Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) was formed by a group of researchers and feminists in Bangalore, India in 1984. The women, meeting for the first time, prepared a platform analyzing the impact of the world crisis on poverty in the Third World as well as the central role women played in the crisis, as providers of basic necessities for their families. The platform, now in the form of a book, is in its second edition, and is published in English by the Monthly Review Press. It is entitled Development Crisis and Alternative Visions: Third World Women's Perspectives. A Portuguese edition has just been issued by the editorial "Espaco e Tempo" in Rio de Janeiro.
The support DAWN received in Nairobi encouraged the group to seek continuity and expand their contacts by forming a network, establishing a rotating secretariat and electing a council made up of members from various regions of the world.
DAWN, as a network, opted for a system of participation in which individuals could contribute according to their potential and interests. Although the network is not made up of institutions, DAWN participants generally use their institutional affiliations to support the network. For example, the Secretariat resides for a period until November, 1989, in the Instituto Universitario de Pesquisas de Rio de Janeiro (lUPERJ) (Rua Paulino Fernandes 32, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brazil).
DAWN made the decision to create regional research groups with coordinators in charge of identifying and gathering together researchers who are working on DAWN's priority themes. In addition, sub-networks are being formed in the various regions. The first regional group to organize a meeting was the Latin American network, which was aided by the fact that the DAWN Secretariat is located in the region. Similar meetings are being organized in Africa, Asia (South and Southeast) and the Caribbean. Because resources are insufficient to organize large meetings, DAWN is also maintaining connections with other national and regional research networks which are already in existence and which work in similar ways. This avoids duplication of efforts and gives DAWN the opportunity to take advantage of existing resources.
In its analysis of poverty, DAWN's founding group established two priorities for research: 'The Impact of the Crisis and the External Debt on Women and Food and Energy Production" and "Women's Movements and Visions for the Future". These two themes are not being undertaken as a separate research project by the network; rather, the network hopes to identify individuals working on these issues and promote communication and interaction among them.
DAWN not only encourages women to carry out research in these areas, it seeks to make this information available to women's movements and to call the attention of governments and organizations in charge of formulating public policies to these issues. DAWN is aware of the need to design development policies which meet peoples' needs, rather than policies which promote "cumulative" growth that accentuates social inequalities. DAWN tries also to highlight the struggle of women in meeting the basic needs of their families and communities. Thus, the researchers offer a context in which to interpret women's everyday lives and the ways in which they can obtain better living conditions. While many social movements have formed alternative visions of development, DAWN seeks to identify these movements and critique them from a feminist perspective.
In order to disseminate the results of this research DAWN is implementing other projects. One of these provides training for researchers. To do this DAWN is establishing contacts for exchanges with various programs which offer classes in Latin America, such as the programs of CEPAL (Economic Commission for Latin America) and CLACSO (Latin American Council for the Social Sciences), the Interdisciplinary Program in Women's Studies of the University of Buenos Aires, and the program being developed in lUPERJ, the site of the DAWN Secretariat, for DAWN participants from Latin American and African countries who speak Portuguese.
One of DAWN's priorities is to establish contact with organizations dedicated to the education of women who participate in social movements and who would be interested in the research being carried out by the network. One initiative of this type which took place recently was a training program for women offered by CEAAL (Latin American Council for Adult Education). Members of the feminist movement with experience in training participated in the discussion of the results of this program.
A study program about the crisis has also been developed by Socorro Ramirez for women who participate in various social movements. This program arose out of a strategy designed to communicate and disseminate the results of DAWN research to a wider audience. It sought to stimulate the development of teaching materials for the discussion of research findings.
The international coordinator of DAWN is participating in a legal research project being carried out by the South Commission, an advisory organization for non-aligned countries. DAWN has also maintained contacts with United Nations organizations to obtain data on the regional level, from groups such as the Women's Division of CEPAL, or from other organizations, such as UNICEF and the lLO.
DAWN is also studying ways to broaden participation in the Network. You can collaborate by sending information about research, training and communication materials which have to do with DAWN’s priority research themes to the Secretariat or to the research coordinators whose names follow. Another way for you to participate is to send DAWN your thoughts and opinions about ongoing research projects in Latin America, of which some information is provided in this issue of the Women's Book Series.
The Network does not have resources to finance research and thus functions only as a catalyst for research and for the development of training, communication and teaching materials and reviews. The Bulletin MUDAR Informa (DAWN Reports) includes a bibliography about the crisis and women's movements, as well as news about the Network. DAWN is also planning an inter-regional meeting which will hopefully enable many more women to participate in the work. Resources for the Secretariat and DAWN activities have been provided by the Ford Foundation, the governments of the Netherlands and Norway, FINIDA, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Government Fund of Nairobi for NGO activities, IDRC and anonymous donations.
General Coordinator
Neuma Aguiar
Information Consultant
Thais Corral
Secretary
Rosangela A. Silva
DAWN c/o lUPERJ
Rua Paulino Fernandas 32
22270 Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brazil
Board of Directors
Research Coordinator (Asia)
Hameeda Hossain
Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Communications Coordinator (Pacific)
Claire Blatter
Department of Politics
South Pacific University
Suva, Fiji
Issues Coordinator (Caribbean)
Lucille Mair
ISER
University of West Indies
Mona, Kingston 6, Jamaica
International Relations Coordinator (Asia)
Devaki Jain
ISST
Tharanga, Rajmahal Vilas Extension
Bangalore 560006, India
Publications Coordinator (Latin America)
Lourdes Arizpe
El Colegio de Mexico
Camino al Ajusco 20
Mexico DF 01000 Mexico
Training Coordinator
Bolanle Awe
Institute of African Studies
University of Ibadan
Ibadan, Nigeria
Coordinators of Research Groups
1. The impact of the crisis and the external debt on women and food and energy production
Caribbean
Peggy Antrobus
Extra Mural Department
University of West Indies
Pinelands, Barbados
East Africa
Maria Nzomo
Department of Government
University of Nairobi
P.O. Box 30197
Nairobi, Kenya
West Africa
Ayesha Imam
Department of Sociology
Ahmadu Bello University
Zaria, Nigeria
South Asia
Nirmala Banerjee
CSSO
10 Lake Terrace
Cal 29, Calentha, India 700029
Southeast Asia
Noellen Heyzer
Asian and Pacific Development Centre
Pesiaran Duta
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Pacific
Claire Slatter
Latin America
Cheyma Spindel
IDESP
Avda. Dr. Arnaldo, 1973
01255, Sao Paulo SP Brazil
2. Women's movements and visions of the future
Caribbean
Rhoda Reddock
Lot 22B Leotaud Lands
Arima, Trinidad and Tobago
Eastern Africa
Maria Nzomo
Western Africa
Ayesha Imam
South Asia
Hameeda Hossain
Southeast Asia
Noelleen Heyzer
Latin America
Virginia Vargas
Flora Tristan
Parque Herman Vilarde 42
Lima 1, Peru