video of the congress
The scientific director of the congress, Astrid Schönweger, introduces the congress with warm words of gratitude for the foundress of the Women’s Museum of Merano, Evelyn Ortner (1944-1993) who opened undeterred by lack of appreciation the museum in 1988 and Gertrud Lahn, the president of the museum’s association, who devotedly works for the museum for the last 20 years. This 20th anniversary is celebrated with 23 women’s museums from all five continents. The main objective of the congress is to build up a global platform by creating synergies, to present worldwide visibility on the existence of women’s museums and as cultural centres for women’s knowledge and to make the network a means for mutual support. The result of the 2 days workshops will be summarized in resolution at the end of the congress. Adama Cissé Wele, representative of the Senegalese Women’s Museum “Henriette Bathily” which has organized the congress together with the Women’s Museum of Merano delivers opening remarks. |
First part of the conference: Shirin Ebadi (farsi – italian) 1 Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and "matroness" of this congress officially inaugurates this event in the mornings on Friday, June 11th, 2008, and explains with the help of her translator Ella Mohammadi, why she has accepted this patronage and how important such a congress of women’s museums is. The collaboration of these museums is essential to strengthen the common concern. She declares that everywhere in the world the equal rights of the women are not yet achieved, in Europe just as little as in the remaining world. |
Second part of the conference: Shirin Ebadi (farsi – italian) 2 Afterwards, Shirin Ebadi reports about the fact that women experience greater discriminations in the Middle East. Taking her own country Iran as an example, she reports that women who fight for their own rights are arrested. The justification that Islam refuses these rights to the women is baseless. She will take part in the congress and hopes together with the present representatives of the women’s museums to find solutions for the question of women’s rights. |
Presentation of a school project (english – german) Shirin Ebadi is given a present by a school class from Silandro which together with the art teacher Irmgard Schaller has participated in the exhibit “1000 Women for Peace”. A T-shirt with portraits of Shirin Ebadi originated as a result of this joint work. All the students of the class together with the teacher handed over the gift to the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. |
The opening of the 1st International Congress of the Women's Museums is represented by a symbolic “roped party". Red short ropes were supposed to be linked with each other as an icon for the new women's network which started this day. At first, Shirin Ebadi as a patroness attaches two ropes together, followed by her translator Ella Mohammadi, the organizers, the women of the museums of Merano and Senegal; and during the next days all present representatives of the women's museums continued to knot the ropes. From now on the rope itself is handed on from one initiative to the next initiative of this network. Target is that it becomes the longest knotted rope of the world ... |
First part of the conference: Fatima Fall (french) 1 The lecturer Fatima Fall from Senegal is an expert in the area of museum and culture of West Africa. After a historical review of the history of the museums using the example of Senegal and its professionalisation, she ponders about the African women’s museums in the 3-rd Millennium Second part of the conference: Fatima Fall (french) 2 The Senegalese lecturer Fatima Fall reports that the women’s museums belong to the first private museums in West Africa, among them, the Senegalese Women’s Museum “Henriette Bathily” was the first, followed by the second “Muse Kunda” in Mali. She speaks about the development and now-a-days problems: lacking of right infrastructure, not sufficient numbers of staff, financial weaknesses and missing scientific and cultural projects. Third part of the conference: Fatima Fall (french) 3 The museum expert Dr. Fall introduces solution suggestions for the problems of the West-African women’s museums: a more precise study of existing infrastructures for museum purposes, a qualified staff with an organization chart, an internal and external communication as a means for the removal of the financial weaknesses, and the integration of the staff for scientific and cultural projects. Regardless of these problems new women’s museum initiatives originate in Africa: in the Central African Republic, the Ivory Coast, in Gabon, and the one which already exists in Sudan. She also foresees a continued existence in the collaboration of the museums. A spontaneous present was given to the women by a traveling Senegalese singer from the well-known Griot-family Mboup of Senegal who had asked for a short stage appearance to sing a praise song to the women in different languages. |
First part of the conference: Gudrun Koch (german) 1 The German lecturer Gudrun Koch congratulates the organizational team to this congress. As a representative of the association “European Women’s Action” (EFA), she tells how they have always dreamt of such places for women where self-made travel exhibits could be send. Before lecturing on the interlinking, she wanted to speak about wealth, namely on the women’s wealth of cultural heritage which often goes, nevertheless, under the heading of a self-evident truth, nothing more to it, in patriarchal societies which are everywhere “standard” in the world. |
| Second part of the conference: Gudrun Koch (german) 2 She speaks about her association which has been founded 20 years ago by German and French women. The reason was to think about Europe as a woman, and also pushing the outside of the envelope. Thus, EFA made contacts with East European and North-African women. Besides, on the one hand, it is a matter about history of the cultural inheritance; and on the other hand also of creating, therefore, ideas of womanliness for girls and boys alike. |
Third part of the conference: Gudrun Koch (german) 3 Searching for traces is for Gudrun Koch “the ability to read in men’s knowledge”. There are, for example, the myths. She herself has specialized in the Greek myths and mentioned some examples. |
Fourth part of the conference: Gudrun Koch (german) 4 Patriarchic societies are “tremendously” young in the history of mankind, says Gudrun Koch, the oldest one is max. 5-6000 years old. With regard to the network work she thinks that a collective consciousness must be created and a common cultural inheritance has to be carried on together. This knowledge must be bunched together and made transparent, for example, by the means of cross worldly traveling exhibitions. |
The director of the Women’s Museum of Meran Sigrid Prader introduces the representative of the Cultural Ministry of Senegal who has likewise promoted this congress. She points to the fact that Aziz Guisse, once, introduced women’s museums of Meran and Gorée to each other, and he is the official patron of the twinning of the two institutions. |
"Salutation" from Senegal (french) Together with representative of the Senegalese women’s museum, Adama Cissé Wele, and as a representative of the Senegalese Cultural Ministry, Aziz Guisse welcomes the audience. |
Introduction Shirin Ebadi (german) The moderator of the evening program, Anita Rossi, introduces the main speaker of the evening, to Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi. |
First part of the conference in the evening: Shirin Ebadi (farsi – italian) 1 The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate thanks for the fact that she has received another opportunity in the evening program of the congress to be able to speak once again about the situation of the women in the Middle East. As a Muslim woman who has lived life long in Iran, the following reasons are responsible for the problems in the Middle East: The nonexistent democracy and the continual injuries of human rights. Most governments of the Middle East have not been elected by their population; and therefore, they do not have the backing of the people. |
Second part of the conference in the evening: Shirin Ebadi (farsi - italian) 2 According to the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, these non-democratic governments are supported by the USA. This arouses anger in the people of the Middle East, because without this protection from abroad the local people could win. The only government which has no relations with the USA is Iran. This fascinates many young and discontented people in the Middle East however, the majority of the Iranian people in the country are not satisfied with this government, because the violations of human rights pile up more and more. According to Shirin Ebadi, a solution to this situation is only possible if the USA stops supporting these non-democratic governments and stops selling weapons to these countries at once. |
Third part of the conference in the evening: Shirin Ebadi (farsi – italian) 3 After that, she explains where the role of the women is to be found in this situation. The women in Iran are cultivated and educated; and they have been fighting in a peaceful manner to have equal rights for man and woman since many years. They are aware of the fact that their victory could be also the basis for the women’s emancipation in the Middle East. Shirin Ebadi refers to some examples of women’s organizations and Iranian activists (for example the campaign of the “one million signatures” http://dev.service-store.com/convegno/it/change-equality ), such as Mansouree Sojaieh, who should have taken part in the congress as representative of the Iranian Women’s Libraries. She could not travel due to the confiscation of her passport because she attended a public meeting against women’s discrimination. |
Fourth part of the conference in the evenign: Shirin Ebadi (farsi – italian) 4 Shirin Ebadi raises another problem: the interminable conflict between Israel and Palestine which is important for the peace of the whole Middle East. This peace could come through the women; Israeli and Palestinian mothers vehemently fight for it. The importance of the role of the women in the Middle East is not to be overlooked, it maybe even more important than those of the men. THEY have the influence on the children. The Islamic mothers are against the terrorist suicide attacks and preach that violence causes violence. However, the attack of the USA on Iraq has aggravated the situation; terrorism has become even more popular since then and is hardly to be stopped. Iraqi women have told to her that they had previously only one single problem: Saddam; but now they have many problems: an unsafe country and a growing Fundamentalism which cuts the rights of the women. Today the situation of the woman is even worse than at the time of Saddam Hussein, although THEY have fought for years against the dictatorship. Shirin Ebadi dedicates her closing words to the mothers who lost their sons in Iraq and during the Iraq-Iran war during the last years, but who have not lost their hopes and spirit to still fight for the peace. She feels herself to be united with them and wishes to them and to herself a peaceful Middle East as soon as possible. |
