On 10 December, a number of participants from the workshop took part in a study day organised by the Women's Coordinating Committee of the Italian Development NGOs.
The following account of the study day is taken from an article by Elide Taviani of the Women's Coordinating Committee of Italian Development NGOs for Voluntariato nella Cooperazione Internazionale.
Women in Development: From Theory to Practice - the Italian Experience
On 10 December, the Women's Coordinating Committee of the Italian Development NGOs organized a study day on the experiences of cooperation between Italian NGOs and women in developing countries. This initiative was supported by the Department of Development Cooperation of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. About 100 people, mostly women, participated, including representatives of Italian NGOs and NGOs from other countries, ex-volunteers, and representatives from the Italian Foreign Ministry.
The study day provided an opportunity for an exchange of experiences and information about women's situation in development projects, in contrast to the conference organized a year ago by the Coordinating Committee which was more focused on a theoretical discussion. The need for this is the result of a maturing process and the work carried forward during the past year by the Coordinating Committee. It is part of the preparations for the NGO Forum in Nairobi which will be an exchange of experiences among women who are organizing and working for the improvement of women's condition.
The presentations and the numerous contributions from the participants were interesting and concrete and did allow for an exchange of information on the situation of women in the development projects we are working on.
We examined the imbalance between the participation of women in projects and the benefits they receive. We examined the risk of policies which modify social relationships and are indirectly detrimental to women. We realized the necessity to analyze more deeply how women participate in the development process, a participation which does not materialize by means of working or becoming a member of a community organization but in the moment that women become aware that they count, that they can be someone.
The experiences of working with women are most varied: from those which support and improve women's domestic work and responsibilities to those which emphasize conscientization in which the women themselves are central.
We recognized the fundamental importance of relating to local women's organizations as our point of reference and partner in the exchange between voluntary development groups and women in the developing countries.
The whole concept of development cooperation was questioned by a woman from Ecuador and another from an NGO inasmuch as it is used to indicate a one-way flow: women volunteers going to developing countries both give and receive.
A positive aspect of voluntary development groups which sets them apart from other types of development aid agencies is their relationships of equality with their partners in developing countries. Stronger relationships between development NGOs and international organizations, for the purpose of defining and possibly carrying out projects together, was recommended.
Throughout the discussion, the importance and centrality of women in the development process was emphasized and the necessity to make sure that this is considered in planning and implementing projects, in training development workers and in development education.