Pan Pacific & South East Asia Women's Association Australia Inc

International conference 2010

24th International Triennial Conference of PPSEAWA

Fostering Peace Through Unity in Diversity

Bali has been called ”The Morning of the World” where the Hindu-Bali religion pervades all aspects of Balinese society and shrines and temples dominate the landscape: the scenery is stunning, soaring volcanoes [often lost in clouds] rice fields clinging to hillsides and sculptured in tiers, idyllic beaches and gentle people[and motor scooters].There is a population of 3.5 million living in harmony with the gods. It was dry while we were there, with temperatures in the thirties and high humidity.

The conference was held from May 18-22, 2010, at Sanur, at the Inna Bali Beach Hotel,with conference banners lining the long drive and an impressive floral arrangement at the entrance to the meeting room. The hotel was very gracious, on the sea front but with various pools, a spa and massage centre, restaurants, nightly music and helpful staff. Shopping and money changing was readily available, the water was drinkable and our delegation had our own liaison officer, Wayan.

16 nations attended, with 225 members [and only 12 under 40 years of age!] Australia 12, Cook Is. 2,Fiji 8, Hawaii 20,Indonesia 72, Japan 24,Korea5,Malaysia 32, NZ 6,Pakistan 1, Vladivostok 1, Samoa 3,Taiwan 10,Thailand 6,Tonga 3,USA 21Not present were American Samoa, India, Niue, PNG, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka.

Tuesday: Registration, setting up of stalls and a Fashion parade of beautiful Indonesian styles and fabrics, including some of our delegation as models. The International Council had a meeting, to which heads of delegations and a guest were invited, so Coral Fleming and Jannette Smith attended.

Wednesday: an early start, breakfast under the canopy, then the workshop on MDG 3, i.e. to promote gender equality and empower women. A challenging address came from the State Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection of the Republic of Indonesia, followed by reports on progress in various fields by Australia [Coral Fleming], Fiji, Hawaii, Japan, Thailand and USA.

The meeting split into mixed groups, with discussions in depth centred on one of these reports, aided by the input of those reporting.

1.00pm was the start of the Opening Ceremony, Heads of Delegations were led in by their country’s flag and the conference was entertained by the beautiful ” Pender Dance”. The President of PPSEAWA Indonesia welcomed everyone, suggesting we focus on the theme of unity in diversity and ‘to enjoy’. The International President thanked Indonesia for inviting us to “a place of harmony” and the Governor of Bali emphasized how Bali is indeed a place of harmony, gods with humans and all with the environment.

After the ceremony inevitably comes the work i.e. the first Business meeting. This began with a report from the International President suggesting we become more efficient, more appealing to younger women, update the website and always work with tolerance and respect. The Treasurer reported that the Emergency/Disaster fund had helped Samoa and the Young Women’s fund had helped three to come here. The only income is from investments and membership fees, when paid.

The second Business meeting heard reports from our two United Nations representatives in New York and Geneva, then country reports were spoken to, with an amazing variety of projects to help women, children and families, from work in slums, prisons, rural situations, schools and using micro-credit.
After the intense day we enjoyed the relaxation of the dinner, set up outside in very balmy conditions, near a stage which was used for cultural performances by Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia and then for general dancing. Many delegates enjoyed dancing to the Hotel band, with some delegates joining the band. A fun time was had by all.

Thursday : From the Ministry of Defence, Indonesia came the first speaker, talking about the need to use ‘soft’ power i.e. a psychological rather than a physical approach to defend the nation’s culture, as threatened by media, TV, life style and behaviour. The second talk was from the Malaysian speaker’s wife standing in excellently for a husband off on jungle training. She emphasised the need for unity:” a mix of colours on a palette” and to find commonalities first and differences second. ”One Malaysia “had clear objectives and values, with it all starting in the family and in schooling. The third talk was from the Minister for Marine Affairs and Fisheries, whose birthday caused great celebrations and cake for all. He strongly advocated the health and beauty giving properties of seaweed, as well as the necessity to care for the Coral Triangle’s vast numbers of marine inhabitants.
Panelists from Australia [Luisa Latukefu] and Hawaii spoke on their contribution to fostering peace through strengthening Unity in Diversity. The small group discussions after lunch looked at the obstacles to Unity in Diversity.

Our evening was well occupied with wonderful Indonesian entertainment and hospitality. From our hotel we travelled in buses, courtesy Blue Bird Group. This Company was a sponsor of the Conference. We had a police escort to Stage Uma Dewi in Sanur to experience the unique open air theatre for the performance of the Kecak.

The Kecak is a unique Balinese dance which is not accompanied by any orchestra, but 100 bare chested men create their own music by chanting, swaying and waving their arms around. This dance has its origin in a ritual Hindu epic Ramayana where a dancer appears to be in a trance and walks through a wall of fire getting his feet covered in ash. It is a story of good overcoming evil. The Barong play, also a story of good overcoming evil is completely different. This play is accompanied by the gamolin and is very noisy.

After watching the Kecak performance we returned to the buses and were taken to the Bird Sanctuary for dinner. Here we had a wonderful buffet dinner of beautiful Indonesian food. We had the opportunity to see some magnificent birds before returning to our hotel.

Friday: This morning was devoted to ”Our young women; our future”.
The afternoon saw 2 presentations, one on ethno botany and medicine for beauty and health,the other on the role of women in development by former co-ordinating Minister for People’s Welfare. The final session was an excellent presentation by the International Executive, President Viopapa Annandale and Mary Cabrera on : The way forward” followed by lively discussions, hopefully putting forward recommendations.

Saturday: Final day: Theme: Global Challenges for Women”. so there were presentations on: violence against women and children; women’s empowerment in Rural Areas[W.Java]; Trafficking, which is the largest criminal activity in the world and exceeds the drug trade; successful entrepreneurship eg the Blue Bird Taxi company empire.

3rd and last Business meeting: adoption of resolutions and recommendations [too many and too loosely phrased]: Election of next committee, starting with one vote from each country for President for which there were two nominations: Therese Hintzke, USA and Mary Cabrera, Australia. Therese was announced as the next President. The Treasurer and Secretary will continue in office.

The next Conference will be in Fiji, in 2013.

The meeting was formally closed with remarks from the host country’s president: Prof. Nani Soedarsono.

Jenny Bennett and Jannette Smith

Please see attached report "Our Young Women - Our Future".