Women's Plans Foundation

Advocacy

Global Conference in Kuala Lumpur May 28-30 Watch via Livecast webstream on Women Deliver 2013 webcast. www.womendeliver.org

Solving problems at the source?

The Federal Government announced in December '12 that $375 million will be taken from the foreign aid budget and used here in Australia for the cost of asylum seekers. The same amount is to be reduced from real overseas aid in the 2013 budget. We are now a major recipient of our 'overseas' aid. Overseas aid organisations, while concerned for the welfare of asylum seekers, are concerned about which overseas programs will be cut.

In July '12, just five months earlier, Minister for Foreign Affairs Bob Carr had responded to the Family Planning Summit held in the UK by committing to doubling Australian aid for family planning. After all, helping women who want to limit family size is the way to go in a world of increasing overpopulation and rising refugees numbers.

Humanitarian Award to Parliamentary Group on Population and Development, Oct. 31 - CONGRATULATIONS!

In Parliament House, awarded by the Council for International Development, for work since 1994 (Cairo U N Conference). The PGPD has focused on access to reproductive health care, the empowerment of women and combatting sexual violence. The PGPD has been "fearless, committed and effective". Current Chair Senator Claire Moore, Vice-Chairs Dr Mal Washer and Senator Hanson-Young. Photo includes some past and present members receiving the Award from Marc Purcell, Executive Director of ACFID.

Launch: 'Charity, Community & Social Media'

This guide was launched at WPF's Cocktail Party & Auction, in Darling Point on a balmy evening. Jenny Brown, member of the Youth Group who developed suggestions for social media use by charities to reach and engage young people, dramatised photographing the moment for Facebook.

wpf/file/Charity, Community & Social Media.pdf

UK Family Planning Summit briefing

At the Westin in Sydney this morning, Marie Stopes International Australia, CARE, Plan, IWDA and the Burnet Institute, together with Senator Claire Moore and AusAID, celebrated news of a great achievement in public and official recognition of the role of family planning. Magazine Marie Claire hosted the event.

We viewed excerpts from London of Melinda Gates, Hillary Clinton and Andrew Mitchell achieving pledges of billions! In Australia, Maria Deveson-Crabbe, CEO of MSIA, made a commitment to reach more than 20 million women with contraception by 2020; Dr Edith of MSI PNG compressed insights and moving stories of her work in PNG. Julia Newton-Howes, CEO of CARE, spoke of the need for specific budgeting for family planning and of the central effectiveness of family planning.

AusAID First Assistant to the Director General confirmed Minister Bob Carr's commitment to doubling aid for family planning over the coming four years. Three cheers!

Youth Roundtable coming -- May 9th

How will charities evolve to reach to Generation(s) Internet?

The Youth Roundtable met and a publication is being developed by our BrainsTrust arising. This website will be updated -- watch this space. Thanks to social-media experts and afficionados!

Roundtable Forum -- Population Pressures

Read the Communique! wpf/file/Roundtable Communiqué for email.pdf

Read POPULATION, CULTURE & CLIMATE CHANGE

wpf/file/WPF-Population-Culture-Climate-Change.pdf

We brought together nineteen experts from diverse fields to make clear the causal links between world population size, its impacts on climate change, women's education and access to family planning. What are the most effective responses for overseas aid in neighbouring countries in the Asia Pacific?

Experts presented perspectives of science (environmental and medical), religions, cultural beliefs and traditions which guide behaviour, and government policies. Barriers to acceptance of overt funding for family planning were explored, as well as program design and delivery, public understanding and political imperatives.

A communique combined the wisdom of experts Professor Richard Broinowski, Rosalind Strong, Tim Costello AO, Dr Edith Weisberg, Dr Deborah Bateson, Dr Ellie Freedman, Rev'd. Judith Atkinson, Liz Sime, Siobhan Sellick, Susan Stratigos, Deborah Raphael, Lynne Sartori, Jennifer Brown, Naomi Knight, Stuart Cameron, Zeny Edwards PhD, Liz Lloyd, Helen Sheffer, Alice Oppen.

July 27th and October 12th 2011, courtesy of Servcorp in Sydney.

April 2013 Alert -- wpf/file/W P F A l e r t 4_2013.pdf

wpf/file/Feb11Alert.pdf

Inside: Foreshadowing a Roundtable Forum of eminent people to identify the links between women's ability to manage fertility and global population rise, the environment's capacity, long term economic sustainability and the eradication of poverty. News on Trustees, with tribute to Dr. Stefania Siedlecky, now Emeritus Trustee, and welcome to Zeny Edwards PhD. 'As the World Turns', updates around the world on the progress towards universal reproductive health -- a long way away. An Australia Day Honour for Chairman of WPF, Alice Arnott Oppen OAM. Event coming is Susannah Fullerton at The Women's Club, speaking on 'Mothers in Literature' on May 4th. Mothers and daughters especially welcome. WPF Awardee of National Council of Women's Australia Day presentation is Karina Sijabat, who is doing a B. Arts majoring in Government & International Relations concurrently with a M. Nursing.

August 2010 Alert --

file/ A l e r t August 2010.pdf

Included: The power of a documentary in showing girls' lives around the world, description of what our grants accomplish through NGOs' work overseas, invitation to Annual Event October 21st, 6 p.m.

UN 63rd Conference on Global Health -- Historic Joint Press Release by 18 organisation, including WPF, protesting exclusion of mention of family planning from measures essential for Millennium Development Goal 5b:

wpf/file/Joint Media Release 2.pdf

Delegate comment: Some notable speeches included understanding that access to family planning is essential to human rights and to lessening poverty. These concepts met with strong and widespread applause. Many NGOs now include a family planning component in maternal health. It is high time that traditionalist male hierarchies listened. Conference statement drafters must have cringed yet again from offending those who offend against women. Alice Oppen

February 2010 Alert --

wpf/file/Alert_Feb_2010.pdf

Included: effects of world population issues on climate change, photos of events, news of coming events.

Scholarship Award and Essay Competition

wpf/file/NCW Award Application_2011.pdf

Enter contests -- $1,000 and $500 to be won

Are you a student of medicine, nursing, international relations? Are you interested in policy development for overseas aid? Dates and universities involved in 2010 to be announced.

See Education page for Essay Competition 2012 pdf

Populations find their own natural limits

We can be wiser and more compassionate than just waiting for famine, disease and war to define our limits. The problem underlying political conflict over resources and environmental exhaustion is the pressure the growing human population creates. Rather than rejecting existing people, we can meet the problem at its conception, as a more affirmative response to migration and refugee pressures.

Welcome opportunity

Herbal and mechanical contraceptives have been found since early times on all continents, but with medicalisation replacing midwifery, women have lost ancient birth control knowledge, which should now be replaced by surer and safer techniques. It was not easy to achieve acceptance of contraceptives in Australia in the 20th century. It is now time to share health resources and reproductive knowledge with responsibility in areas overseas where women welcome the opportunity.

One plus two can equal a chain reaction

If each of us interests two more people, and each of those recruits two more people, we will have our own population explosion of advocacy for family planning. The world's most crucial pressure will be targeted when we help to share what we take for granted with women who now have no choice but to suffer high maternal and infant mortality rates.

The increasing need

AusAID and U.S. overseas aid agencies are 'refocusing' aid, away from programs run by not-for-profit organisations, now giving more aid through corporations to provide infrastructure and trade opportunities. This will be a 'for profit' aid, likely to neglect those so impoverished they cannot become a market. An informed body of public opinion and your voice will be needed to maintain concern about the world's increasing population ?not just an ever-expanding market, but an insupportable burden on the globe.

Other advocates' useful websites:

Australian Reproductive Health Alliance's

- www.arha.org.au

The ARHA website will continue for the next year, though the organisation has ceased operation after many years of important service to advocacy.

- www.ippf.org

International Planned Parenthood Federation is a central dissemination of funding and information.

guttmacher.org.au

The Guttmacher Institute coordinates research and joins with other reproductive health organisations in representations to governments and organisations.

- www.population.org.au
Sustainable Population Australia "works on many fronts to encourage informed public debate about how Australia and the world can achieve an ecologically sustainable population.

www.populationmedia.org

Soap operas are made for individual countries and cultures to enable attitude and behaviour growth in areas of human rights, including family planning.