United Nations Development Fund for Women			Japanese Government - Overseas Development Agency
	International Fund for Agricultural Development			Swiss Development Cooperation
	United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation			The Mountain Institute

The UN's proposed International Year of the Mountains (IYM) 2002 has presented a unique opportunity to highlight the realities of life in the mountains and put women on the mountain agenda. In this context, ICIMOD and the Mountain Forum plan to hold a global conference, 'Celebrating Mountain Women' (CMW), to launch a long-term programme for mountain women at ICIMOD. This international conference is a chance to celebrate the drive, spirit and diversity of mountain women everywhere.

The conference will bring together indigenous women, donor agencies, policy-makers and planners, entrepreneurs, and researchers to share the problems and progress of mountain women. Such a face to face interaction will facilitate dynamic solutions and an action programme that will help to overcome a wide range of neglect and poverty that plague many mountain areas of the world.

During the planning meeting for this event, held in Kathmandu from May 8-10 2001, the organizing committee elected women representing various parts of the world to form a Steering Committee (SC). These members will advise, guide, support, assist and inform the Secretariat staff throughout the year. In addition, the SC members will organize regional meetings in their respective regions.

The planning meeting also proposed five thematic areas as a basis for activities:

• Natural Resources and Environment,
• Health and Well Being,
• Entrepreneurship,
• Legal, Political and Human Rights, and
• Culture and Indigenous Knowledge.

The conference will provide a new beginning for mountain women through interaction, participation and expression. It will give mountain women a forum for articulating their concerns and sharing experiences and ideas about the future of mountain livelihoods and cultures. Such a gathering will, we hope, enable the mountain women's networks to grow and strengthen as agents of change and also to make a significant contribution to policies and practices that them and their communities.

A strategic media plan will increase public awareness by covering mountain women's issues and planned events; it will include electronic networking and e-conferences. A series of specific preparatory activities will ensure appropriate dissemination and coverage of the event: viz. identifying mountain women's groups and networks, documenting mountain women's initiatives, organizing regional meetings between mountain women and policy-makers, building interactive databases, locating mountain women's cultural resources such as songs, crafts, films, videos, and stories. Throughout the conference a bazaar of mountain women's products will be held. Stalls will be available for those wishing to participate.

At the conference, mountain women will also prepare a message for the Earth Summit to be held in South Africa in 2002.

Don't miss this unique opportunity to give mountain women a voice!

Conference Dates :1-4 October 2002
Venue : Thimphu, Bhutan
Expected participation : 150 participants

(Information about Bhutan is available from Bhutan Tourism Corporation Limited, Public Broadcasting Service: Bhutan, Department of Tourism, Bhutan, and Lonely Planet: Bhutan. For more information on excursion trips within Bhutan following the conference, please contact the Bhutan Ministry of Agriculture at: d_pema@moa.gov.bt or t_gem@moa.gov.bt.)

The CMW Secretariat will take care of the visa formalities. The gratis visa will be issued upon arrival at Paro. The visas to Bhutan will be valid until the 10th of Oct. We have negotiated with the Tourism authority of Bhutan to provide participants of CMW the visa at $110/day compared to the $200/day normally charged beyond that date for those who are interested in staying on".

Please complete the visa form and return it to the CMW Secretariat at ojaswi@icimod.org.np.

Link to Related Pages:

October 2002 Conference
Thimphu Declaration
Declaracion de Timpu
Recommendations for follow-up activities
Powerpoint Presentation reporting on the Thimphu Declaration of "Celebrating Mountain Women" by Francoise Mees, Coordinator, European Mountain Forum
Description of Bhutan
Goals, Plan of Action and Agenda
CMW Activities
Draft Agenda for CMW
Draft Agenda for Theme Sessions
Read speeches and press releases from the conference on the www.mountainwomen.net website

Themes
Conference themes
TOR for Creation of a Database of Existing Research
Research outline

Media room
Mountain Women Raise Questions, Give Answers - By Anita Anand
Media Competition
"Mountain Women and their Work" poster from ICIMOD
Press Release, 8 November 2001
Press Release, 11 May 2001
Women's Feature Service Press Release, 11 May 2001

Regional Events
Europe
France, May 2002: Celebrating Mountain Women