BLOG
The Hague
Introduction:
Staff from Population Action
International are presenting “The Shape of Things to Come: Why Age Structure
Matters to a Safer, More Equitable World” at several events in Europe.
Join Tyler LePard, PAI’s Media Manager, for an inside look!
Part 1. Screening of “Fighting the Silence” at the Dutch Foreign Ministry
Our first stop on the European tour was The Netherlands. We were invited by the World Population Fund (WPF) to present “The Shape of Things to Come.” Amy Coen, Claudia Kennedy, Tod Preston, Liz Leahy and I arrived in The Hague on December 2, met WPF staff for dinner and got ready for today.
Before our event, we were invited to attend a screening of a new documentary at the Dutch Foreign Ministry. One of the filmmakers was present to introduce her provocative film about rape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
“Fighting the Silence: Sexual Violence against women in Congo” explores sexual violence in a culture that traditionally doesn’t acknowledge such a thing. Three women feature prominently in the film – a community educator and two rape survivors. The educator organizes discussions about rape with various groups – men, women, children and soldiers. The two survivors share their personal experiences and the effects on their families. One says that rape “is shameful, a taboo… it doesn’t exist here.” The women’s husbands no longer wanted them around after what happened to them.
Many believe that foreign soldiers introduced rape as a way of destroying the Congo, but sexual violence continues to be a problem in the country. There is now a law against sexual violence in the DRC, but this film makes clear that there is much more work to be done to combat gender inequality and sexual violence.
“Fighting the Silence” recently premiered at Amsterdam’s
International Documentary Film Festival. Ilse and Femke van Velzen (twin
filmmakers) intend to show the film worldwide, starting a global discussion on
sexual violence. Mobile cinemas will be used to show the film in the Congo
so that the people there can help choose which parts of the film are best to
show at different screenings for policymakers, villagers, international
peacemakers and other audiences.
“Fighting the Silence” is a very moving
documentary, on par with PAI’s own award-winning advocacy films; watch the video
below.
Part 2: Peace Palace
Our first stop on the European tour was The Netherlands. We were invited by the World Population Fund to present “The Shape of Things to Come.” Amy Coen, Claudia Kennedy, Tod Preston, Liz Leahy and I arrived in The Hague on December 2, met WPF staff for dinner and got ready for today.
After the documentary screening at the Ministry Wednesday morning, we traveled to the Peace Palace, a beautiful and prestigious venue. Before the official event began, we met with Rob Vrecken, a reporter for De Volkskrant. Each member of our PAI team contributed their expertise to the interview, highlighting key findings and recommendations from “The Shape of Things to Come” and its implications for policy, development, and security, as well as the report’s connections with other aspects of PAI’s work.
The two-hour panel briefing began with a welcome from Frans Baneke, the Director of the World Population Fund (WPF). Claudia Kennedy (Lt. General U.S. Army Retired and PAI Board Member) introduced the report. She said, “The international development community – and organizations like WPF and PAI – have long recognized that improving the well-being of individuals aren’t just investments in people; they’re investments in creating a more peaceful and developed world.”
Elizabeth Leahy (PAI Research Associate and lead author of the report) presented “The Shape of Things to Come,” focusing on the leadership of the Netherlands in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and touching on several countries of interest to the Netherlands. For example, the Netherlands is a country that has completed the demographic transition to reach the fourth and final category – mature age structure – with 36 percent of the country younger than 30 years of age and 19 percent older than 60. It is also one of the safest countries for women’s health – skilled care at childbirth is universal, contraceptive use is high, abortion is unrestricted, and HIV, adolescent fertility, early marriage, maternal mortality and infant mortality are all rare. The top recipients of the Netherland’s development assistance have very young age structures (with the exception of Indonesia) and higher reproductive risk: Iraq, Sudan, Ghana and Tanzania.
Professor Joris Voorhoeve (former Defense Minister for the Netherlands and the chair of WPF) gave the reaction portion of the panel. He affirmed the importance of prioritizing SRHR in development assistance, saying that family planning and reproductive health “are essential for the reduction of wars” and that “family planning is peace politics – is longtime security.”
After a quick coffee/tea break, the discussion with the audience began, moderated by Frank Kalshoven (De Volkskrant journalist). The audience was comprised of Dutch academics, government officials, journalists and international students. The panelists fielded some challenging questions, but emphasized that the report does not imply that age structures cause instability/stability – demographics are an important factor that contribute to the complex picture and must be included in the solution. As Liz, reminded us, “Demography is not destiny… the problem is not too many young people, but too few investments in opportunities for them.”
Amy Coen (President/CEO of PAI) made closing remarks, making the connections between “The Shape of Things to Come” and PAI’s other recent report “A Measure of Survival: Calculating Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Risk” – these are both advocacy tools intended to make the world a safer, better place for all women and their families. She applauded the Netherlands for their leadership on these issues, acknowledged that the United States is no longer setting a good example, and encouraged us to find integrated solutions and new ways to work together.
Many thanks to the World Population Foundation, PAI’s Dutch NGO partner, who sponsored this event.
Tyler LePard, Media Manager
12/05/2007 08:27:41 PM
Bula! (hello in Fiji). I am here in Fiji, taking part in a regional advocacy training for young people from the Pacific, put on by the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, a sub-grantee of PAI's. I arrived yesterday (Tuesday) and have been very busy working with the other YC facilitators (Nino from Indonesia and Fred from Sweden) to finalize the week's agenda and develop the sessions for the training.
There are 10 participants, representing Fiji, new Zealand, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Nieu. I'll be facilitating sessions on analyzing UN texts, understanding the MDG framework, mapping international advocacy opportunities, and a session on research-based advocacy that will center on A Measure of Survival.
It is a very dedicated and knowledgeable group of young people, so I am looking forward to a productive week. The training began today, with presentations from participants on the key SRR issues in their countries and communities.
Sarah E. Haddock, Research Assistant
12/05/2007 08:32 AM
Strategic Planning in Kampala
I’m excited to be reporting back from Kampala, Uganda, where a team from PAI is participating in the Eastern Africa Reproductive Health Network’s (EARHN) Annual Coordination meeting. This unique network consists of six member states (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Burundi) who have come together to influence policies and funding for reproductive health in their respective countries. On our first day here, Dr. Peter Njoroge from the East African Community told a story about visiting a rural village in Tanzania where people were so desperate for contraceptives that they were using plastic baggies as condoms – even though condoms were available in the capital, they didn’t have any way to get them to the country. When I looked around the room, nearly every head was nodding knowingly. This is the sort of unbelievable story that you hear all the time in this region. Men and women throughout Eastern Africa can’t access the reproductive health supplies that stock the shelves of nearly every convenience store in the United States. EARHN is part of the effort to make stockouts like this a thing of the past. The task for this meeting is to develop a strategic plan for the group, replacing one written six years ago. Writing a strategic plan is a long, daunting task for any organization; trying to write one in three days for a network of six states with such different interests and backgrounds is even more difficult. It’s a testament to the dedication and commitment that these nations have made to improving reproductive health in the region that we are here and, as we closed our second day of work today, we’ve already made extraordinary progress. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when you gather together dozens of experts from throughout East Africa, each dedicated to improving the lives of men, women and children in the region. I’m proud to be a part of this.
Jennifer Johnson, Communications Coordinator
12/05/2007 02:36:31 AM
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