FW: [Gainsnet] FW: [development-gender] Online Conference: Preventing Domestic Violence

[Szabó Erzsébet]

FYI,
Szabó E.M.

-----Original Message-----
From: GREAT Network [mailto:d241 at uea.ac.uk] On Behalf Of GREAT Network
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2003 11:15 AM
To: development-gender at yahoogroups.com
Cc: gender at uea.ac.uk
Subject: [development-gender] Online Conference: Preventing Domestic
Violence


From: "Polina Makievsky" <pmakiev1 at jhem.jhu.edu>

Dear Colleagues:



On behalf of Close to Home, it is my pleasure to extend an exciting
opportunity to you to participate in an online conference to bring
together
practitioners doing grassroots domestic violence prevention work:



Mobilizing Family, Friends & Neighbors to Prevent Domestic Violence

Online Conference

July 24 - 30, 2003


Close to Home, a nonprofit organization based out of Dorchester,
Massachusetts, aims to prevent domestic violence and get help for those
affected, by educating, supporting, and developing leadership from the
existing network of friends, families and neighbors.



In the United States, the prevailing response to Domestic Violence is
primarily service and intervention oriented (shelters, criminal justice
system, child protection, coordinated community response), however,
studies
show that women experiencing domestic violence first turn to those
closest to
them-extended family, friends, and neighbors-before they reach out to an

organization or professional service provider.  Close to Home recognizes
the
importance of informal social networks in people's lives and aims to
mobilize
the people closest to the violence by providing them with the skills to
take a
leadership role in preventing domestic violence.



Building a Community of Practice


Close to Home would like to begin developing a community of practice
comprised
of domestic violence practitioners, community organizers, researchers
and
community members to discuss and think about the ways in which informal
social
networks can be more effectively harnessed in order to take a lead in
domestic
violence prevention work and changing social norms that perpetuate
domestic
violence in local communities.



Conference Goals


This conference is intended to be the first step in building a community
of
learning.  By bringing together a diverse group of practitioners for a
five-day facilitated online conference, we hope to achieve the following

goals:



  a.. Share our experiences and best practices related to mobilizing
family,
friends and neighbors for the purpose of organizing around domestic
violence
issues.
  b.. Brainstorm solutions to challenges that we face in our work.
  c.. Examine opportunities for incorporating a grassroots approach to
domestic violence prevention initiatives into the existing response
system and
how to advocate for the support of initiatives that build the leadership
of
local residents to respond to domestic violence.
  d.. Foster international dialogue around the theme of working with
communities to pursue domestic violence prevention work through a social

change advocacy approach.
  e.. Share resources, tools, and approaches and begin to develop a
community
of practitioners committed to developing a grassroots approach to
domestic
violence prevention.


Conference Format


The Mobilizing Family, Friends & Neighbors to Prevent Domestic Violence
Online
Conference will be a five-day facilitated conference that will be
convened
through an online messaging platform accessible from the web.
Participants
will be able to login and participate in the conference through the
Internet.
We have chosen to conduct an online conference to maximize the
availability of
resources, allow for a dialogue that brings together a diversity of
international experiences, and to have an electronic archive of our
discussions, which can be accessed after the conference is concluded.



The official conference language will be English.



The conference space will be open to registered participants only.
During
each day, participants will have the opportunity to contribute to the
conference discussions, which will be structured around a daily theme.



Conference Agenda


Day 1:  Introductions; Overview of Participants Work in Grassroots
Domestic
Violence Prevention Work



Day 2:  What strategies have we applied for building a grassroots
approach to
impacting domestic violence and changing community norms about the
issue?



Day 3:  Impact of Engaging Community Members:  What have been the
challenges
and rewards of working with family, friends and neighbors to play an
active
part in domestic violence prevention work?  How has the process impacted
the
lives of residents and community members? What are the underlying
assumptions
of community residents that we need to be prepared for when organizing
grassroots initiatives around the issue of domestic violence?



Day 4:  How can we effectively integrate a grassroots advocacy approach
to
domestic violence prevention into existing institutional-driven response

approaches?  How can we collaborate with institutional service providers
to
better incorporate resident voices into that process?



Day 5:  Conclusions / Next Steps / Evaluation:  How can we continue to
share
information and be a source of support for each other's initiatives?



Participants of the conference are expected to login to the conference
space
at least once a day to read other participants' postings and to
contribute
their own ideas or questions to the discussion.



Participants


Approximately 15-20 participants will take part in the online
conference.  To
ensure a focused and productive five-day event, Close to Home has
decided to
limit participation to domestic violence practitioners working to engage

family, friends and neighbors.  Participants will represent
organizations or
initiatives with a demonstrated interest and commitment towards
implementing
community-driven domestic violence prevention strategies.  We hope to
attract
a diverse group of activists to the conference with US and international

experience.  Close to Home is very interested in supporting a dialogue
between
US and international practitioners because we believe that our
colleagues
abroad have a wealth of knowledge about working to mobilize informal
social
networks for social justice and are open to their ideas and stories.



Register


To participate in our online conference, we ask that you complete the
attached
"Online Conference Registration Form" and return no later than Monday,
July
14th to polinamakievsky at hotmail.com.  Due to limited space, Close to
Home will
select participants who have expressed a clear statement of commitment
specifically to working with family, friends and neighbors on domestic
violence prevention strategies.



Registration forms can also be mailed or faxed to:



Polina Makievsky

Close to Home

42 Charles Street, Suite E

Dorchester, MA 02122

FAX:  617.822.3718



What happens next?



Once we receive your registration form, Close to Home will review all
applications and select up to 20 participants to take part in the
conference.
Participants selected to take part in the conference should expect to
receive
their login information and a web address where they will be able to
gain
access to the online conference space.



We are looking forward to meeting you and welcoming you into an emerging

community of thinkers and community activists eager to develop
innovative,
community-driven solutions for preventing domestic violence.  Please
join us!





Sincerely,



      Aimee Thompson

      Executive Director

      Close to Home

      aimeemt at earthlink.net
     Polina Makievsky

      Communications and Policy Intern

      Close to Home

      polinamakievsky at hotmail.com












Attached:



  1.. Online Conference Registration Form
  2.. Additional information about Close to Home
****************************************
Polina Makievsky
Communications and Policy Intern

Close to Home
Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative

42 Charles Street, Suite E
Dorchester, MA 02122
(617) 929-5151