International Relations
The Quebec Native Women Association has always been very active on the international scene. But since November 2003, the Association has been investing more energy in improving its international relations, by developing a specific international file and hiring a specialized resource person.
QNW’s partners on the international file
- Continental Network of Indigenous Women of the Americas (ECMI—Enlace Continental de Mujeres Indigenas de las Americas) is a network grouping 52 organizations of indigenous women in 19 countries. QNW is part of the organizing committee which, along with a certain number of Native organizations in Canada and with the organization Rights and Democracy, gave birth to the ECMI in 1993. Moreover, QNW sits on the ECMI board of directors as its North American representative and participates regularly in the board’s meetings.
- Rights and Democracy is an organization promoting human rights which supports the initiatives ECMI is taking to enhance the participation of women in the national and international debates about the rights of indigenous peoples.
The general objective of QNW’s international projects is to stimulate the growth of competencies among the indigenous women of the Americas by helping the member organizations of ECMI to appropriate and communicate their common issues effectively to international decision-making bodies. By maximizing the impact of spreading expertise among ECMI member organizations, QNW will be ensuring a transfer of knowledge to indigenous women in the Americas.
Our projects:
The numerous international projects undertaken have fostered better understanding of the specific regional realities experienced by indigenous women of the Americas. These projects have also helped to increase the influence indigenous women of the Americas exert on the political level and on the public policies of their countries. These projects have also earned QNW high visibility on the international scene.
Activities:
Organizing pedagogical training sessions on the roles and responsibilities of a board of directors for women in ECMI member organizations, in August 2005 in Kahnawake.
Drawing up recommendations at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the OAS during hearings on the discrimination indigenous women are still experiencing.
Participating in the three last sessions of the UN’s Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to give the international community information on the situation of Native women in Quebec and to gain awareness of the problems indigenous people currently face around the world.
Attending two big conferences on indigenous issues: the 2006 World Social Forum and the 2006 International Know-How Conference.
Working with Rights and Democracy and ECMI to write up thematic sheets on international instruments to be included in a trilingual (French, English, and Spanish) pedagogical kit, in view of facilitating the transfer of knowledge among indigenous women in the Americas in 2006.
Setting up exchange programs between four indigenous women from North, Central and South America, as part of the project called “Strategic Transfer of Knowledge between Indigenous Women of the Americas – Phase I and II.” These programs have helped to improve the exchange of knowledge between indigenous women at the social, political, and cultural level and have thus solidified the bonds already existing within the ECMI.
Hosting the Fifth Continental Meeting of Indigenous Women of the Americas at Kahnawake from 9 to 12 July 2007 – welcoming more than 250 indigenous women from 17 countries in the Americas.
Organizing two workshops in the summer of 2007 on intellectual property and traditional medicines, in partnership with the Quebec and Labrador First Nations Institute of Sustainable Development (FNQLSDI) and the organization Rights and Democracy.
Fifth Continental Meeting of Indigenous Women of the Americas (Français) (Espanol)
July 9 to 11, 2007
For further information on QNW’s international activities please feel free to communicate with the coordinator of the file.
