Allies for Social Change:

An International Engaged Buddhism and Peacebuilding Course for Women



International Women’s Partnership for Peace and Justice (IWP) announces a 10 day course for women, 26 July - 4 August 2007, in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The course, Allies for Social Change: Buddhism and Peacebuilding, will bring together an international community of women to learn and share together. The workshop will focus on bringing a Buddhist feminist framework to cultivating inner peace while engaging in social action in our communities and the world.



What will be covered in the course?

v An introduction to Buddhist teachings

v Applying Buddhist and feminist concepts for reflection on personal life experiences and contemporary social issues

v Buddhist feminist analysis of structural violence, power, privilege and social action

v Understanding the intersections of engaged Buddhism and feminism and how each supports the other

v Building peace within through daily mindfulness practices

v Daily meditation and yoga



Who is the course open to?

We welcome women of all ages, cultures, religions, and sexual preferences to join us for the course. We are seeking women who are engaged in social change or are interested in doing so. The course requires participants to be open to sharing, learning, and challenging themselves in a safe and supportive environment. The course will be limited to 20 participants.



What are the intended benefits to women who participate?

v Building a supportive community of women from diverse cultures and regions who have a common commitment to social change.

v A forum for women from the Global South and North to interact with one another with mutual respect and understanding.

v Time and space for personal growth and reflection in a supportive environment

v Increased knowledge and skills in social change work

v Exposure to local and international women’s and peace activism

v Time and support to build peace within through daily yoga, meditation and mindfulness practice

v Simple living in a rural Thai village, healthy, organic food, and peaceful surroundings.



Dates, location and fees:

The course will take place 26 July - 4 August, 2007 near Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. Participants should plan to arrive in Chiang Mai by 25 July. Accommodation and the workshop are at Ban Than Tip, the training center of IWP, located in a rural Thai village about 40 minutes north of Chiang Mai. Housing is communal in dormitory-style rooms. Meals are primarily vegetarian Thai dishes.



Course fees: sliding scale of $300-$500 USD for women living in the Global North, and $100 USD for women living in the Global South. Fees cover the 10-day course, including training fees, food, accommodation, and transport from Chiang Mai to the training center. There are limited scholarships available. Please contact us for details.



See our website: www.womenforpeacean djustice. org for more information about IWP and our programs, or contact Ginger Norwood at ginger@womenforpeac eandjustice. org. Please register by May 15, 2007 to reserve a space in the course

Rap goes inside a small cage, and Geb cries as if thinking that it was her father's situation. I cry a lot and all of us are there.

Dead dog with blood all over behind the telephone booth. Raining hard. There are so many people lying and shaking.

I cant remember the details of my dream. But There's this group of people, a middle-age man seems to be the leader. He's supposed to predict something for me. My mom is there with me. The guy says, it's true I'm leaving for new york and that i will meet a guy there. In my mind, I contradicts and says that it's still Scarlet. But he says no, as if hearing my mind loudly. But I tell myself, to heck, I can choose whom I want to. Anyway, in the reading he continues, I don't understand why they let you become a human now, I should have been a diety which what I thought too. I reply that, "I know, I'm a goddess." and smiles back.The guy has dark hair and mustache. He wears clothe sache or whatever you call it, like the one muslim men wear.

I cannot believe that there are 3.4 million Filipinos who are hungry and unable to buy their food. This is according to the latest survey done by SWS (Social Weather Stations). This is already the 19% of our population. Our President GMA said that we, the Filipinos, should stop spending too much on things/items that are not needed, instead we should spend our money wisely to be able to have our meal three times a day. Very wise. True, there are Filipinos who rather buy liquor or cigarette than food for their family, or vices such as gambling. However, those people who are hungry are not the ones who can afford extra-expenditures. They are the people who work as farmers, fisher folks, construction workers and other blue-collar jobs. They experience hunger because they cannot afford to buy food not because they are spending their money on useless things.

I'm thinking, if a portion of the $1.3 billion USD earnings of our government from the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) goes to the agriculture and fishery department (or whatever you call it) to improve the production of food, then it will be less costly to buy food and more FIlipinos are able to buy nutritious food.

The government claims that our economy is doing well because of the GRP and so on. But what happens to the real economy? Does the bigger population feel it? The government claims that we have more jobs now--yes, all graduates and even undergraduates go to call centers to work. Their labor rights are never discussed. The government claims that the value of our money, PESO, significantly increased. That's true. But this in not because of our economic boom. This is because the dollar actually depreciates in the world market. Our economy is an OFW economy that's why it's good and getting better. The bad effect though is we are running of intellectual people : doctors, lawyers, nurses and so on. We are left with...the politicians and the businessmen.