Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/5840/-1/140/
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CARIWA To Meet In Anguilla
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The 19th Biennial Conference of the Caribbean Women’s Association (CARIWA) will be held in Anguilla with the Teachers’ Resource Centre being the main venue.
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Mrs. Lana Hoyoung and Ernie Hodge-Carty
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The conference is being coordinated by Anguillian Lana Hoyoung, CARIWA’s Secretary and the local Coordinator working with the Ministry of Gender Affairs and the National Council of Women, the latter being a member of CARIWA since in 1982.
The conference will officially open on Tuesday, April 22, at 6.30 pm at the House of Chandeliers and will be attended by some 45 delegates from the thirteen member islands with others expected from such non-member territories like the US Virgin Islands and possibly Aruba and Curacao. The opening ceremony, will be marked by a procession of flags from all the member islands.
The conference will be preceded by two days of workshop sessions on HIV/AIDS and renal failure and will begin on Wednesday, April 23 at the Teachers’ Resource Centre. There will be a panel discussion on Thursday night, April 24, at which the OECS Family and Domestic Violence Reform Laws started in 2000 will be examined to determine how far the work has reached. The panel discussion will also look at lifestyles in the region, how to deal with the health issues and other related matters. It is expected that a number of resolutions will be arrived at for presentation to the various Governments.
The theme of the conference is “Preserve our Nations for the next generation.” On the question of HIV/AIDS, Mrs. Hoyoung noted that women accounted for 51% of the total number of persons in the Caribbean affected by the virus. “We are trying to empower our women to have the ability to say no when it is right for them to say no,” she stated. “It also has to do with economic situations and the polygamy relationships in the region.”
The workshops and conference will climax on Saturday night, April 26, with a gala dinner under the patronage of the Chief Minister and Minister of Gender Affairs and Mrs. Osbourne Fleming, patron of the National Council of Women.