REPORT SUMMARY

PPSEAWA CONFERENCE - BALI - 18-23 MAY 2010

This was my first PPSEAWA conference and I can say that I got a good overview of the organisation for which I have been very active on Rarotonga over the last 6 years at least. It offered some perspective on how it meets its objectives, its current organizational management, and its prospects for the future. There is no doubt there are some very impassioned people on board who are doing some very good projects to help less privileged communities throughout the world. Some of the more affluent chapters generously focus their activities on disadvantaged groups outside of their own countries, whereas others like the Cook Islands focused on home-based needs. Although meaning well, I just felt that some of the projects undertaken by some of the chapters perhaps ignored what might be happening in their own backyards, so that they could ‘do good for others’ in other countries. Some chapters made sure that their voices and concerns were heard in the higher level corridors of power, while others worked at the grassroots level, attempting in some way to make life easier for the women in their countries.

There were several concerns raised about the management of the PPSEAWA organisation. Alexis raised the fact that the letters proposed to be sent to the USA and Tonga at the last conference, had not been sent by the Executive Council. It was difficult to accept that “protocols” could not be overcome by an international organisation like PPSEAWA to get our voice heard by whatever means possible. Just posting the letters out may at least have identified what those protocols were, if this was truly the issue.

The planning of the conference enabled dialogue among the members and in most of the sessions I attended, were well facilitated. Reporting back could have included some feedback by members themselves rather than just from the Council facilitators who on one occasion reflected a council agenda rather than the views of the participants. The afternoon session on Friday could have been optional, with an alternative session being provided if people weren’t interested in makeup and beauty products.

One disappointing aspect for Alexis and I was the sales booth system. Having only two of us at the conference meant that we were unable to set up our booth as much as we would have liked - to sell the goods that we had taken over to fundraise on behalf of PPSEAWA. Local vendors established full-time stalls to sell their goods. As a small delegation we were obliged to participate in as much of the program as possible , so that we were constantly setting up and packing up during short breaks. Cheaper locally made jewellery and other products were sold alongside cultural artifacts from visiting delegate countries. This had a big impact on the sales of many of us who had brought local crafts and products for sale to other delegates at the conference.

Several countries brought calendars to distribute so that we ended up giving away at least 50 calendars to overseas delegates. Those few calendars that were sold were mainly as a result of people recognizing Paddy. Several members approached us when they realised we were from the Cook Islands, to ask if they could be remembered to Paddy but unfortunately we didn’t take all their names.

It was interesting and perhaps a little disappointing from a PPSEAWA (CI) perspective about how little conference interest, or perhaps focus, on the CEDAW. Giving away the calendars to delegates gave recognition to the conference of the importance of the convention to the people of the Cook Islands and that we hadn’t just paid lip service to its signing or to the important focus of the last 3 years since the PPSEAWA conference in Auckland on the MDG3 and gender issues. It also reinforced that there was little in the program which reflected the importance of the convention to PPSEAWA. Although we had a full morning spent on MDG3, little reference was actually made to CEDAW.

The following report was written as a diary each day...