Femisfera:  Women Re-Shaping the Economy and Politics

STAR Network Regional Conference

From May 9-12, 2002, over 140 women and men from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and Slovenia attended the fourth regional conference of the STAR Network in Porec, Croatia.  Representatives from NGOs, local and national governments, businesses, trade unions, and the media gathered to take stock of their accomplishments, campaigns, challenges and lessons learned since the 1st Porec conference in 2000 where the region’s first economic agenda for women was crafted.

To stimulate discussion around the conference, STAR Network released a new publication that analyzes women’s political and economic progress in the Yugoslav Successor States.

Each day offered a different theme.  Day One, AtmoSphere: What have we changed so far?, included an opening plenary and a panel discussion on progress in the region in women’s political participation, economic empowerment, grassroots movements, trade unions, and the media, as well as gender-equitable education.  That afternoon there were three important sessions highlighting success stories on Gender Equality Mechanisms, economic networking and cross-sectoral alliances, and women-specific business incubators and credit lines.

New ideas that emerged from AtmoShpere included:

• a renewed confidence in the power of cross-sectoral networking to influence change;
•  a desire for female managers and entrepreneurs to develop socially responsible business models;
• a commitment to defining discrimination and then creating and implementing locally relevant gender equality mechanisms; and developing mechanisms for monitoring and sanctioning violations of international standards made by international organizations (for example, UNMIK).

Concrete initiatives that emerged on day One include:

• a renewal of support for current campaigns against misogyny in advertisements and the media and those to increase the positive media coverage of women’s initiatives and accomplishments;
• a desire to create and utilize a cyber communications system that is publicly visible and marketable under the slogan “Do you Femi.Net?”; and
• an expertise exchange between women in the region and the WeiberWirtschaft women’s cooperative in Berlin.

Day Two, GlobalSphere: Learning for the Future started with a panel discussion on transitions for women in post-conflict societies, including European integration and the phenomena of globalization.  Four discussion groups then examined the dichotomy between the trends of globalization and nationalism, influencing national and international strategies for poverty reduction, the peace-building dynamics of trade and cross-border economic links, and the potential for inequities in the expansion of European integration.  The afternoon sessions allowed participants to choose from workshops on a wide variety of themes including gender audits, combating human trafficking, pension reforms throughout the region, and development of business strategies.  Over dinner, participants broke into sectoral groups for networking and strategy development of politicians, entrepreneurs, trade unionists, and media representatives.

New ideas that emerged from GlobalSphere included:

• Creating new groups or thinktanks for developing theory and basic knowledge that are not reflecting a need to emulate the West or to perceive women as victims;
• Monitoring and acting upon the often negative gender and social impacts of all aspects of globalization and urging national governments to play an active role in implementing appropriate and positive policies rather than accepting solutions imposed by more dominant countries;
• Creating gender sensitive regional poverty indicators and strategies for fighting poverty (PRSP).  In B-H this will include a pilot project for empowering young women to prevent trafficking;
• Thinking locally and acting globally -- keeping local distinctions and building equal partner relationships with international organizations;
• Remember the past in creating the future without petrifying or copying the memories and experiences of others.

New initiatives that emerged from day Two include:

• Creating a confederation of women’s business associations in countries in transition, for access to new markets and exchange of knowledge and experience (the first step: link poduzetna-most)
• Convening a regional conference of women entrepreneurs
• Formation of a regional, multisectoral team for CEDAW for analysis of previous reports and the creation of future reports, definition of indicators, and mutual support.

On day three, Our Sphere: The Challenges of Partnerships Across Sectors, started with a tripartite discussion on employment and retraining programs for women who have been laid off from a variety of industries.  Participants continued discussions on how to most effectively assist and empower women on economic issues with cross-sectoral discussions between trade unionists and entrepreneurs; NGO representatives, trade unionists, and politicians; and politicians and entrepreneurs.  Following a scenic boat trip around unfortunately rainy Porec, the participants returned for a candid dialogue between international funders and the women who seek their assistance. 

New ideas that emerged from Our Sphere included:

• Lobbying for the inclusion of women into negotiation teams at all levels (for example: between governments and international institutions, in peace processes, tripartite negotiations, and collective bargaining);
• Defining procedures for cross-sectoral collaboration and social dialogue;
• Breaking the myth of that women trade unionists and employers have incompatible interests, to establish a clear articulation of mutual expectations.

New initiatives that emerged from day Three include:

• Convening regional meetings for women employers and trade unionists and for activists and politicians;
• Initiating joint lobbying of employers and trade unionists towards governments (e.g., against decreasing the cost of labor)
• Holding a donor’s conference for women’s programs and budgets

Each evening, STAR organized a public program celebrating women's accomplishments: a book fair, video festival, photography exhibit and a concert.

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