INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF WOMEN CONSEIL INTERNATIONAL DES FEMMES CONSEJO INTERNACIONAL DE MUJERES
REGIONAL COUNCILS
Ø ECICW European Centre of the International Council of Women
Ø APRC Asia-Pacific Regional Council
Ø RCA Regional Council Americas
Regional Council Americas RCA
The Regional Council of the Americas was founded in 1987 in Bogota, Colombia.
The principles of the Regional Council’s Constitution have been reaffirmed during the Executive Committee Meeting held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in May 2002.
In its article 2 the RCA commits itself to promote the same objectives as the ones expressed in the ICW Constitution, such as the emancipation of women and Gender Equality in the continent.
The Headquarters of the Regional Council is located in the country of the RCA President.
In the last meeting of the RCA held in Bogota, Colombia, in October 2007, the National Council of Women of Guatemala was elected President of the Regional Council.
Organization:
The Regional Council is divided in 5 sub-regions: North America ( Canada and USA), Central America and the Caribbean (Guatemala, Santo Domingo), the Andes (Colombia, Peru) and South America (Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay).
Highlights:
The principle of quotas in politics has been introduced in some countries in South America and had produced positive effects.
The initiative of the NCW Colombia to promote a “Pact” between women’s organizations and political parties to empower women in the democratic process is a strategy which can be used by all our ICW members.
Another way to mobilize the public opinion to the cause of women is to publicize women’s success stories, as actors of the civil society. This strategy is used by the NCW Colombia and also in Santo Domingo where each year the NCW awards the Home Model which is officially recognized as a model of harmony in the family for many years.
All National Councils in South America pay a special attention to the evaluation, protection and violence prevention towards the indigenous population. It has been a common concern for many years. In many countries indigenous are still living in a state of slavery.
Poverty and extreme poverty is a general status in South America and the NCW are struggling to reduce it by promoting programs of education in remote regions with difficult access to health care and schools.
EUROPEAN CENTRE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF WOMEN (ECICW)
Founded in 1961 in Axenstein, Switzerland, granted with the participative status with the Council of Europe.
Board :
President: Grace Wedekind (Great Britain)
Vice-President: Eleni Adam (Greece)
Doreen Micallef (Malta)
Cosima Schenk (Switzerland)
Treasurer: Annelies Pierrot (The Netherlands)
General Secretary: Brigitte Le Gouis (France)
ECICW is one of the founding members of the European Women’s Lobby (EWL).
Affiliated members: 22 National Councils : Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Denmark, France, FYROM, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, The Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine.
Objectives:
ECICW’s aim is to empower women and to promote their participation in decision-making at national and European levels; to support human rights and to eliminate all kinds of discrimination; to encourage sustainable development and peace.
Organisation:
All National Councils are themselves umbrella organisations, all non-party-political, non religious and non-profit making associations, working with other non-governmental organisations referring to gender issues. ECICW presents motions, statements to governments and various authorities at the European level.
Activities of ECICW include information, education through seminars and programs in the fields of trafficking, prostitution, violence, health, ageing, abuse of children, democratic process.
For further information please contact : Grace Wedekind info@icw-cif.com
Brigitte Le Gouis info@icw-cif.com
ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL COUNCIL
The organisation is affiliated to the International Council of Women and is registered in Singapore.
The objectives are the same as those defined in the ICW-CIF Constitution, with a specific focus on the Asia-Pacific Region.
Only members of the ICW-CIF can be members of the Asia-Pacific Region.
The first meeting of APRC was held in Auckland, New Zealand in November 2004. The second meeting was held in Jakarta, Indonesia in April 2008.
Board of the APRC
President: Jane Prichard (New Zealand)
Treasurer: Lee Ong Wha (Singapore)
General Secretary: Bhaswati Sarkar (India)
Affiliated members: 19 National Councils
Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Cook Islands, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Republic of China, Thailand, Vanuatu.
A Statement has been issued at the end of the meeting of the Asia-Pacific Region in Jakarta:
A Toolkit on Climate Change by Jane Prichard, APRC President and ICW-CIF Vice-President
“Women defending the Integrity of the Planet”
The Toolkit is an outcome agreed at the Executive Committee Meeting in Jakarta in April 2008 and it contains resources for community education, stressing the crucial role women must play in reducing the effects of climate change. It consists in creating a healthy natural environment, saving energy, building a partnership with men for natural disasters.
Strategies:
- Use the toolkit for community education
- Collaborate with other groups
- Report to ICW-CIF on your projects
- Use the media to capture headlines
13 rue Caumartin, 75009 Paris, France
Tel : 33 1 47 42 19 40 Fax : 33 1 42 66 26 23
e-mail : info@icw-cif.com