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LOWC Update - #9
May 2007

An occasional, informal bulletin of news, events and resources for LOWC partners.

News

Ecumenical Community prepares for G-8 Summit in Germany
This year the G8 summit will be held 6-8 June in Heiligendamm, Germany. Despite often being criticized for having an overly northern focus, and not having truly 'global' representation, the outcomes from the G8 meetings do help to determine the world's development agenda. For example, In the fight against AIDS, the G8 plays a particularly important role. Universal Access on AIDS first reached the international AIDS policy agenda at the G8.

Since 2004, Germans have observed "Night of Solidarity" events just prior to the G8 summit. The purpose of these events is to bring organisations and citizens together to raise awareness and solidarity on AIDS. Last year, events took place in over 80 cities across Germany. This year, with the G8 summit taking place in Germany, Night of Solidarity events will be expanding internationally with campaigners around the world demonstrating solidarity with German civil society prior to the G8. These events will keep the spotlight on AIDS during the G8 summit and remind G8 leaders to keep the promises they have made. Planning for events is happening now. To learn more about this event, or how you can join or create a Night: http://www.worldaidscampaign.info/index.php/en/campaigns/key_events/
g8/international_night_of_solidarity
Read what the Ecumenical Advocacy has prepared on the G 8 meeting.
http://www.e-alliance.ch/g8_summit.jsp
*Taken from Universal Access Campaign newsletter

Sign on to G8 letter
A letter from religious leaders and people of faith to G8 leaders is open for signature at: http://www.e-alliance.ch/g8_summit.jsp 

The letter calls on G8 leaders to fulfill their repeated promises to fulfill their stated goals of supporting a global response to HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, and achieving universal access to comprehensive prevention programmes, treatment, care and support by 2010. The leaders of the G8 will meet in early June in Germany. The letter is open for signature until 19 May. See the action alert and text of the letter at: http://www.e-alliance.ch/media/media-6853.doc 

LWF monitors women's rights convention
In May, delegates from Mauritania will come to the UN to present a shadow report on teh so-called women's human rights treaty, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). LWF Mauritania is sponsoring the delegation, which also includes local NGOs. In the spirit of ecumenism, LOWC will also assist a delegation from Pakistan to present an NGO report, sponsored by the Dutch commission on Justice and Peace.

In July- August 2007 the following countries of interest to the LWF will be reviewed (23 July-10 August 2007): Bolivia, Brazil, Estonia, Guinea, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Singapore

LWF Churches and World Service Programs in these countries are encouraged to send 2-5 page "shadow reports" detailing issues such as women's access to education, violence against women, and other issues covered by CEDAW to the Lutheran Office for World Community. These reports are of great benefit to the CEDAW experts to further the national application of this human rights treaty. One way to prepare these reports is to read what a government has submitted to the UN, and respond in detail to any of the issues they may have misrepresented or overlooked. To read the country reports, or see the "issues and questions" up for discussion, go to: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw  . For more information, please email Emily Freeburg

Commission on Sustainable Development Meets at UN
The 15th session of the CSD began on 30 April and will run until 11 May at UN Headquarters in New York. This is the second, or policy year, of the second implementation cycle during which the Commission will continue its focus on the following areas: Energy for Sustainable Development; Industrial Development; Air pollution/ Atmosphere; and Climate Change. To read position papers and outcomes, check: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/policy.htm

New Research and Reports

Charter of Feminist Principles for African Feminists
The African Feminist Forum took place from 15th -19th November 2006 in Accra, Ghana. The meeting brought together over 100 feminist activists from all over the region and the diaspora. A key outcome of the forum was the adoption of the "Charter of Feminist Principles", which sets out the collective values and charts the change they wish to see in their communities, as well as their individual and collective responsibilities to the movement and to one another within the movement. For more information and to access the Charter, please visit http://www.awdf.org/pages/?pid=1&sid=62

Study highlights faith-based organizations' major role in HIV and AIDS response
The World Health Organization has released a study that noted the key role of faith-based organizations in HIV prevention and care, particularly in Africa. The report, Appreciating Assets: Mapping, Understanding, Translating and Engaging Religious Health Assets in Zambia and Lesotho, estimates that between 30% and 70% of the health infrastructure in Africa is currently owned by faith-based organizations yet there is often little cooperation between these organizations and mainstream public health programs.

The study focused on Lesotho and Zambia, countries with had HIV prevalence rates of 23.2% and 17% respectively in 2005. It found that Christian hospitals and health centers are providing about 40% of HIV care and treatment services in Lesotho and almost a third of the HIV and AIDS treatment facilities in Zambia are run by faith-based organisations. For further information on the ARHAP study, see: http://www.who.int/hiv/mediacentre/news66/en/index.html 

Toolkits, manuals and new web resources

HIV and AIDS Advocacy and Media Relations: Training Manual for Religious Leaders has been produced by the World Conference of Religions for Peace. Its aim is to strengthen the advocacy and media relations skills of religions leaders at national and community levels in order to expand their efforts on behalf of children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS.
Available at: http://www.religionsforpeace.org/resources/toolkits/index 

Online Atlas of the MDGs
The World Bank launched this website, which translates data on some of the world's development challenges into maps designed for a wide audience. The maps are derived from the Bank's World Development Indicators database, and depict progress toward meeting the Millennium Development Goals. http://devdata.worldbank.org/atlas-mdg/

Trade Capacity Building Assistance Toolkit
This toolkit seeks to promote trade policy, "trade facilitation", "trade-related technical assistance", "trade capacity building", and "trade capacity building assistance" of various international institutions concerned with development and trade issues. Generally, these terms refer to a variety of activities such as research, analysis, technical assistance, training, policy advice, loans and grants made available to developing organisations. For more information, see www.interaction.org/files.cgi/4746_TCB1.pdf 

A New Resource: "Realizing the Promise: Thirty Years of Making Change
with Women and Girls"
This publication details 30 years of the Centre for Development and Population Activities' (CEDPA) experience in advancing girls' education and youth development, increasing access to lifesaving reproductive health and HIV/AIDS services, and building women's leadership worldwide. It includes detailed descriptions of successful strategies and approaches to improve the lives of women and girls. Please note: This publication is available in English, Spanish and French.
http://www.cedpa.org/content/publication/detail/1011

Preventing HIV/AIDS in Young People: A Systematic Review of the Evidence from Developing Countries
Published in 2006 by the World Health Organization (WHO), this report evaluates various communication-centred approaches designed to prevent HIV/AIDS among young people around the world.
-It attempts to clarify "our collective understanding" of the term "evidence" and to develop a transparent methodology for reviewing the effectiveness of different types of interventions;
-It provides a comprehensive review of the evidence on the effectiveness of interventions to prevent HIV among young people in developing countries;
-It provides one perspective on defining priorities for action, and the authors hope that it will contribute to ongoing discussions and debates and will be enriched by other methods of assessing the evidence.
http://www.comminit.com/healthecomm/research.php?showdetails=557

Easier to use human rights treaties website
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has updated its country pages http://www.ohchr.org/english/countries/index.htm. Use the interactive map to select a region and then a country. Each page has information about a country's status of ratification for various human rights instruments, its reporting status, and any special procedures, as well as the most recent concluding observations from the human rights treaty committees.

Opportunities and Events

Request for Applications for the Malaria Communities Program The US President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) released its initial Request for Applications (RFA) for the Malaria Communities Program. This program will open up opportunities for new development partners, including local NGOs and faith-based organizations to implement community-based malaria prevention and control activities in PMI countries. This FY07 RFA is limited to applications focused on the initial seven PMI focus countries: Angola, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, Malawi, Senegal, and Rwanda
http://www.fightingmalaria.gov/mcp/index.html?nl=042607g
Special consideration will be given to respondents that provide the bulk of their resources for service delivery in-country through indigenous organizations (community-based or faith-based). Applications should be submitted on or before 10:00 AM on May 31, 2007.

The Global Fund issues seventh call for proposals
The Global Fund has issued its Call for Proposals for countries wishing to apply for Round 7 grants. The proposal form and various support documents are available in six languages at www.theglobalfund.org/en/apply/call7. Applications must be submitted by 4 July 2007. The Aidspan Guide to Round 7 Applications to the Global Fund can be downloaded in Word or PDF formats via www.aidspan.org/guides 

Global Forum on Migration and Development
On 9, 10 and 11 July 2007 the Belgian government will host the first meeting of the 'Global Forum on Migration and Development'. The King Baudouin Foundation has accepted the invitation to organise the first day of the Global Forum, which will be devoted to civil society. The 'Civil Society Forum on Migration and Development' on 9 July will gather a broad range of non-governmental actors to discuss the migration and development nexus and give input to the governmental discussions on the 10th and 11th of July. http://www.gfmd-civil-society.org/index.html

Civil Society Development Forum: 28-30 June, Geneva
A Platform for Development. Countdown for 2015. The Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO) and partners, has the pleasure to announce the dates of the Civil Society Development Forum to be held 28-30 June 2007 in Geneva. The Forum will be convened to bring together actors of global civil society to think future and to work on issues related to the wider development agenda. Fellowships (full or partial) are available for participants from developing countries. Selection of fellows will be made based on their contribution to the Forum through papers, workshops and reporting. Check out the background paper and the call for papers. The registration form is now available on-line (deadline: 25 May 2007; register now!). http://www.ngocongo.org/index.php?what=resources&id=10377

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LOWC NEWS FEATURE

Lutheran delegation advocates at UN commission on women

NEW YORK, Lutheran Office for World Community - March 2007:

Hailing from Brazil, Indonesia and Germany, three delegates represented the Lutheran World Federation at the recent UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

The three LWF representatives joined more than 1,600 other delegates from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) attending the CSW, which reviews governmental progress on programs and policies that promote the advancement of women. The representatives worked in caucuses and met with their governments to influence the 'agreed conclusions', which is the outcome document of the commission.

For the first time in history, more than 200 girls from around the world came to commission, to share their voices on the theme of "elimination of violence and discrimination against the girl child". The LWF is particularly interested in the theme because of the study guide it produced in 2001, "Churches Say 'NO' to Violence Against Women". This action plan for churches was published in response to the "Ecumenical Decade: Churches in Solidarity with Women" from 1988-1998.

This year's representatives brought a wealth of grassroots experience and knowledge to the UN.

From Indonesia, Rev. Sondang Napithulu, holds weekly meetings in her congregation for women and youth. In her region, women rarely hold leadership positions, and primarily influence decision-making behind the scenes through speaking with their husbands.

Often one of the only men in the room, Rev. Roger Schmidt, from Germany, is the newly-appointed officer of the LWF youth desk for church and society (YICAS). For the next four years he is tasked with assisting LWF member churches to include youth in their decision-making structures. As a delegate to the CSW, Pr. Schmidt has gained insight into how to do more to empower women and girls in institutional processes.

A feminist theologian, Rev. Elaine Nuenfeldt is a professor at the Escola Superior de Teologia at São Leopoldo in Brazil. At the CSW she participated in discussions about UN reform, where she has heard about how a gender perspective should be integrated across the UN system. According to Professor Nuenfeldt, the Latin American churches have begun to undertake similar processes, and held a consultation on gender inclusion last year. "Gender cannot be a department of our church," she said. "It must be in all the programs, and part of every budget discussion."

Though Nuenfeldt has enjoyed her time at the UN, she will be ready to return to Brazil and work with grassroots women again. "It is good to be here to learn about diplomacy, but it is so political and cold. Right now in Brazil I have friends that are protesting a logging company. Here I learn how to negotiate and be diplomatic, but we need this fight too - this hot feeling in our veins. I know the women, they have lost their land, they have no where to plant their food. I am asking, how can we be in solidarity with them?"

The three LWF delegates are not alone in representing the interest of churches. They join 45 women and five men from around the world as part of a coalition known as "Ecumenical Women", which meets for worship, training and collaboration. The coalition was formed in 2000 at the Five-Year Review of the Fourth World Conference on Women, know as Beijing +5.

The Ecumenical Women coalition includes the Anglican Consultative Council, The Lutheran World Federation, the Presbyterian Church (USA), United Methodist Office for the UN, the United Church of Christ, the World Council of Churches, the World Student Christian Federation, the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women and the Young Women's Christian Association.