50.50,

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 16:40:41 +0100

openDemocracy.net is committed to promoting human rights and democracy through dialogue and debate. But a global debate without the female half of humanity is neither global nor democratic.

With this in mind, we are running 50.50: a series of editorial projects designed to make openDemocracy a current affairs forum which is written, read and used equally by women and men. 50.50 is commissioning and producing a range of articles, blogs and podcasts to explore issues of gender equality and empowerment at the global level.

Editorial Projects

Please click on the name of the project to read more...

The Nobel Women's Initiative

The second international conference of the Nobel Women's Initiative takes place in Guatemala, May 10-12, 2009. Six female Nobel Peace Laureates will gather with eighty women activists and policy makers from thirty countries to discuss ways to "Redefine Democracy for Peace Justice and Equality”. openDemocracy will be there to explore the major themes and record events in articles, a multi-authored blog and podcasts.

We are grateful to the Barrow Cadbury Trust and The Tides Foundation for their financial support which made this project possible.

For our coverage of the first Nobel Women’s Initiative conference “Women Redefining Peace in the Middle East and Beyond” in Ireland in 2007, click here. Rapporteurs blogged the discussions and we podcast the meeting daily. Shirin Ebadi, Isabel Hilton, Ann Carr and Nadwa Sarandah explored the major themes in an article series.

We are grateful to The Tides Foundation and The Joukowsky Family Foundation for their financial support which made this project possible.

Women UNlimited: Commission on the Status of Women

The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to gender equality and the advancement of women. openDemocracy is at its fifty-third session from 2 - 13 March in New York. Jane Gabriel and others will report from and about the conference in the CSW 2009 blog.

February 2008 saw the start of the fifty-second session of the CSW, where Jane Gabriel and Zohra Moosa blogged behind the scenes on everything from the keynote speakers to the taste of the coffee.

In March 2007 openDemocracy hosted a blog and podcast of the conference. Pinar Ilkkaracan, Solana Larsen and Patricia Daniel and Jane Gabriel critically explored the issues raised.

Arab region: The Dignity of Women

'The Dignity of Women' brings us the voices and views of women working to end violence against women in the Arab region. In collaboration with the 'Karama' network of women’s organisations, the 5050 section of openDemocracy is bringing the knowledge and experiences of Arab women into the global debate. You can access the podcasts and articles here

We are grateful to for funding this editorial project as part of the Hivos Knowledge Programme on Promoting Pluralism

16 Days 2008 : Voices against Gender Violence

openDemocracy’s 5050 initiative covered the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence from 25 November to 10 December 2008, exploring issues of gender equality and empowerment on a global scale, with contributions from women and men around the world. You can find articles and podcasts here

Read reports from the 2007 16 Days campaign

The Wrong Turn: an open letter to my sisters

Rosemary Bechler looks at some of the discussion around the ‘feminist vote' in the US elections. What does it tell us in particular about Anglo-American feminist ambitions today? Do they exist? Do they reflect hard-won insights over the last twenty years? Could it be that we have taken a wrong turn, and may miss out on a historic opportunity in which feminists have a unique role to play? Over the coming weeks 50:50 will be looking for as many answers as possible to these questions.

MigrantVoice on refuge

In a special feature to mark Refugee Week 2008, openDemocracy ran a short project to bring unheard voices, new ideas and testimony of the lived experiences of refugees in Britain into the public debate. MigrantVoice incorporated a multiauthored blog, podcasts, and a substantial article debate including contributions from Saskia Sassen and Philippe Legrain, and edited by Rosemary Bechler. Partnerships with Sheffield's City of Sanctuary and the Migrant and Refugee Communities Forum (MRCF) based in west London added valuable new topics and voices to the discussion. You can access the blog, read the article series, and listen to the podcast for World Refugee Day here.

Pathways of Women's Empowerment

Pathways is an on going partnership with the Institute of Development Studies, which is running a research and communications programme linking academics, activists and practitioners to find out ‘what works' to empower women. Over the coming year, openDemocracy will bring you the voices and views of women working in Ghana, Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, Palestine, Sudan and Nigeria. Articles for the initiative include contributions by Srilatha Batliwala, Andrea Cornwall, Mulki Al-Sharmani, Cecilia Sardenberg, Takyiwaa Manuh (you can also listen to Takyiwaa's interview here), Firdous Azim, Naila Kabeer, Emily Esplen, Ana Alice Alcântara and Rosalind Eyben.

You can find a full list of all the articles and podcasts in the project here, and read the project blog here.

We would like to thank The Barrow Cadbury Trust and The Institute of Development Studies, Sussex University, for supporting this project.

Our Marie Stopes Global Safe Abortion conference blog can be found here, as well as our Global Safe Abortion podcast which can be listened to here.

16 days of Activism Against Gender Violence

Over 16 days, between 25th November and 10th December, openDemocracy is running an editorial project in support of the annual activism against gender violence campaign. We are publishing articles and podcasts and running a dedicated blog on our front page. Guest blogger Zohra Moosa of the Fawcett Society is leading the dialogue. Themes we are addressing include: security masculinities and the state, rape and impunity, healthy bodies, coercion and control, and women as trade. You can find a full list of our articles and podcasts here.

Our 16 Days coverage was made possible by the generosity of Alec Reed.

openSummit: Women talk to the G8

In 2007, openDemocracy covered the G8 process from a women's perspective. Women from around the world debated key issues of aid, globalisation, climate change and health in a month-long openSummit blog. Patricia Daniel, Tina Wallace, Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie, Christopher Albin-Lackey and Ben Rawlence provided commentary and Solana Larsen podcast the global meeting.

World Social Forum: is another world possible without women's perspectives?

The 7th World Social Forum brought the world to Africa as activists, social movements, networks, coalitions and other progressive forces converged in Kenya. Patricia Daniel blogged live from Nairobi, and reflected on the event from a women’s perspective. Additional reporting from Anthony Barnett.

Resolution 1325: Women Making a Difference

Can women make a difference in resolving conflict and building peace? UN Resolution 1325 says ‘yes’, but what has it achieved? openDemocracy has covered the issues in 2005 and 2006 through 15 articles, and openDemocracy's Rosemary Bechler co-produced our 1325 multi-authored, global blog.

Women Targeted by Armed Conflict

The Wilton Park conference on "Women Targeted by Armed Conflict: What Role for Military Peacekeepers?" addressed the uncomfortable fact that today, as Major General Patrick Commaert (ret'd), put it: "It has probably become more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in armed conflicts." Rosemary Bechler reports

Renga: how she got to the top

openDemocracy invited readers and authors to participate in a collaborative storytelling experiment exploring issues of gender and power, and inspired by a traditional Japanese poetic form. The resulting stories are here and here, plus Sarah Lindon reports on an innovative experiment. Our Renga project was made possible by the generosity of Carl Djerassi.

For more information about 50.50 please contact Program Director Jane Gabriel (jane.gabriel at opendemocracy dot net).

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