Gender, Neoliberalism and the Social Movements

Gender, Neoliberalism and the Social Movements
Mobilise and Organise for Social Change
Winter School 2005 - July 4 to July 8

The Khanya College Annual Winter School was launched in July 1999. The
Winter School represents an important step in Khanya College's response to
the changing political and economic environment within which social
movements have to work. In many different ways Khanya College programmes
seek to assist communities in the difficult task of developing their
responses to globalisation and its various manifestations.

The Annual Winter School provides the space for activists from various
social movements to work together across different sectors and interests.
This is an opportunity for activists from the different sectors to exchange
views and share experiences.

The post-1994 developments have posed new and difficult challenges for the
organisations of the working class and the poor. At the same time, growing
economic integration in the Southern Africa region, mostly to the benefit of
South African corporations, makes the building of Southern African
solidarity among the social movements an immediate challenge. Khanya College
hopes that the Annual Winter School will contribute to regional responses
that continue to emphasise social solidarity, popular democracy,
organisation and mobilisation. This is what the theme of the Annual Winter
School, "Mobilise and Organise for Social Change", represents.

1. Aims of the Winter School
¨ To provide the space for activists to critically reflect on their
organising and mobilising work in the present national, regional and global
context.
¨ To provide the space for activists to debate topical issues and
exchange experiences with each other.
¨ To provide the space for the emergence and revitalisation of
progressive perspectives on social change.
¨ To assist in developing the conceptual, organisational and public
speaking skills of activists from different social movements.
¨ To provide the space for the building of regional social movements by
bringing activists from the sub-region together.
¨ To provide activists with the opportunity to build links and
alliances among the various movements.

2. The Focus of Winter School 2005
Winter School 2005 will focus on "Gender, Neoliberalism and the Social
Movements". Over the last few years the issue of gender and of the status of
women has received increased attention. In many programmes by international
development and financial institutions, national governments, and even local
governments the issue of the status of women has received high profile.
Within South Africa the new constitution has entrenched gender equality, new
laws to promote and enforce gender equity in the workplace have been passed,
and the South African parliament boasts one of the highest numbers of female
delegates in any parliament in the world, and certainly in Africa. The New
Partnership for Africa's Development has also identified the promotion of
gender equality as one of its main aims. Within mass organisations of the
working class and the poor the issue of gender equality has also received
attention. Many organisations have put gender equality in society as well as
within the organisations as one of their main goals.

The increased profile of gender issues, however, has been accompanied by an
actual decline in the conditions of life of women, and in the actual decline
in their status. Women have carried the burden of the privatisation of
services, of the reorganisation of work and the massive retrenchments that
have accompanied it, of rampant unemployment, and of casualisation, and the
mushrooming of the informal sector. Further, women are now increasingly
subject of violence, rape and other forms of inhuman and degrading
treatment.

Many working class and poor communities have responded to this deterioration
in their living standards. New movements and community organisations have
emerged to respond to globalisation and to neoliberalism. In many of these
movements women are in the forefront of the struggles, and form the majority
of members. However, their voices are not being heard, their demands are not
heard, and they are not leading these organisations and movements.

Winter School 2005 will explore the position of women today, and will look
at the sources of the deterioration in their living standards and in their
status in society. The school will look at a number of issues as part of
developing our understanding of the relationship of gender, neoliberalism
and the new social movements. Some of the issues that will be discussed
include:

Patriarchy and the oppression of women
The impact of neoliberalism on the lives and status of women
Nepad and Gender
Women in the Informal economy
Gender in Social movements / CBOs etc
Experiences of women's resistance and organisation, including the issue of a
women's movement

3. The activities of Winter School 2004 will be:
A series of two-day workshops on the themes of the School.
An activist forum on "Gender and Social Movements"
A Cultural Festival
Exhibitions and Screening by various social movements and NGOs, and
A range of other activities aimed at promoting exchange of views and
networking

The cost of the School is R2500 per participant, all-inclusive of
accommodation, meals, educational materials, transport and facilitation
fees.

For further information on Winter School 2005, please contact Nerisha
Baldevu at Khanya College, + 27 11 832 2447. Or you can email
[email protected]