Celebrating 20 Years of DAWN!

Abstract

Be it in celebration or dialogue, the women's movement has its own unique voice-a voice that speaks of diversity and equality, love and respect, of passion, energy and commitment and a deep sense of social justice. Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) celebrated its 20th anniversary by bringing together the voices of women from Africa, Asia and Latin America, many of whom have at some point or the other been involved with the work of DAWN. The event that took place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 24-27 October 2004 was a celebration of the successes and the lessons learnt over the past 20 years and gave everyone present, whether veterans of the women's movement or newcomers, a chance to remember and recognize how far we have come and to identify our own positions within the movement as it stands today. The DAWN of a New EraDAWN began in 1984 when a group of feminists met in Bangalore, India, to reflect on the impact of development on women and to prepare for the UN Conference on Women in Nairobi. At that meeting the group voiced concern about the 'impact of development on poor people, especially women' and a critical need for 'alternative development processes that would give principal emphasis to the basic survival needs of the majority of the world's people ' (Sen and Grown, 1987).Armed with strong academic minds and rooted in the realities of women's lives, DAWN began by focusing on two topics: food, energy and debt crises in relation to women, and women's visions and movements in the Third World (Ibid.). Their book Development Crises and Alternative Visions paved the way for a lot of the work around women's development.