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Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 July 1999 Issue No. 439 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 July 1999 Issue No. 439
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Focus Interview Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Power for change
By Rania KhallafWhat have women done towards preventing ethnic cleansing in Kosovo? How are women contributing to the Middle East peace process? What part can they play in building understanding between people of different faiths? What can they do now to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor? These issues were the focus of a seven-day conference of the World Young Women's Christian Association (World YWCA) council held 18-24 July in the Cairo Sheraton Hotel. For the second time in its 105-year history, the world's largest women's movement's governing body has convened in the Middle East.
The meeting grouped nearly 600 women representing around 100 countries to map out the future of the World YWCA. The delegates were to decide a strategic plan and elect new leaders to guide a movement that unites some 25 million women worldwide into the new millennium. "Delegates will also explore new ways of promoting interfaith dialogue and partnership, with the council's host association, the YWCA of Egypt, offering an excellent example of cooperation between Christian and Muslim women working side by side to provide educational, social, and economic opportunities for disadvantaged women and children," said Musibi Kanyoro, World YWCA general secretary.
"It is of special significance to be addressing you on this occasion in a land which has for millennia welcomed many people and cultures. It is appropriate that Egypt be your choice for the last meeting of the century," Mrs Suzanne Mubarak said in her inaugural speech. "Voluntarism in the world is the essence of our belonging to a community. It is our expression of solidarity with those with whom we share our daily lives in bounty and in hardship," she said. "With the complexities of our societies and their growing demands, problems increased and new issues appeared. Voluntarism was institutionalised into what became known as NGOs, and moved from merely being charitable organisations helping the poor with food and shelter, to more sophisticated roles, such as tackling problems of overpopulation, illiteracy, unemployment and poverty."
Today's NGOs, Mrs Mubarak added, cross geographical borders and are regional or international and achieve real success. Their scope of work was enlarged to include almost any and very existing social, economic or cultural activities. Mrs Mubarak pointed out that a turning point in the development of volunteer work and NGOs occurred in 1992, when the United Nations convened its International Conference on Development and Environment in Rio. "Maybe as a result of the conference's success, international movements rightly demand the establishment of a 'United Nations of the People,' which will be representing, not governments, but civil society," she said.
In Egypt, Mrs Mubarak said, voluntarism has roots going back to ancient times. It is a tradition that continued through the Christian era, through the advent of Islam, and is still with us and flourishing today. At present, there are almost 15,000 NGOs in Egypt in which women continue to play a leading and effective role.
The ever-growing problems, the increasing natural disasters, along with the depletion of resources and the widening gap between rich and poor countries, led to the emergence of new forms of violence such as organised crime and drug addiction and trafficking and new patterns of racial hatred and ethnic cleansing. "Volunteers who succeed in embracing the excluded and supporting the oppressed without discrimination will become agents for equality and promoters of human rights. The need of civil society to become a full partner in the process of development in our future has become paramount," Mrs Mubarak added.
Concluding, she said, "During the 21st century, volunteers and NGOs will not be searching for a role or trying to be recognised. Their goal will not be to seek acceptance or to implement programmes. The 20th century is credited with all these achievements. The future will be presenting a different set of challenges, and will require new kinds of development."
