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Women's Institute for Alternative Development

The Women’s Institute for Alternative Development (WINAD), based in Trinidad, was founded in 1999. WINAD works in gender and development, leadership, HIV/AIDS, and arms control. WINAD advocates for gender equality, respect for one’s right to choice, the State to accept and execute its obligation to protect and provide satisfactorily for all citizens, citizen participation in decision making, and community mobilisation to ensure safer communities.

The objectives of WINAD are to:

• Build sisterhood among women
• Promote women's participation in all decision making processes;
• Promote respect for women's human rights and for gender justice
• Develop and/or implement initiatives to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women
• Develop and/or implement initiatives to encourage women’s conscious and collective action
• Develop and/or implement initiatives for the social and political transformation of our society
• Collaborate with State and Non State Actors to build a just society
• Develop alternative learning and social institutions

• Gender and Development

All aspects of WINAD’s work are influenced by the principles of the gender framework. Members are trained in gender analysis and the outreach projects are designed with the intention of introducing and or enhancing gender analysis to the situation.

As the initiator of the discussion on small arms in the Caribbean, WINAD has also introduced a gender perspective to understanding this phenomenon by urging State and Non State Actors to pursue the gendered dimensions of the problem and to utilise gender analysis for research and the development responses.

• Leadership

The Inter-Generational Women’s Leadership Programme was instituted to build women’s leadership, provide transformational leadership for Trinidad and Tobago, and build sisterhood and provide succession planning for the Women’s Movement in the country.  Started in 1999, this program partners young women with mature, conscious women who provide guidance and together they build sisterhood. The Big Sisters are leaders in the media, business, trade unions, politics, law, NGOs, education, culture and social development.

This program offers workshops on various issues such as globalization, self awareness, sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, political participation, violence, finance, human rights, feminism, media, spirituality and environment. Workshops are facilitated by WINAD members and associates.

In July 2001, WINAD introduced “The Hazel Medina Young Women’s Leadership Training Programme.”  This program is intended to train young women in issues of human rights, women’s leadership and gender and development, including feminist research methodologies. It promotes research as a tool for addressing women’s issues and other social phenomenon.

• Gun Violence

WINAD’s small arms control work began in 2001 with an internal attempt to analyze the increasing gun violence in Trinidad and Tobago. The work continued in 2002 when the organization hosted a national meeting for State and Non State Actors in a further attempt to explore and analyze the impact that gun violence was having on the society. This meeting was followed by a regional meeting of ten countries from the Caribbean and Latin America. The conference called for regional research to be conducted. The countries of Jamaica, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago were selected for the research.

• Press Releases

Statement on the formation of a Caribbean Civil Society Organisation For the alleviation of violent crime and the promotion of peace

• Reports

WINAD engaged in a partnership with the Small Arms Survey (SAS) to research the availability, impact and State response to gun violence in Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago in 2003.

A Summary of Lessons on Small Arms Demand and Youth

• AdvocacyNet Bulletins

Women on the March as Global Action Week Targets Gun Violence, June 6, 2008

Outreach Partners
WINAD has worked with groups within Trinidad and Tobago, Latin America, North America and Europe.  The local organisations include:

Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Friends for Life (FFL) Advocates for the Poor East Port of Spain Council of Community Organisations Desperadoes Steel Orchestra CARICOM Task Force on Crime and Security Performing Artistes Ministry of National Security

Trinidad and Tobago Police Service Gayelletv Radio i95.5FM International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) Arias Foundation (Costa Rica) Project Ploughshares (Canada) Viva Rio (Brazil) Small Arms Survey (Switzerland)

Contact:
Folade Mutota
Tel: 868-764-1770

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