Hanna HOuse

Hanna’s House, the feminist peace building organisation would like to invite you to a seminar on: ‘Feminism and Peace building: why women matter’ which will take place on 5 November 2009 in the Clarion Hotel, Cork City.



The keynote speaker is UK woman journalist of the Year (2009), Lesley Abdela, who is also a women’s rights activist and gender adviser to the United Nations.



Panel speakers include:



Bronagh Hinds who leads DemocraShe, an organisation working domestically and internationally on women’s empowerment and leadership in democracy and peace-building;

Mary Kelly and Irene Williamson community activists and peace builders in Belfast linked with the Glencree Peace and Reconciliation Women’s Programme;

Colette Kelleher Director of the Cork Simon Community, and Board Member of the Cork Community Mediation Service and the ISCH.

Niamh Reilly Senior Lecturer and Co-director of the Global Women’s Studies Program at NUI Galway;

Siobhan Curran of Amnesty International Ireland and Chair of the Advocacy Working Group of the Joint Consortium on Gender Based Violence;

The aim of the conference is to promote a critical feminist analysis of post-conflict peace building initiatives, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

Background information:

The seminar is one in a series of four exploring a feminist analysis of peace building. The aim of the seminar series is three-fold:



1. to open up dialogue between women in the North and the South about the legacy of the conflict;

2. To highlight the importance of women’s role in the transformation of Ireland to a peaceful and just society;

3. To create opportunities for women and men to discuss sexist attitudes, discrimination and exploitation and to engage in a dialogue about the creation of equal, non-violent partnerships both in the private and public spheres.

The first two seminars took place in Derry and Galway on the topics of ‘embracing diversity’ and ‘women’s right to security in the home, locally and globally’. The third seminar will take place in Cork on 5 November 2009 on the subject of ‘feminism and peace building: why women matter’; the fourth seminar will be in Dublin in the Spring of 2010 and will focus on feminist truth recovery. The project will culminate with a Summer School in 2010.



Hanna’s House, inspired by the suffragette and peace activist Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, is a feminist organisation working to provide a space for feminist activists, educators, and transformers to mobilise the collective energy of women to work towards the creation of a non-violent, just society that embraces diversity. For more information about our work please refer to our website at: www.hannashouse.net or contact Shirley Graham, Peace Project Co-ordinator on 01-8786400.



To reserve a place at the Cork seminar: email hannashouse@nwci.ie or call 01-8786400. The seminars are free but places are limited. Refreshments and lunch will be served. Registration for the Cork seminar on 5 November in the Clarion Hotel will begin at 9.30am with a prompt start time of 10.30. The seminar is scheduled to close at 4pm.