Elysa and Linda: Regional FAWCO meeting in Paris

Photo credits:  Maggie
 
Elysa writes:  

AAWE Paris President Jill J opened the meeting on Saturday morning.  Our own Linda L, who is Region 3 Co-ordinator also welcomed the group and made some amusing remarks.

Introductory remarks were also made by FAWCO president My-Linh Kunst.

Sallie Chaballier, FAWCO VP,  introduced us to the FAWCO organization.  It is a Global organization of women with 70 clubs on 6 continents in 37 countries. Yet, it is also local which is why there are regional conferences which bring us together to forge relationships.

The main message for me is that FAWCO is a network which allows our local activities to have a larger more global connection. For concrete action look below for information on the new target project.  It is also a support network for us and can guide us in different ways (for example US tax support.)

I was also interested in FAUSA.  FAUSA is the third branch of FAWCO which is a network for expats who move back to the USA. Though I do not foresee moving back, you never know what may happen and moving back to the US may not be so easy.

Many of us are familiar with FAWCO's old target water project which came to a close in Bern in March 2013. A new project has now been launched and is Human Rights for Women. The projects are in the process of being selected. The 3 finalists will be posted November 15 so stay tuned.

FAWCO announced the new youth program for kids 13-19.  There is a video on the FAWCO website of the pilot project done in Dubai this summer.  The youth program will be linked to other existing youth programs such as the Eleanor Roosevelt. This youth program has a Facebook page as do the other aspects of FAWCO.

Suzanne Wheeler spoke on the FAWCO Foundation. One aspect that affects we women in Montpellier is the education awards. These are awards for women to go back to school. Any one of us could apply. For more information go to the FAWCO website. 

The FAWCO foundation is the nuts and bolts of our Global impact. There are development grants. Currently a grant is financing a NEEED scholarship project in Burkina Faso which is successful. So far 22 women have completed their degrees in nursing, education or midwifery.

There was a lot of discussion of the new Target project topic of human rights for women.  One of the key components is raising awareness amongst ourselves.  

The guest speaker was Patti O'Neill, co-ordinator on gender equality at the OECD. Her job is to look at the aid distributed in 27 countries and evaluate the impact. Out of a total of $126 billion in aid money, $20.5 billion goes to gender equality.  This big money helps provide the roads that are needed to get women safely to hospitals. USAID is also increasingly focusing on women's education. In this field there is still a lot that needs to be done. 68 countries don't have gender equality at a primary level and only 2 countries have equality at all levels. Rural areas are the weakest.

The pay gap between men and women is also significant.  Womens' earnings are 20% of mens' in many countries. In the USA women earn 69 percent of mens' income;  in Germany, 60 percent, which is the highest gap in Europe.  She mentioned a report called women in america 2011 (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/Women_in_America.pdf)  which highlights the link with poverty.

Supporting human rights for women means supporting women's leadership and influence. Some places have quotas. In Rwanda after the last legislative election two thirds are women. The quota is 30 percent but they exceed it. She explained that placing the women candidates high on the list of names on the ballot made a big difference.

In summary there are many ways for us to get involved in this important global issue. FAWCO is recognized by the UN and has consultative status. There are several task forces and any one of us in Montpellier is WELCOME to participate in them.

AWG-LR delegates:  Kim, Denise, Peggy R, Mariannick, Linda, President Jessica, FAWCO Rep Maggie, Elysa

Another highlight  for me was hearing Lucy Laederich. She is the US Liasion. She described meetings that they have had concerning both voter registration and taxes. 

She asked that all Americans use OVF for voter registration.  In January go to the OVF website and look for the FAWCO link. This allows FAWCO to have data about how many FAWCO members successfully voted.  

Another issue they are working on affects children born abroad and their ability to vote.  Up until now they could not vote because they had not resided in that state.  As part of  Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act (UMOVA) they are advancing on this issue. 

The main topic that I found interesting was taxes.  I don't know about other AWG members but I find filling US taxes frustrating.  I was delighted to hear that there is someone advocating for someone like me. 

Specifically, she spoke about the FBAR which is the foreign bank account report.  If you are a US citizen, you are expected to file (though often not pay) US income tax reports.  If you have money in a 'foreign' bank account, you should file a form called an FBAR by June 30 annually.  Lucy spoke about  how they are trying to redefine 'foreign' - so that a swiss bank account is different from an account near where you live which you use routinely for expenses. 

She also spoke about how this legislation puts many women in a vulnerable position.  In order to avoid reporting foreign bank accounts, couples put all the money in the non-American spouse's name.  Clearly the woman is losing all rights to her money if it is not in her name. 

Lucy asked us to email her with our stories (even if they are not so dramatic). She is interested in how much we pay for help with filing the forms. She is also interested in specific stories which can help her advocate for us. She will of course take your name but she does not need your name. She can use the story easily without a name. You can reach her at  usliasion@fawco.org

At the end of the day we finished with a workshop on perfumes and understanding the art of olfaction.  Much fun was had at the more social meals and cocktail on Friday.  If any one has any questions they can ask any of the 8 members from Montpellier who attended; Kim, Jessica, Marriannick, Denise, Linda, Peggy R., Maggie and Elysa.
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Linda writes:  

FAWCO, c'est formidable!

The regional conference was well attended! Fifty-one members, from FAWCO, FAWCO Foundation and FAUSA, making it the largest regional in FAWCO history!

There were a lot of first time attendees, and the goal was to inspire the participants to get involved with FAWCO, and perhaps go to the Brussels Conference in March, 2014.

Besides all the wonderfully interesting speakers, we had time to break into smaller groups. I sat in on membership, which is always one topic that affects our groups the same! How do we get new members and how do we keep them?!

It was very informative to hear from the membership chair from AAWE Paris, AWG Paris and AC The Hague.    AAWE has the membership data down to a science. They study how the applicant or inquiry contacted them, if they filled out an application or the questioner, and sent both in. New members send in an Application 80% of the time and just the questioner 50% via Internet. The majority of their new members are referrals.

The Hague has other approaches. Twice a year they hold open houses at their club house. They put their club's flyer in all international schools, and they have one activity group that is open to non members. This year it is a craft group, which draws in potential new members.

AWG Paris gets most of their new members off their website, publications, children groups and their fundraisers.

The FAWCO quilt tombola is always a treat! This year it brought in 900 euros ( for our new target program) and it was FAUSA's dynamic speaker, Louise G-C, from Saudi Arabia, that won Nan de L's home crafted quilt!

At all FAWCO events,  I always come away with stronger ties with the women I have known for years, and a feeling of joy to meet someone new for the first time! For me that's what it is all about!