Third International Women’s Convocation: Weaving Global Partnerships…Forging a Just Future Together 16-19 February 2017, Asilomar, Monterey Peninsula, CA
The Convocation lasted from Thursday evening through Sunday noon and included four keynote speakers:
- bell hooks, feminist scholar and leading intellectual;
- Cecilia Conrad, economist and Managing Director of the MacArthur Fellows Program;
- Marcy Whitebook, Director of the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at the University of California at Berkeley; and
- Soto Zen Priest Rev. Florence Caplow, who gave daily talks on the topic of Compassionate Action, which were paired with Chalice Circle meetings for in-depth
In addition, there were key speakers in each of the five program streams: Education, Health Care and Reproductive Justice, Violence Against Women, Leadership Development and Economic Opportunity. Participants attended the proceedings in their chosen program stream and worked in Global Sisters Groups to develop action plans for their stream. IWC will publish the results of this action planning process presently.
Friday evening’s program featured a forum with all three UUA Presidential Candidates. The Convocation offered 12 workshops on Friday and 11 on Saturday. Five workshop presenters and six stream speakers came from outside the United States.
The program included musical presentations throughout the Convocation by the choir, at daily worship, nightly receptions, and as part of Saturday evening’s special program featuring emma’s revolution. To begin the day, participants could choose spiritual practice in Tai Chi, song and chant, gentle movement, or meditation. The Convocation also included an Exhibit Hall. Details of the program can be found in the program book. For a comprehensive write-up of the Convocation, please see Weaving Global Partnerships at the Third International Convocation by UUA International Engagement Associate Allison Hess.
Attendance: 233 women and some men from around the world attended the Convocation. An additional 32 people participated in the Saturday afternoon and evening program featuring Dr. bell hooks and emma’s revolution. Attending from outside the United States were 41 women (18%) from 13 countries: Australia, Bolivia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Japan, New Zealand, Philippine Islands, Poland, Romania, and Switzerland. Participation included 31 young adults (13%), 18 from the U.S. and 13 from abroad. 24 U.S. states were represented.
Scholarships: IWC raised $41,625 for the Margot Adler Scholarship Fund through grants, a Faithify campaign, individual contributions, and other fundraising events. Scholarships were given to international participants from specific regions and to young adults. IWC also provided substantial discounts to UU ministers, directors of religious education, members of the Black Lives UU, workshop presenters, volunteers, and groups of two or more from any one congregation.
Sponsors: The International Women’s Convocation would like to thank all its individual donors and organizational sponsors. The organizations that endorsed and/or financially supported the Convocation are as follows:
Association of Unitarian Women of Hungary (MUNOSZ) Association of Unitarian Women of Romania (UNOSZ)
Canadian Unitarian Universalist Women’s Association (CUUWA) Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF)
Edmonds UU Congregation
European Unitarian Universalists (EUU) Fund for Unitarian Universalism Hungarian Unitarian Church (HUC)
International Association of Liberal Religious Women (IALRW) International Association of Religious Freedom (IARF) International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU) International Office of the UUA
Pacific Central District
Seng Kynthei Women’s Wing of UUNEI Unitarian Union of North East India (UUNEI) Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA)
UU Church of the Monterey Peninsula UU Congregation of Fairfax
UU Partner Church Council (UUPCC) UU Service Committee (UUSC)
UU Women and Religion (UUWR)
UU Women’s Association of Philippines UU Women’s Federation (UUWF)
UU-United Nations Office (UU-UNO)
Women and Religion Pacific Central District (W&R PCD)
