U.S. WOMEN AND CUBA COLLABORATION

I attended CSW in person for the first time in March 2024, and I discovered what I’d been missing. Here's how and why this experience impacted me and my activism with WILPF!

 

I was fortunate to land lodging with the US WILPF Local to Global delegation which also served to alert me to many WILPF activities I might otherwise have missed, including the mentoring of youth WILPF members. It was very encouraging to see the youth leaders in the WILPF International office at the UN, Sofi and Genevieve taking the rein. A recent debriefing over zoom indicated the intent was also to expand the youth cohort interns at upcoming CSWs.

 

I’m forging a closer relationship with Jan Corderman and other WILPFers who were part of Local to Global or participated in CSW independently. Connecting with other WILPF members was a CSW goal, to share strategies for renewing local US branches that sometimes went dormant in Covid and to build our membership. 

 

WILPF-US Section hosted a session with the International Board president Sylvia J. Ndongmo (Cameroon) and a panel of other international representatives that was titled Women’s Activism in Times of Crisis.

 

As part of organizing members for the larger US Solidarity with Cuba Campaign, #SSOT, I was able to share information regarding the negative impact of the US including Cuba on its list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. This is part of the US government's policy against normalizing relations with Cuba. The global effects are economically devastating for Cuba, creating harm to Cuban lives that is a violence, separately and combined with the long-standing Blockade. I also stressed the importance of our March 13th virtual webinar at the NGO CSW68, End the US Embargo of Cuba: The Road to Full Equality, organized by the US Women and Cuba Collaboration and WILPF. Given many events, briefings and time commitments, we didn't have the WILPF participation response we hoped for. This can be addressed as part of the follow-up and learnings.

 

The main thrust of the latest Jane Addams branch virtual meeting was a report back from those of us at CSW in NYC. Tara Vassefi, a youthful member (39) of the relatively new DC branch, was inspiring to those of us in our more advanced years. Kudos to all for their perseverance. Locally, I’m working to reactivate our WILPF branch in Indiana which went dormant during Covid and has yet to meet regularly. We are seeking out new members as well. WILPF has for over 100 years been comprised of women who are making this world a better place, and building its future is exciting work.

 

Lastly, I was invited in May to participate at the WILPF-US Triennial Conference for a panel on Sanctions, along with Robin Lloyd and Jill Clark-Gollub. The panel called for the end to all sanctions everywhere. This was a great opportunity to talk about the about the injustice of the US Blockade and its sanctions on Cuba, the human costs of Cuba being named by the US as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, and to educate about the Saving Lives campaign to send pacemakers to Cuba

 

For more information on the WILPF Cuba and Bolivarian Alliance Issues Committee

WILPF Cuba & Bolivarian Alliance Issues Committee