WILPF’s Triennial International Congress in Ghana: What You Need to Know
Published on June, 23 2018
By Zala Zbogar
Congress Coordinator (Geneva)
We are excited to gather with all of you in Accra, Ghana, for The 32nd WILPF Triennial International Congress to be held August 20-22. This year's Congress is the first to be hosted in Africa. With expanding WILPF membership in the region and our growing community, it is not to be missed!
The theme of the Congress is "Building a Feminist Peace Movement".
To help you prepare, here are some important pieces of practical information and key dates, including activities that will be taking place before the Congress.
Registration
The deadline for all registrations is June 15.
All delegates and alternates were asked to register by June 1, 2018. If you are in this group and haven't yet registered, please do so immediately and forward the receipts to Chris Wilbeck at chris.wilpf@gmail.com
Once you have registered, you will most likely have to apply for a visa, for which WILPF International and WILPF Ghana will provide you a visa invitation letter.
Don't forget to check if you are up to date on your vaccines!
Congress Website
Click here for the Congress website. Practical information, as well as supporting documents and registration, is available on the Congress website on the MyWILPF forum. Don't have an account or forgot your password? Please contact membership@wilpf.ch.
Key Dates
Friday, August 17: Suggested arrival date for delegates
Saturday, August 18: “Feminist Peace Movement in Africa”—pre-Congress Public Forum. This forum will look at the historic and current realities of women working for peace across Africa. There will be space to network, connect, and strengthen links within and across the movements for peace. There are no registration fees attached to this event and all WILPF members are warmly invited to attend. More information to come on the website!
Sunday, August 19: Gertrude Baer seminar and pre-Congress IB meeting.
Organized by Young WILPF Ghana, the Gertrud Baer seminar will take place at the University of Ghana. The seminar is structured so that newcomers to WILPF can gather, learn more about the organization, and thoroughly discuss a variety of topics.
Gertrud Baer was born in Germany and joined the Suffrage Movement in 1908, when she was eighteen years old. After German women won the vote in 1918, Baer devoted all her energy and work to the aims of WILPF. When the Second World War ended, she moved to Geneva to be the representative of WILPF at the UN, and her permanent presence there promoted the image of WILPF within the international community. She performed this task until 1972. This seminar was named after her because of her many contributions to WILPF, which began at a young age.
Monday, August 20-Wednesday, August 22: Congress Meeting Dates
Thursday, August 23: Suggested departure date for delegates
Other Opportunities to Engage
At Congress in Accra, workshops will be an important activity to find new grounds for collaboration and strengthen our WILPF community.
We have mapped possible themes that could be developed during the workshops at Congress based on the demands from Sections and the WILPF Sections Speak report. We will be in touch shortly with a survey so that you can let us know of your top five preferences, or suggest another topic.
There will also be space to contribute to the marketplace, evening activities, and more, to take advantage of our time together. More information on this coming soon!
See you in Accra!
If You Can’t Travel to Ghana
From WILPF-US President Mary Hanson Harrison: In Ghana, we will be making a decision on the future of WILPF regarding the Constitution and By-Laws that is very important to our vision and mission! If you can't come to Ghana, your input on the reorganization plan is important. Please review and compare the two plans and send your remarks and feedback to me at harrison0607@msn.com.
March 18, 2018 version
June 4, 2018 version
