Frauen ohne Grenzen | Women without borders

23. February 2010

“Security in Safe Hands: Women Make the Difference!”

Second Global SAVE Conference

Terrorism and violent extremism have become a part of our lives, whether due to personal proximity or media exposure. This is a new global experience for us all; terrorism and violent extremism are no longer restricted to countries in crisis and transition.

Since the attacks in New York, London, Madrid, and Mumbai—to name the most spectacular—one thing has become clear: there is no security. We must place our confidence in the efforts of counter-movements such as SAVE – Sisters Against Violent Extremism. SAVE, the first female counter-terrorism platform, is a new movement to equip women to deal with the challenges that stem from radical political and religious currents. SAVE is civil society’s energetic answer to the growing threats to security, societal imbalances, and inequalities that urgently need new solutions. Women’s moral authority across religious, ethnic, and cultural boundaries must be expanded and employed for positive change in their respective local societies.

Women without Borders / SAVE has invited 16 women from around the world—from Indonesia to Japan, Yemen to Pakistan, Ireland to Iraq—to Vienna, to develop strategies and campaigns against terrorism and violence and to implement them in their countries of origin.

The conference will bring together established and new SAVE activists to develop concrete strategies for SAVE Chapter groups to use in their own countries. We will focus on increasing the strength and numbers of SAVE groups and improving the efficacy of their local operations, learn how to utilize New Media to spread our message and to improve our communication with each other, hear how storytelling can help reconcile seemingly intractable divisions between groups, and discuss ways of empowering victims and breaking taboos.

This conference will serve as the foundation for SAVE activities over the next year.

On March 1st, the SAVE activists will present the results of the second global SAVE conference “Security in Safe Hands: Women make the Difference!” in a press briefing.
10 am, Teesalon, Radisson BLU Palais Hotel, Parkring 16, 1010 Wien

The SAVE Participants:
Anne Carr, Reconciliation Expert and Dialogue Practicioner, Northern Ireland

May de Silva, Director of Women into Politics, Northern Ireland

Archana Kapoor, SAVE India activist, founder of the NGO Smart, Editor of political magazine Hardnews, India

Vinita Kamte, author of To The Last Bullet, her husband, a police officer, was killed in the 26/11 attacks, India

Arshi Saleem Hashmi, Senior Research Analyst-Institute of Regional Studies Islamabad, Expert on Violent Extremism, Pakistan

Lily Z. Munir, SAVE Indonesia activist, founder of CePDeS, Director of the Center for Pesantren & Democracy Studies, Indonesia

Fahmia al Fotih, SAVE Yemen Coordinator, Freelance Journalist, Yemen

Nadia al Sakkaf, Editor-in-Chief of the Yemen Times, Yemen's most widely-read English language newspaper, Yemen

Hanan Ibrahim, SAVE UK Activist and Board Member, Founder of the Somali Family Support Group in the UK, England

Khanim Latif, Asuda Program Manager and Founder of the Asuda Women's Shelter, Iraq

Robi Damelin, SAVE Activist Israel, member of the Parents Circle, lost her son at a checkpoint in Palestine, Israel

Seham Ikhlayel, Palestine, Member of Parents Circle, her brother was killed by an Israeli soldier

Christie Coombs, lost her husband Jeff in the 9/11 attacks, founded the Jeffrey Coombs Memorial Foundation, USA

Anita Pratap, former South East Asian CNN Bureau Chief, Sri Lanka Expert, author of bestselling non-fiction book Island of Blood, Sri Lanka

Asmaa Asfour, first elected female representative in the Sinjel Municipality in the Ramallah District, Palestine

Hilde Rapp, Co-Director of Centre for International Peacebuilding and Director of the UK Ministry for Peace, England