South Asian women meet next month to discuss health, conflict issues
View(s):Health, environment, peace and conflict resolution are among the issues that would be discussed at the 5th annual conference of the South Asia Women’s Network (SWAN) to be held in Colombo on 23 and 24 August.
For three days, prior to the conference, the Crafts and Textiles group, along with the Livelihoods component of SWAN, will conduct a workshop to train the trainers in sustainable development in crafts production and marketing, the organizers said.
SWAN sees itself as a powerful instrument for articulating and implementing the dreams of women of this region, by making their dreams its own. The countries represented are Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives and Myanmar.
Among the many chapters of SWAN which address problems, raise voices and seek solutions are: Health, Environment, Theatre, Peace and Conflict Resolution, Education, Livelihoods, Literature and Crafts and Textiles.
The pre-conference workshop will have presentations on the status of crafts in each of the member countries. It will discuss the benefits of natural dyes, making hand made paper, recycling waste, and creation of SWAN prototypes in marketable crafts that can be upscaled towards branding, packaging and e-marketing.
Jaya Jaitly, founder president of Dastkari Haat Samiti, and Bhavna Gadre of Development Alternatives, are conducting the workshop. The organizations are eminent reputed bodies in India, which have shared their expertise with many countries. The Dastkari Samiti has been working with the National Crafts Council to develop a crafts map of Sri Lanka. The crafts complex at Bataramulla is also based on Dilli Haat, a popular crafts marketplace in Delhi which was conceived by Jaya Jaitly.
Crafts prototypes developed under the SWAN banner at two workshops in India will also be on display at the workshop and conference and after being fine-tuned and taken into production, they will be e-marketed across the world as a symbol of the shared power and unity of women across what is becoming an increasingly troubled region.
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