Gender Justice Working Group Meeting Notes 2-10-2010

From USSF 2010 Wiki

Gender Justice Working Group Minutes
Conference Call 2/10/10
Marina Karides facilitating, Susannah Bartlow taking notes

Agenda

1. Approve notes for last two meetings
2. Decide who will take notes/facilitate
3. Agree to notes taken at last two meetings
4. Quick overview of gender justice working group if necessary
5. Introductions/check-ins: Rose Brewer, Ann Slater, Amrita Wassan, Mayowa Obasaju, Marina Karides, Leslie, Jacqui, Ho-Thanh Nguyen, Nora Dye, Susannah Bartlow, Alison Roh Park on the call
6. Agenda review and additions
7. Fundraising & budget

• Mayowa summarizes budget at about $83,500
• Budget was developed partly by identifying travel needs, need for documentation for gender justice items and the possibility to develop gender justice forum booklet/guide; Mayowa sent draft budget for commentary while on the call.
• Specific input would be really helpful: e.g. How much would it cost to have a gender justice tent? Currently budgeted at $5,000, but what is the real cost.
• How does this compare with 2007 budget?
• Nora asks how the ICT committee efforts to provide donated media materials could be useful for the need to document. Also, in general, how could we connect with other working groups to share/maximize resources (they may already be working to develop similar budget items)?
• Nora will check on ICT plans. Leslie will check with Oya to find out more about donations.
• Rose mentions that at this week's OC call, the committee finalized offering $1500 related to expenses between now and time of the Social Forum for working groups.
• What kind of fundraising could we do where we are?
• Nora asks about foundations & solicitation. Do we have a master list? Mayowa indicates we do from October retreat, but the Resource Mobilization Working Group from USSF is also talking with those foundations. Rose suggests that even if there is overlap, they are encouraging folks to raise money regardless.
• Possibility of Silicon Valley connections/fundraising in other (for-profit, individuals, etc.) areas

Action items:

• Provide online feedback on the budget that went out
• Provide specific fundraising suggestions
• Nora, Marina and Susannah offer to help or be assigned tasks related to fundraising

8. Outreach meetings

• Need to develop concrete plans for face-to-face, webinars. Earlier clarification about what a webinar is/how it would work. Need to identify point people or organization, either to contact for outreach to help or to take on organizing role.
• Is anyone leading the outreach meetings effort?
• Didn't the SF hire some people who are coordinating outreach? Akkudo (?) is the person who is broadly organizing and has responsibility for gender justice.
• One of the things we can do is to add names to lists for USSF outreach.
• Are we also talking about making face to face meetings for outreach?
• The UN Beijing + 15 meeting in New York; a NY contingent might be able to build something around that gathering. Not sure if someone has offered leadership on that. Nora offers to do some NYC organizing March 1-12, but she will be moving to San Francisco on March 7. So she might be able to do both coasts. Rona will also be there.
• Do we have a plan of what these meetings will look like, or do we need one? There is a document/outline from the October retreat.
• Are we doing outreach to promote workshop participation, or for folks to be present at the forum? Closing date for open workshops is March 15 or 20 but you can register as a forum participant all the way through.
• Suggested structure: If people are organizing in their region, something in early March connected with New York to get organizations to consider having an event? Then another in April or May to get folks to the Forum
• Mallory (?) from ICT organized a five-set of events at Bluestockings around the Social Forum; could there be other events like that going on? There will be three Bluestockings events before the forum, one during, and one after; the format is still open so GJWG can certainly be involved.
• Ann is looking at doing something on one of the campuses in her area.
• Marina is working around Women's History Month with local groups; once events get listed, the booklet can be used as an organizing tool to present GJ events that are going on.
• Susannah offers to reach out to GJWG folks in central Pennsylvania.
• Do we have folks who are connected to trans communities as well? Some folks may be folks who need scholarships because of the precariousness of their lives. Need to identify a point person and make a concerted effort of outreach to trans communities; email to USSF-GJWG and each of us can send similar email to our communities.
• Is there room for men to participate in the gender discussion; room for male-identified to join calls and participate in outreach. In October we established that we are moving toward a broad sense of gender; that's not an issue unless it becomes one
• If people are working in the New York area, Marina in FL, etc., how are we going to coordinate this? We will put on the agenda early in a call in the next few weeks to arrange an update for how folks are organizing outreach in their communities.

9. Program team meeting: who gets to participate? An important space for a GJ representative. Nora will be on that call. Rose will also be on the call as she is on Program.
10. Report backs - 2 minute updates from each Working Group. Nora proposed that we take items for discussion in this section and put them on a list for discussion after all report backs are completed, to ensure that we don't take too much time on this section.

• Organizing Committee (OC): Rose reports that the leftist lounge was a controversy; it is a cultural offering that will be central on Friday; they asked for a loan and it wasn't approved, it's still on the agenda. Only some NPC representation/organizations will be brought to Detroit with the OC meeting in March (26? 27?). Process for deciding representation of NPC members hasn't been determined.
• National Planning Committee (NPC): Jacqui reports that some groups' names have been changed to being "teams"; NPC also reviewed the definition of working groups. Expressed a desire to make a Haiti humanitarian solidarity statement. Also established the idea of "endorser organizations" that can make any financial or work time contributions but want to show solidarity with process and will help mobilize members (allies, etc. who will be acknowledged on the website).
• Communications/Media (Alison)
• Documentation/Evaluation: Jacqui: the committee has circulated a survey after NPC meeting; 21 responses so far.
• Movement Building/People's Movement Assembly (Rona): Rose: some have happened and are proposed (on wiki). Proposed gender PMA one-day in Knoxville, TN on March 9th, to make a centerpiece of a public works plan for vulnerable populations, especially youth & trans youth. Suzanne Pharr works with SONG (Southerners on New Ground) so some representation from that group will be present. Do we have any folks in South/SE who might be able to attend (will need to provide own funds)? Ann Olson in Atlanta was active in 2007; will also send email to list to ask for folks. If we plan to do any PMA, or if there is one happening, they are trying to gather that info.
• Program/Culture (Rose, Alison, Mayowa): Rose: registration & workshop form is up and going; have we talked about what programs we will submit as GJWG? Let's put that down as a discussion point. It would be good to list all the organizations we would encourage to submit. Suggestion to do a call just for this issue. It is a place to do real targeted outreach for folks we know we want to be on the call. Leslie: the cultural submission form hasn't yet been posted but she could summarize that and send it to Rose so we could take a look at what the group could bring in terms of cultural expression, etc. That could be a part of that special phone call.
• Fundraising/Resource Mobilization (Kierra, Tamara): covered in budget/fundraising discussion
• Poverty: Rose: an important partner because the poorest people in the world are people on the gender continuum who are hit hard. The group is planning a caravan from the Mississippi delta through New Orleans through Tennessee to Detroit (April 4-Detroit) picking up allies & folks along the way. Great to have GJWG people along the way; not all cities are up yet but would be a good connection. The group is also discussing a tribunal on the impact of poverty on the lives of people in the U.S. and globally and something that would be a good collaboration Another representative would be good on the calls; calls are on Sunday.
• Technology (Nora): There is a movement to bring tech to folks @ the social forum like a computer lab, etc., cameras & audio, avialale; ways to reach out to media folks who are doing GJ so they can connect with USSF available resources. There is a chance to think about a more robust section where we can create content; Nora will send an email. Should this go on the agenda for next week?
• Outreach [USSF WG (NEED), GJWG (Alison)]
• International Solidarity (Shaya): no one reporting
• Logistics - NEED (Amrita - interim): no one reporting
• Youth- NEED: no one reporting

11. Any discussion that needs to happen from the Working Group Updates

• From program/culture: what will we do at USSF? Need to discuss events we'll organize, bathroom tags, tents, etc. All aspects of the USSF itself: what will we do there?
• The poverty working group tribunal can be a part of that discussion.
• Discussions and decisions on bathroom space and security can also fold into this conversation.
• Other groups might have input on the process; could we have some of that information beforehand, like information from people on logistics working on things, etc. Should we get it ahead of time or figure it out after? Let's bring what we can and outreach to working groups so we can see if folks want to participate. We can also email working group chairs and offer participation. Should it go to the NPC list? Let's stick to working groups for now.
• Second half of next week's discussion: taking advantage of USSF website content.
• Rose raises the question of cards the USSF is going to produce to help organize. Sylvia is working on that; deadline is coming up. Is it graphics or words? Any content we'd like to be sure to have on there, e.g., youth are having their own distinctive card--what could we say that would lift up GJ? Let's ask that the term "gender justice" is on there somewhere.
• Did the WWG in 2007 have their own cards? This is in the budget to have cards/promotional/outreach tools. If we got a GJWG card would it come out of our budget or the USSF? We could likely use the $1500; only youth and maybe one another are getting their own.

12. Next call: discussion of program and discussion of website and cards

• Facilitators for next call
  • general program discussion: Marina
  • culture piece: Leslie
  • material and website: Nora
  • budget: Mayowa

13. Final thoughts/questions:

• Rose asks about leadership on regional mtg in NYC; that's coming up soon. NYC folks will organize together. If we know anyone in NYC, direct them to Mayowa or Nora.
• In next week's call, are we presenting options or trying to establish consensus about energy/capacity? Let's work to make some decisions. Come with some specific proposals.
• Is this something that we could do on the list? Leslie can send out a culture outline so that when we are on the call we have an idea. Nora and Marina can do something similar and will send out by Monday.
• Two agenda items not discussed: Check in on how and who tags events. Where is gender justice??; Gender Justice People's Movement Assembly

Call ended at 10:30pm. Next call: Wednesday, 2/17/10, 9pm EST, at 1.605.475.4333 with access code 819050