IRI Trains Grassroots Women Leaders on Crisis Management

July 19, 2004

June 29-July 2 – IRI sponsored a training seminar in Wuhan on crisis management and conflict resolution for members of the newly established Grassroots Women Leaders Support Network. The network, which comprises fifty elected female village leaders from throughout China is the brainchild of IRI and Rural Women Knowing All, an independent Chinese women's organization. The network was organized to improve communication among grassroots women leaders; promote the exchange of information, expertise and best practices; and encourage other women to participate in local politics and civic affairs. The women exchanged their experiences in dealing with crises and resolving conflicts in such areas as land disputes, conflicts over family planning policy, and village financial affairs.

Two well-known and controversial Chinese writers attended the training in order to interview members of the network for an upcoming book entitled "Fighting for Peasants in Court." An earlier best-selling work by the authors entitled "A Survey of China's Peasantry" was a groundbreaking piece of investigative journalism that outlined in detail the poverty, political corruption, violence and abuse in rural China. The publication held the ruling Communist Party responsible because of its failure to ensure equality for and meet the needs of China's 900 million rural citizens. The book was banned by the government this spring, but remains widely available; IRI provided each member of the network with a copy.

###

A nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing democracy worldwide