March 11 to 14,1999Heritage Hall!

St. Andrew's-Wesley United ChurchVancouver, British Columbia

Canada

IITowards FilipinoWomen's Equality"

The Filipino-CanadianWomen's National

Consultative Forum

• Contribute your talent! If you havevisual art you would like displayed,contact us.

Call orE-mail Ning Alcuitas orJane Ordinario at {604} 215-1103

or<pwc@netcom.ca>for more information or

to get involved!

• Contribute your story! We are creatinga visual display of the history of FiLipinowomen's migration to Canada. Anyphotos, stories or mementos are greatlyappreciated.

Logistics informationThe registration fee for the Forum is $100(including opening night on Thursday). ThiswiLL include the conference kit and food.Accommodation cannot be provided, althoughthe Forum Secretariat will be happy to assistyou with information on local accommodation.

• Volunteer! You can Jom one of thecommittees (Cultural; Outreach /Publicity/Media; Logistics; Documentation) helpi ngto prepare for the Forum.

To get involved••.

Particip-=a~n~ts~ _The Forum aims to gather 150 Filipino women fromacross Canada. All Forum participants, panelspeakers, facilitators and resource people will beFilipino women.

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• Challenges for Women Migrant Workers: Theirmarginalized position provides a clear illuminationof the nature of Canadian and global society. Wewill deepen our understanding of their issues andidentify opportunities for collective action .

• Violence Against Women: We continue toexperience myriad forms of violence, includingsocjo~economic forms like de-skilling and the masstraffitk'ug of Filipino women. The analysis andprevention of violence against women will beexplored at the Forum.

• Systemic Racism and Immigration: Systemicracism has had a profound impact upon Filipinowomen. The Forum will examine the connectionsbetween systemic racism and Canada's historicaland current immigration policies.

• Young Women and Their Issues: We will discussissues of identity and heritage as we seek ways todevelop links amongst young women.

Major rh~eLIm.L.!'le_SL--__• Labour and Migration: Economic globalization andits accompanying crisis is causing massiveunemployment and migration of Filipino women.The Forum will explore the phenomenon of thecommodification and feminization of labourmigration by looking at our experiences as Filipino

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graphic from Kalagin aog Ating Tanikala, CWR, 1994

• Sun. March 14: Action-planning (for Forumpartici pants) and solidarity night (open topublic)

Tentative Program• Thurs, arch 11: 10th anniversarycelebration of the Philippine Women Centrewith Keynote address, speakers and culturalpresentations; Welcoming of Forumparticipants (open to public)

• Fri. March 12: Opening address and Panelspeakers from across Canada and thePhilippines (open to public)

• Sat. March 13: Participatory workshops anddiscussions (for Forum participants)

As Filipino women in Canada...

• To gather together Filipino women from acrossCanada to exchange information and to deepenour analysis about our history, experiences, currentsituation and needs;• To develop an action-plan, recommendations andstrategies at the local, national and internationallevels to build towards Filipino women's equalityin Canada; and• To explore how we can further advance oureducating and organizing work at the local,national and international levels as grassrootsFilipino women.

THE FORUM'S OBJECTIVES ARE:

One outstanding characteristic of our community is the strong presence of Filipino women. In fact,Filipino women are the majority of our growing community. Filipino women are often the hardest hit bythe changing economic and social conditions we face in C ada. Despite this marginalization, Filipinowomen have continued through the years to ed cate and or anize themselves. Yet, our stories andvoices often go unheard in the lar e context of Canadian soc'ety.

r /....---The Nati01atEQlumr,The Forum is an effort to ards .strongly l:irin~out our stories and our cries for justice ana equality.This gathering will be a historic opportunity forFilipino women in Canada. It will mark the firstti me we have gathered on a national level toaddress a broad range of issues from our perspectiveas grassroots Filipino women.

The Fjfjpino community in Canada has a rich history of stories and experiences. Since the 1960s, wehave been coming to Canada' as garment workers, domestic workers, teachers, nurses and otherprofessionals.

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For InOI'lIt 1nflDI'INltlonorto vaNmel8l', PI"'. COIdlClt Nlng orat (604) 21 ·1103 or <pwcwnetCGm.C8>.