatives and priorities from abroad that will enable to strengthen their local self-esteem recovery and capacity-building as an ongoing process.

5. South African NGOs as Partners and local organizers

The project is organized in close collaboration with the mentioned South African NGOs, CAS and SEWU in association with Women National Coalition, WNC, located within South Africa operating from the city of Durban and responsible for the local organization and administration of the parallel event. Their social experience, cultural, economic and trade-union background in the post-apartheid context contribute to the transformation of social circumstances of women’s self esteem, autonomy and empowerment.

CAS, an NGO established in 2000 to preserve and develop creativity in South Africa, conceptualizes and implements social and cultural projects in KwaZulu Natal like the Mazizi Kunene Library Project and Tito Zungu scholarship fund.

SEWU is a trade union for working women. SEWU assists low- income women with legal and health assistance, and in their negociations with authorities (City council, police....). It trains and develops skills, provides access and facilities to relief and counselling against insecurity and rape. SEWU’s role will be to bring the experience of women in the low-income end of the informal sector, principal victims of the regime of apartheid and its discriminatory legacy.

WNC has provided since 1992 a united front for 136 affiliated women’s organizations, representing 5 to 7 million women across the political, economic, social, racial, cultural and religious spectra. WNC is a national advocate and lobbyist for gender sensitive policies. It engages in public education, research and information as a national organization connected with international gender related network on key issues (women and economy, governance, legislature...). Through coordinating the organization of the parallel event, WNC will bring South African women together with Indigenous women from the rest of the world to share experiences about discrimination, as well as the initiatives led to overcome such discrimination

The project will be implemented with the participation of indigenous organizations who are attending the WCAR. The representatives of such organizations, well known from the Indigenous Project Team of UN HCHR and attending to the WCAR and NGOs activities, will be invited to compose the panels and to participate to the programme of the parallel event.

The project will be implemented with the participation of international NGOs like the African Commission for Health and Human Rights Promoters (CAPSDH), and Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) whose activities and strategy support and coordinate programmes of local associations from Western African countries for the rehabilitation of women victims of political violence and for the protection of civil, social, cultural and economical rights.

According to their institutional mandate and to their respective activities within the WCAR, an institutional support and technical participation is requested from some UN bodies and specialized agencies involved in Indigenous issues and Gender-oriented programs. UN specialized departments, bodies and agencies will be approached for participation or support: ILO, UNESCO, UNIFEM, DPI, UNDP, CEDAW, the World Bank, or UNICEF.

7.  Proposed Follow-Up

The Project follow up will be part of the expected outputs of the WCAR as a whole and within the context of the establishment of the Indigenous People Permanent Forum and the framework of the UN International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995-2004).

• It will advocate for support to be given to Indigenous and Tribal Women's creativity in their field struggle against the entrenched forms of extreme racism and discrimination that affect the enjoyment of their human rights and sustainable development.

• It will enhance their crucial role in Post-Conflict and Peace Reabilitation Processes .

• It will provide an appropriate and direct information on the realities of Indigenous and Tribal Women's social, commercial, entrepreneurial role in sustainable development.

• The conclusions and recommendations will be communicated to the governments, the UN WCAR Secretariat as well as to the competent UN bodies and specialized agencies. This will contribute to call particular attention on the urgency of building comprehensive response to the consistent initiatives undertaken, from grassroots level, by Indigenous and Tribal women as members of a vulnerable crisis-affected group for overcoming the roots and manifestations of racism and gender exploitation.

• The concrete networking of the organizations attending the parallel event for establishing and/or strengthening among themselves a direct and action-oriented cooperation for the exchange of information, lobbying skills and mutual assistance. As an effective and meaningful mean for resource mobilization, it will be a constructive approach to improve technical profile and local capacity building, with due appropriateness and timeliness, in order to face the increasing informal market and its opportunities in the globalization.

Tuesday 28 August 2001: Exhibition Opening

Wednesday 29 August 2001 : FORUM (1st day)

9.00 - 10.15: Opening Session

• Welcome remarks and introduction : Dr Zuma, South African Minister for Foreign Affairs (to be confirmed)
• Opening address : Mrs Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Nobel Price for Peace
• Keynote address : Pr Erika Irene Daes, Chairperson of the United Nations Working Group on Iindigenous Peoples Opening Statements by representatives of :
• the Community of the Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) : Mrs Ambassador Dulce Maria Pereira, Executive Secretary of the CPLP
• the Francophonie multilaterale : Mrs... (to be confirmed)
• the Indigenous Peoples World Community : Mrs Linda Burney, Director General for Aboriginal Affairs (Australia)
• Poem dedicated to the Women of the World by M.Mazizi Kunene, acclaimed South African poet.

10.30 -12.30: Session One
Theme I : Women's Creativity against Discrimination, Local and Global Challenges : Post-apartheid South Africa

• Amazwi Abesifazane, the Zulu experience : CAS, SEWU, WNC
• Griqua National Conference
• Khoi Foundation
• San People

Exposition, General Debate
Chairperson/Moderator : ............., South Africa
Special participation: Mrs Frances Rodrigues, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs( Mozambique)

Theme II : Local and Global, Converging experiences

• Latin America : Eliana Potiguara, Brasil
• Europe : ....... ( Sami Parliament)
• Asia : Mrs Anna Pinto from CORE (Manipur, India)
• North America :
• xposition, General Debate

Chairperson/Moderator: Mrs Myrna Cunningham, Rector of the URACCAN (Nicaragua)
Special participation:............

15.45 -17.45: Session Three
Theme II : Local and Global Converging experiences

• Central Africa : Mrs Princesse Odette Happy (Cameroun)
• Eastern Africa : Mrs Lucy Mulenki, Indigenous Information Network (Kenya)
• Pacific Region : Mrs Victoria Tauli Corpuz, Indigenous Peoples International Centre for Policy, Reseach and Education (Phillipines)

Exposition, General Debate
Chairperson /Moderator: Mrs Mililani Trask, Na Koa Ikaika Okalahui Hawaii, Advancement of Indigenous Affairs (Hawaii, USA)
Special participation : Mrs Mary Simat (Kenya), Vice President of IPACC

Thursday 30 August 2001 : Forum, 2nd day

9.00 -12.00: Session Four
Theme III: Towards Initiatives for Networking in Crisis Reconstruction and Self Development

Panelists :

• .... .... ( South and Southern Africa)
• Mrs Francine Vormese, journalist (France)
• Mrs Ana Angarita Noguera, Gender and Reproductive Rights , UNOHCHR
• Mrs Vivian Stromberg (USA), MADRE, Executive Director, Exposition, General Debate

Chairperson / Moderator :Mrs Roxanna Carrillo, Senior officer for Human Rights UNIFEM (to be confirmed)
Special participation : Mrs Aminata Traoré, Former Minister for Culture and Turism of Mali, Director of the Institute Amadou Hampaté Ba (Mali)

14.00 -16.30: Session Five 
Theme IV: Indigenous Women in Social healing and Conflict Prevention

• South Africa :.......................
• Central Africa : Mrs Colette Mikila (Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda)
• Nepal: Mrs Stella Tamang, Nepal Tamang Women Ghedung ( Nepal)
• Latin America :

Exposition, General Debate
Chairperson /Moderator : Mrs Bineta Diop (Sénégal), President of Femmes Africa Solidarité
Special participation : M. Olara Otunnu, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Children in Armed Conflict ( to be confirmed)

Chairperson : Pr Erika Irene Daes, Chairperson of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Peoples
Special participation :

• Representatives of the organizers : CAS, CAPSDH, SEWU and Women National Coalition
• Ambassador Dulce Maria Pereira, Executive Secretary of the CPLP
• Mrs Charlotte Abaka, Chairperson, UN Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women , CEDAW- (to be confirmed)

20.30: CONCERT : Celebration of the Zulu Musical Creativity : Mrs Busi Mhlongo