Actions 2005 - World Relay
Brésil
The global launch of the World Relay took place in
Argentine
On March 12, women from Argentina received the Charter and the Quilt at Puerto Xavier, in Brazil. This city is at the border of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Then, they passed to Buenos Aires and held an event in the center of the city, reading the Charter, listening to music. The Charter and the Quilt went to Salta and La Quioca before being handed to Bolivian women.
Bolivie
The international bridge linking Argentina and Bolivia was the scene of the Relay on March 15. The Charter then went across the country before being handed over, on Saturday, March 19, to Peruvian women gathered in Desaguadero, a town on the shores of Lake Titicaca. To the strains of a brass band and under a scorching sun, they exchanged the first greetings. Then they went to the Town Hall in Desaguadero for a more formal ceremony at which the Bolivians delivered the Charter and quilt into the Peruvian women’s hands.
See the pictures in our News section.
Pérou
More news and pictures in our News section.
Équateur
More information and pictures in our News section.
(Read more details by visiting our spanish News.)
Colombie
Over 3000 women gathered at the Rumichaca bridge
to be present for the Relay’s arrival in Colombia. They blocked the highway to
demand, in particular, that the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) be
rejected, and they protested against neoliberal globalization.
More information and pictures in our News section.
Haïti
More news and pictures in our News section.
Cuba
On April 12, close to 3000 Cuban women gathered to witness the Relay’s objects be passed on from the hands of Haitian women. In an open forum, they voiced their support for the demands expressed in the Women's Global Charter for Humanity. Among the Cuban women’s proposals were the wish to see a reform of monetary policies, which currently have the effect of creating inequality and poverty; they also want to see the democratization of the United Nations so that it looks out for the interests of all peoples, and a review of the Millennium Accords.
More information, pictures in our News sectionHonduras
El Salvador
Women are holding actions on the borders of
More information and pictures in our News section.
Mexique
Rallies took place in
Chiapas, Mexico City and Chihuahua. Women hold meetings, town hall
sessions, news conferences; they created a national quilt in addition
to the square that will be joined to the global quilt. On October 17
they will also take part in the 24 hours of solidarity. For indigenous communities, noon, when the sun is at its highest point, is an important hour.
More pictures and texts in our News section
États-Unis d'Amérique
The Charter and the quilt went from Texas to Seattle then were passed to canadian women in Vancouver.<br>
Canada
Women welcomed the Charter arriving from the United States
on May 1. A public rally took place at the Vancouver Public Library. In
Yellowknife May 2, 2005, they played a round of the Poverty Game ™. In Winnipeg May 3, 2005,
they hold a public rally ending at the legislative buildings. The events in Ottawa, May
4, 2005 opened with a young women’s breakfast, sponsored by the Canadian
Federation of Students at 9:30 am. A public rally followed at noon at the Human
Rights Monument where there was speaker focusing on Pay Equity. There was an
evening reception at 5:30 on Parliament Hill hosted by Status of Women Canada.
In Moncton May 5th, 2005, the women of Moncton organized a supper and evening
event from 4pm – 10pm.
Read the text and see the pictures in our News section.
Québec
May 7th will was a national day of action with the receiving of the Charter and actions in front of the National Assembly in Quebec City. The Charter arrived by boat with the Canadian delegation and a long feminist human chain brought the Charter from the Old Port to the National Assembly, being passed from one pair of women’s hands to another.
See pictures and read more news in our News section.
Chypre
Grèce
The Greek coordination of WMW has organized its part of the Relay with
Complete text on the actions in the News section.
Turquie
See pictures and read the report about the Relay in Turkey in our News section.
On May 9th, the World Relay is arriving in Istanbul from Montréal. Michèle Asselin, the President of the FFQ (Women’s federation of Québec) is to bring the Charter and the Global Solidarity Quilt to Istanbul. Women from Greece, Bulgaria and Cyprus (from both Greek and Turkish parts) are coming to Istanbul to meet the World Relay while entering Europe. Women from all over the country will also be there. At noon, women will meet at the Haydarpasa Railway Station, where a press conference will be held. In the afternoon, women coming from all parts of the country will meet to plan the activities of October 17th.
On May 10th at 11:00 women from both Europe and Asia are coming by boats to the Maiden Tower, which is the symbol of isolation of women, to leave flowers there. Many legends exist about the Maiden Tower being located between two continents at the intersection point of Europe and Asia. The most known legend is: “According to a prophecy, a king is told he will loose his beloved daughter at the age of eighteen, by snakebite. To protect her, the king has this tower in the middle of the sea repaired, and places his daughter there. An apple-basket containing a snake is sent to the Tower and the snake empties its poison in the princess.”
At 15:00 women will meet at Taksim Atatürk Cultural Center and will march to Dolmabahce where a festival will take place and where our patchwork will be added to the Global Quilt. With our square of cloth, we want to illustrate our cultural diversity as a richness and also universal values we can use to build a better world.
On May 11th, about 40 women will move to Thessaloniki /Greece with the Charter and the Global Quilt to continue the Relay.
Italie
Delegates from
See pictures in our News section.
Portugal
Our coordination made the launch of the Charter on March 8th in Lisbon, we created a Web site with information about the Charter and the Relay, we launched a petition so that the Portuguese can subscribe to the world Charter and we shall be in streets during the demonstrations of April 25th (on The 31 years of the Portuguese Revolution) and of May 1st (Labour Day). See also the following article for the actions foreseen during the passage of the Relay in May.
Pictures, news in our News section.
Galice
On May 20th, we received in
Read more about the relay in the News section.
Pays Basque
http://www.emakumemartxa.org
France
European rally. Took place on May 28–29, in Marseille, in the south of France. During these two days, 12 000 women held debates and workshops on the different themes of the Charter and on the 17 demands. The French coordinating body also held information sessions in schools and address civil society, the media, and elected officials.
See report and pictures in our News section.
Have a look at the program on the Website created for this event.
Belgique
Women held relay marches from March 4–14, travelling by barge, bicycle and on foot and stop in shelters for battered women, police stations, social assistance offices, and refugee centres. Women took turns reading sections of the Charter. there was the public launching of the Charter on March 8th where 200 persons gathered up. Women will use the Charter to draft demands to present to local authorities. We still are planning a big event on October 16th where we count on the participation of 5 000 to 10 000 persons.
The Belgian coordinating body presents virtual quilts on its Website.
About 400 Belgians went to Marseille to receive the Charter and participate to the European feminist meeting of the WMW. Women from Belgium wanted the people to see in the medias and to a policital level that an important delegation of women is participing to it. They also wanted to present our European demands to the Belgian Minister in charge of Equality of chances.
Pays-Bas
On June 2nd we had a
(small scale) activity in the City of Utrecht where the
Wereldvrouwenmars NL (WMW in The Netherlands) is based.The program is as following:
June 2nd: colourful
gathering on the square in front of the Utrecht City-Hall after the
official arrival of the Charter, the Global quilt and the Dutch quilt.
The Mayor of the City of Utrecht, Ms. Annie Brouwer-Korf, symbolically
received and welcomed the symbols of the 2005 actions of the World
March.
Then we walked to the COS Utrecht, where the gathering continued.
Charlot Pierik, the coordinator, gave some information about the 2005
action symbols and the journey they have made so far. All women who
were at the gathering participated in the vote to choose which part of
the Dutch quilt will join the global quilt and continue with its
journey.
June 3rd: five women traveled by car to Copenhagen to bring the symbols.
Danemark
Joint focal point with
We have involved a lot of women in what hopefully will be a big evening here. The 4th of June starts with a demonstration at 4 o’clock and moves on to a place called the Grey Hall at Christiania at 6 o'clock. The evening will be filled with opera, choir, speaches, theatre, juggling, rock music, DJ's. The hall's got room for 1080 persons, we hope at least 500 will join us. Here’s our web site : www.demos.dk/website/kvindemarch/kvinder.htm.
Suède
Joint focal point with Denmark. The action tookplace in Denmark.
We
received the Relay with the Charter and the Patchwork quilt on June
4th, in Copenhagen. From Sweden we can report the activities in the
following program. You can also take a look at our homepage: www.varldskvinnomarschen.se
The Charter has been translated into Swedish. Our Swedish Platform contains 24 demands to the government and to all of us.
Roumanie
From June 6–8, women will be relaying the Charter through the country's three regions. They will discus the importance of the Charter and see how women who are fighting for their rights can use the Charter as an instrument to reinforce women's political presence.
Bulgarie
Within the 3 days of the stay of the Women’s Global Charter of Humanity in Bulgaria we will actively work to promote it into the local language (Bulgarian) to local organizations and individuals. We will continue to promote the Charter far after the dates are finished.
Activities to popularize the Women’s Global Charter for Humanity among Bulgarian and foreign NGOs:
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Publish the English and the Bulgarian versions of the Charter on the following websites: GERT www.gert.ngo-bg.org, Social Rights Bulgaria www.socialrigths.org, Women’s Information Technologies Transfer Project www.witt-project.net;
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Publish the French, English and Spanish versions of the Charter on the website of Les Penelopes: www.penelopes.org;
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Send a press-release in Bulgarian to local medias;
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Publish summary of the Charter in Bulgarian in some local medias;
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Send the Women's Global Charter for Humanity to local women’s mailing-lists;
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Print and distribute copies of the Women's Global Charter for Humanity to local women’s rights NGOs;
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Promote the Charter during any activities organized by GERT (press-conferences, workshops or participation at local or international meetings).
Suisse
Swiss women will receive the Charter from one represent who will travel from
For more information, consult the Web site: http://www.marche-mondiale.ch/.