Þann 2. október kl. 12:00-13:00 heldur dr. Cecilia Milwerts fyrirlesturinn „Kína – Vesturlönd: Samskipti frjálsra félagasamtaka á sviði jafnréttis- og þróunarmála – yfirgangur, aðstoð eða samhygð“ í stofu 104 á Háskólatorgi á vegum RIKK og Asíuseturs.

Fyrirlesturinn byggir á atviksrannsóknum, sem fóru fram 2004-2006 á þremur frjálsum félagasamtökum í Kína sem kenna sig við kynjarannsóknir og þróunarmál og voru stofnuð 1986, 1994 og 1995 í Shaanxi-, Yunnan- og Hebei-héruðum. Fyrirlesturinn greinir frá samskiptum þessara samtaka og vestrænna frjálsra félagasamtaka á sviði þróunaraðstoðar. Dr. Milwertz hefur hliðsjón af hugtaki landfræðingsins Doreen Massey um rými sem afurð gagntengsla og svæði fjölhyggju í sífelldri mótun, og rennir stoðum undir þá tilgátu að kínversku samtökin og þau vestrænu séu þættir í víðtæku bandalagi um breytingar ásamt flokks-ríkisstofnunum. Í fyrirlestrinum skoðar hún sérstaklega þessi samskipti en vestrænu samtökin gegna mikilvægu hlutverki við að útvega styrki. Slíkir styrkir geta komið á ójafnvægi vegna fjárhagslegs valds þróunarstofnana. Dr. Milwertz bendir á að slíkir samfundir snúast ekki aðeins um eitt þriggja, yfirgang, björgun eða samhygð, heldur flókin tengsl sem innihalda alla þessa þætti – samskiptin skila þó árangri, þrátt fyrir deilur og hagsmunaárekstra.

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„Encounters between Chinese gender and development NGOs and Euramerican development aid NGOs – imposition, rescuing or solidarity“

Based on case studies carried out in 2004-6 of three Chinese ‘gender and development NGOs’ (established in 1986, 1994 and 1995) in Shaanxi, Yunnan and Hebei this paper examines encounters between these three organizations and Western development aid NGOs. Drawing on geographer Doreen Massey’s concept of space as a product of interrelations, a sphere of multiplicity and always under construction the paper discusses the proposition that the Chinese gender and development NGOs are part of a broad-based transformative coalition together with foreign NGOs and party-state institutions. The main focus in the paper is on the encounter between the Chinese and Western NGOs that play an important role in providing financial support. Such support can involve domination based on (financial) power on the part of aid agencies. The paper is concerned with how encounters are not an issue of either imposition or ‘rescuing’ or solidarity, but rather of complex relationships that include all these elements and which function despite controversies and conflicts of interest.

About Cecilia Milwertz

Cecilia Milwertz works as senior researcher at NIAS – Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Copenhagen University. She has an MA in Chinese studies and cultural sociology, and a PhD in Chinese studies. She is engaged in research on non-governmental organizing to address gender equality issues in the People’s Republic of China. On this topic she has published Beijing Women Organizing for Change – a New Wave of the Chinese Women’s Movement (2002) and co-edited Chinese Women Organizing – Cadres, Feminists, Muslims, Queers (2001). One of her most recent articles, co-authored with Professor Bu Wei from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, is ‘Non-governmental Organizing for Gender Equality in China – Joining a Global Emancipatory Epistemic Community’, published in The International Journal of Human Rights in 2007.