Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN)

Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN)

<p><b>Development Alternative with Women for a New Era</b> (DAWN) is a network of women scholars, researchers and activists from the Global South, working towards the enhancement of economic and gender justice and democratic sustainable development through research, analysis, proposals, advocacy and training.<ref>Carroll, William. 2015. "Modes of Cognitive Praxis in Transnational Alternative Policy Groups". Globalizations, 1-18. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14747731.2014.1001231#.VPi6oy7QOdM</ref><ref>Carroll, William. 2014. “Alternative Policy Groups and Transnational Counter-Hegemonic Struggle.” Pp. 259-84 in Yıldız Atasoy (ed.) Global Economic Crisis and the Politics of Diversity. London & New York: Palgrave MacMillan</ref>Established in 1984, DAWN works globally and regionally in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific.
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<div id="toc"><h2>Table of Contents</h2>
<ul>
<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#w_background"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Background</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#w_goals-and-activities"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Goals and Activities</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#w_support"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Support</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#w_references"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#w_external-links"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">External Links</span></a></li>
</ul>
</div><h2 id="w_background">Background</h2>
<p>DAWN was established in 1984, and launched publicly at the 1985 World Conference on Women at Nairobi. At the Conference, a group of Southern feminist researchers and activists who shared a similar vision, prepared a platform document and held a number of workshops. DAWN’s platform document, ‘Development, Crises and Alternative Visions: Third World Women’s Perspectives’ was a South feminist critique of three decades of development, highlighting the impacts of four inter-linked and systemic global crises – famine, debt, militarism and fundamentalism – on poor women of the South and offered alternative visions.<ref>Gita, Sen and Caren, Grown. 1987. Development, Crises and Alternative Visions: Third World Women’s Perspectives. New York: Monthly Review.http://www.dawnnet.org/feminist-resources/sites/default/files/articles/devt_crisesalt_visions_sen_and_grown.pdf.</ref>
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<h2 id="w_goals-and-activities">Goals and Activities</h2>
<p>Engaging in both analysis and advocacy efforts, DAWN focuses on four key areas:
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<ul><li>Political Economy of Globalization(PEG)
</li><li>Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights(SRHR)
</li><li>Political Restructuring and Social Transformation(PRST)
</li><li>Political Ecology and Sustainability(PEAS)<ref>http://www.dawnnet.org/feminist-resources/analyses/main</ref>
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Work stemming from these research themes make up a number of books and publications, and have formed the basis of advocacy within intergovernmental processes (including for example RIO+20).<ref>http://www.dawnnet.org/feminist-resources/analyses/main</ref><ref>Carroll, William. 2015. "Modes of Cognitive Praxis in Transnational Alternative Policy Groups". Globalizations, 1-18. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14747731.2014.1001231#.VPi6oy7QOdM</ref>Yet, as DAWN maintains close connections to activist communities, its project is equally focused on ‘networking’ with social movements, as well as on ‘training.’<ref>Carroll, William. 2014. “Alternative Policy Groups and Transnational Counter-Hegemonic Struggle.” Pp. 259-84 in Yıldız Atasoy (ed.) Global Economic Crisis and the Politics of Diversity. London & New York: Palgrave MacMillan</ref>Such networking involves engaging extensively and dialogically with grassroots movements (through seminars and workshops), which allows for the production of bottom-up knowledge with them, as well as bringing to them interlinkage analyses that are more structural and critical and which together contest neoliberal capitalism’s dominant narrative.<ref>Carroll, William. 2015. "Modes of Cognitive Praxis in Transnational Alternative Policy Groups". Globalizations, 1-18. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14747731.2014.1001231#.VPi6oy7QOdM</ref>Training (which is accomplished though the creation of training institutes that act as spaces for intensive participatory education), is a way to multiply this analysis and knowledge, so that new feminists can use it for change.
</p><p>DAWN’s knowledge production and mobilization strategies are focused on women of the Global South. Yet, through a holistic, interlinkage perspective (that entails political- economic and political-ecological critique), it is committed to global social and ecological justice and aims to overcome all forms of oppression.
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<h2 id="w_support">Support</h2>
<p>DAWN work is supported by Ford Foundation, HIVOS (Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries), John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and "United Nations Development Programme.
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<h2 id="w_references">References</h2>
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<h2 id="w_external-links">External Links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="http://www.dawnnet.org/feminist-resources/" alt="Official Website">Official Website</a>
</li><li><a href="http://www.uia.org/s/or/en/1100026266/" alt="International Yearbook">International Yearbook</a>
</li><li><a href="https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/wcarroll/tapgs/" alt="Carroll Website and TAPG’s">Carroll Website and TAPG’s</a>
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