Bringing Women Together Across the Divide

What we are hoping to do in the coming year

• Works with Great Tsunami Women Organization in assisting an additional 50 tsunami-affected women to start their own businesses through the “Lending a Hand making life better for Tsunami affected women” project;

• Continues to provide training and support to women seeking to run for political office:

In collaboration with International Republican Institute, conducts seven workshops for women who are running for political office;

 

In collaboration with Women’s Campaign International, continues to provide training to 25 women (one from each one Sri Lanka’s 25 districts) on techniques for running for political office;

 

Supports these 25 women to conduct five workshops each on running for political office for a total of 1250 women;

 

Facilitates an advocacy campaign visit by 90 women to the Sri Lankan parliament to demand a 35% quota for women in the parliament;

• Trains six selected women politicians who are currently in office on negotiation and mediation skills as well conflict transformation;

• Convenes the nine women politicians who participated in AWAW’s South African study tour at lest once a month to discuss strategies for influencing the peace process as well as peace building strategies from other countries;

• In collaboration with the London-based Tamil Women’s Development Forum, brings together five women from each side of the conflict to create a space for genuine discussion regarding the prospects for peace in Sri Lanka;

• Convenes a major conference in Colombo to push for the full implementation of UN Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and to present recommendations for a national action plan on 1325;

• Provides a five-day training on coalition building and consensus building for 25 women;

• • Trains 60 women from six local level women’s organizations in Kaluthara, Matara, and Galle districts on basic conflict transformation skills;