Women’s Voices:
Creating a New Story

As two friends and I settled in with coffee at an outdoor café on a recent sunny afternoon, our relaxed, “catch up with each other,” conversation unexpectedly became more reflective and philosophical – as one after the other of us shared thoughts about a book we’d read this summer that moved us. The theme that unfolded as we talked about these books and our reaction to them caused us to do some soul-searching of our own. The theme – What is my own “coming of age” story? How strongly does our family and culture into which we are born influence ...

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October 28 – November 5, 2014 Using Power - - - Building Global Community Yes, I’m obsessed, I suppose with the many faces of power as it relates to creating Global Community.    It seems so obvious to me that we are a Global Community – whether or not we want to be  - - - - and that, collectively we have the opportunity to create a community that actually works for all.  We stand on the precipice of creating a new way to “BE TOGETHER.”  It is breathtaking! In the previous post we saw the power of position – of ...

October 28 – November 5, 2014 The many faces of Power  As we prepared for moving on to Burkina Faso, our final destination on this incredible journey, it was time to focus once again on the purpose of the trip: . . . . .to contribute to our world an energy and wisdom that seems most needed at this time in our collective experience – feminine energy and feminine leadership, and - to deepen my relationships with three women whom I have come to know and to love – Claudine, Weub and Betty. I have to say – ...

Uganda, October 27, 2014 Village Life “Connecting Ideas . . . The Power of Questions” The theme emerging for me as I reflect on our experience in Uganda is, for sure, interdependence.    The reality of connection - not just the connections among humans, or the connection between humans and the rest of the natural world - - - but also the connection of ideas, of projects, of action and consequences - - - this theme keeps playing over and over again for me. As a teacher I have long understood that it is the questions I’ve been ...

Uganda, October 26, 2014 Spending ten days outdoors in the natural environment is a rare treat for me – bringing new sounds, new sights, new pace, a different way of experiencing the air that surrounds us ~ and for sure ~ new awareness and insight into the fundamental interconnectedness of our universe. Being outdoors in the natural environment also brings the absence of some of the sounds, sights and pace that block our awareness of our connection with nature. Jim and I had the opportunity to take a very short hike with a Ranger at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary ...

Sent October 12, 2014:  Lunch with participants in Betty’s Conversation Winnie Noting that she is 53, Winnie explained that she was “slowing down a bit” from a hectic travel schedule required by her development work. She shared her “retirement plan:”  Starting a Day Care School so that career women can know their children are getting good care.  She sees this as potential income for herself as well.  She has bought 3 blocks of land where she will grow food so that even if she has little income, she will have food to eat.  And she sees that growing food to ...

Sent October 10, 2014 Approaching Uganda by air is a forecast of the sensuality of this country.  The rainy season has left the countryside green – trees, bushes, fields, a rich contrast to the vivid orange/rust of the soil itself.  As I sit here now, in the living room of our B & B – which opens to the outdoors – to a verandah (where we have breakfast) and then the yard – the rooster announces morning (for many hours), birds of every size and shape create a symphony to welcome the day, the trees and bushes provide rich ...

Sent October 10, 2014: Experiences in Ethiopia But what about my intention for this travel – to amplify the impact of feminine  energy and women’s leadership?    For me, it always comes back to sharing stories of what women ARE doing, how they are contributing to their families and communities.  Three experiences are worthwhile to share. About ten of us gathered in a training room at the Institute where Weub works.  She selected the room  - because she could set the chairs in a circle.  I selected the focus point – the beautiful replica of “the rug” that Tam made ...

Experiences in Ethiopia  ~  September 25 to October 5, 2014 We were hosted in Ethiopia by the gracious Weub Eshetu and her family.  At Weub’s encouragement, our travel to Addis Ababa was specifically planned to coincide with the Meskel, one of the largest celebrations in Ethiopia.  On our first day in Addis, Weub and her husband, Berham, picked us up at the B&B where we stayed and after a magnificent traditional lunch, took us to the Celebration of the Meskel. [Of course these are OUR experiences, NOT an objective reporting of the culture or politics of Ethiopia.] The Ethiopian ...

Sent September 29, 2014 (This BLOG will bring pictures and stories, not philosophy, and yet this thinking through the purpose of our travel was necessary for me as I prepared for the journey. If you are interested, I share it with you.) My husband, Jim, and I plan a journey that will begin September 24, 2014 with travel to Ethiopia and meetings with Weub Eshetu. It will include Uganda and meetings with Betty Kagoro as well as Safari to meet the Gorillas and Chimpanzees ( we hope.) And will conclude in Burkina Faso and meetings with Claudine Zongo, ...

It takes a village, so the African saying goes, to raise children.  It also takes a village, it can be argued, to create a project with a trajectory to create positive change.  There is a village behind this project, creating it, building the momentum, and steering it on a course of action that is already making positive shifts in women’s lives.  This blog is dedicated to the 8 makers and creators, recognizing their on-going efforts and seeing what makes them tick in regards to this project by inquiring of them “What does this project mean to you?” Barbara Spraker is ...

(This guest post comes to us from Molly Cox.) I was one of the writers who collaborated with Barbara and Pat Hughes on the capacity guide published in the Developing Women’s Leadership ~ Around the Globe. project. My roots are with Antioch’s Center for Creative Change where I received my MA in organizational psychology and it is where I met Barbara Spraker. Barbara and I clicked immediately over our passion for women and leadership, she as the master and I as her student, eager to learn from her global women’s conversations. The Capacity-Building Guide: Learning from one another. As ...

This guest post comes to us from Danielle Prince, a fierce gender-justice, women's rights advocate.  Danielle's focus has been both local, and global, working in the field of domestic violence and refugee resettlement.  She is thrilled to be participating in the Women's Leadership project at Antioch as it blends both arenas of her passion.  Stay tuned for more blog posts from her! Contact Danielle at danielle.prince@gmail.com Summit: Developing Women's Leadership Around the World Barbara Spraker is a soft-spoken powerhouse of a woman who has led the charge for the first-ever Women’s Leadership Summit to take place on September 28 -29, ...

Leyla Welkin, Ph.D. in Cross-Cultural Psychology specializing in trauma treatment, in a recent blog describes training regarding family violence which she and two others presented in Canakkale, Turkey.  The training was for representatives from the police, lawyers, family court judges, social workers and a few NGO and local organizations. The focus was preventing family violence through coordination of services, and the things that get in the way of communication and collaboration between agencies.  On the third day a panel discussion was planned that would be open to the public.  Over a hundred people showed up - and despite the vast ...

This special opportunity to meet with young social leaders from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Papua New guinea, El Salvador, India, Indonesia, Honduras, and the Philippines this week provided an up-close opportunity to learn from these front line workers. The purpose of our meeting was to explore together - actually for me to learn from them - what is truly valuable in supporting women’s leadership development in the communities where they work.  These folks are iLEAP Fellows, participating in a three month intensive learning/teaching experience here in Western Washington.  In their home countries they work in both urban centers and remote ...

Lily sells carpets.  Not only that she has her own carpet shop, right across the street from the Ephesus Museum in Selcuk.  I was introduced to Lily by Sue who lives on Vashon Island, a short ferry ride from my home in Seattle.  Sue, who is herself a weaver and who has lived in Turkey and traveled to Turkey many times, also is the proud owner of a carpet she purchased from Lily. When I first contacted Lily, she responded right away, in a very open and friendly email.  She approved of our choice of a place to stay in ...

Heather was my very first connection to women in Turkey as I set out to find folks who might be interested in talking with me about the role of women in global leadership - and in particular, what it is like to be a woman at this time in history in Turkey.  I had googled something like “women in Turkey” and her blog, Feminist Activism popped up on my screen.  I was startled, and intrigued.  I was impressed with what I read.  It was articulate, passionate.  I subscribed. Then I emailed Heather.  “I am not an activist,” I remember stating ...

Introducing this Blog, September 15, 2011, “A Journey of a Thousand Miles,” I described two journeys - one was the actual trip through Turkey, on which I was about to embark, and from which most of the posts so far have been made - - and the other the metaphorical journey that women around the world are traveling.  These journeys have converged for me at this point, in a potent, painful and I suppose necessary way. I am sitting on a small hill, a bluff at the edge of the Mediterranean.  The sky behind the Taurus mountains across the water ...

After our bus ride from Goreme to Konya (very flat, wheat fields, and potatoes) on Tuesday, about 3 and a half hours, we were eager to get out and walk a bit.  So, we set out to find Silvia's shop - thinking I would meet with her the next day.  (See my earlier post to learn about Silvia.)  As we entered the shop, a young woman clearly recognized us as non-Turks and quickly learned that we had come to meet Silvia.  She began to explain to us - in Turkish - that Silvia was out.  Another young woman, we assumed perhaps ...

Cigdem is an archeologist ~ her focus is Neolithic culture.  She refers to this as “the Neolithic process,”  - - - -- not “the Neolithic period.”  Several persons we’ve talked with have a sense of history as continual process.  A most significant reminder to me - and, I suspect, many of you as well ! ! ! She says archeologists generally consider this period as coming at the end of the last ice age when various parts of the earth became more hospitable for humans.  These were hunter-gatherer societies that moved around, often in a fairly small geographic area, gradually ...

Silvia is from Argentina.  She came to Turkey when she was 17 to study  - - -  and stayed.  She studied cartography, and then the design of Turkish rugs.   She married a man whose family has been in the carpet business for generations.  As her husband began to use wool for felting, as well as weaving, she came to "touch the wool" and that brought a big shift in her work.  She realized she wanted to work with her hands - to create the designs, not just draw them.  From her husband she learned the process of felting, and then ...

This evening (10/12/11) Ragib, his wife, and their daughter, Sara, came to the hotel. What fun it was to "sorta" host them. On the third floor where our room was located, there was a small sitting room - fireplace, love seats, a TV, computer.  Our hotel manager graciously agreed that we could have tea served - and we had purchased dates (melt in your mouth), delicious fresh pears and hazelnuts. What a delightful conversation! ! !  Ragib has a business.  His wife, Banu, has a business - designing and building office furniture.  She is an architect - and a "live ...

This is a different kind of post today (Wednesday, 10/12/11) - not a focus on a specific woman - - until a surprise at the end of the day! - - but rather an incredible day with Ragib. As our magical trip has progressed, we have been blessed by wonderful people, delightful "coincidences," and synchronicities of being in the right place at the right time.  Today was a highlight when all of these seemed orchestrated to provide amazing experiences! When we met with Cemalnur Sargut in Istanbul, she graciously suggested that perhaps one of her students in Konya might host ...

Selen is a journalist and has chosen to use her skills at Flying Broom, a media oriented NGO that works for women's rights. Flying Broom will celebrate its 15th anniversary in May, 2012.  This is an unusually long life for a women's organization in Turkey where four and a half years is the average life span for such an organization. Selen described four of the key programs of Flying Broom.  The most widely recognized is a Film Festival they sponsor each year.  They choose a theme - this year it was "power" - power in the family, in schools, in ...

Leyla is a pathfinder, a pioneer, a strong woman with a powerful vision.  And someone with whom I was clearly led to connect.  Some of you know the story - a friend in Seattle introduced me to Leyla - "You must connect with Leyla, she said, she is a psychologist in Turkey who works with women."  When I mentioned her in one of my classes, Diane, a member of the class, said, "I think I work with her son."  Sure enough, they work together in a non-profit in Olympia, WA in the U.S. Leyla has been the epitome of graciousness ...

Cemalnur Sargut is a beautiful spirit.  Look into her eyes and you see vitality, wisdom, compassion, and her love for Allah.  Cemalnur is a Sufi spiritual teacher.  She teaches that Islam is unification and that Sufism is the way to weave together all the differences in the world.   She uses a symbol for beautiful - placing the thumb and all four fingers together and gently shaking her hand back and forth.  All of the fingers are different, and together they create beauty.  Differences in our world can also together create beauty. Cemalnur holds conferences.  She writes - commentary on the Koran.  One ...

Hello all, I wish you were here - we could have coffee together - you would love the setting.  Jim and I are sitting on the rooftop of our hotel, the Blue Mosque to my right, the Bosphorus behind me, and the Sea of Marmara to my left, warmed by the sun and the shouts of school children next door. I want you to meet Eveline - what a delight!  Trained as a Cordon Blu chef in Paris, manager of hotels in New York and Paris, entrepreneur who founded and managed a hotel in Istanbul, and, after that, a Cooking School ...

Greetings from Istanbul! As we prepare today to leave this fascinating place  - with its grand mosques, historical palace, amazing grand bazaar and  - - - Ah, yes - - the spice market - - a feast of sights and smells  - - an early morning provides me the opportunity to  share some experiences with  you.  As mentioned in the September 15th post, “A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step,” these early blog posts are a chance to share some stories of an actual journey ~ a trip to explore Turkey.    I want to share the ...

Awakened by the morning call to prayer, I am savoring the luxury, pure luxuries of feeling no need to "turn off the alarm and rush off to begin my day." Instead, what a joy to just "be," to be with the sense of wonder that I can look out the window of our cozy (small) 5th floor room in a restored Ottoman era home (now hotel) and see a minaret of the Blue Mosque illuminated with lights, standing in sharp outline in the dark sky. And as that sky slowly turns a soft blue, I wonder -- what would happen ...

Greetings all, and Welcome to the Creating a New Story Blog! “A trip of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” We launch this Blog in the context of this quote of Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, (c 604 bc - c 531 bc), Chapter 64 in Tao Te Ching.   (translations from Wiktionary) The “trip” is both an actual trip ~ I will be traveling in Turkey in September and October, and a metaphorical trip ~  the journey that women around the world are traveling. The actual trip to Turkey includes scheduled conversations with women in Istanbul, Ankara, Konya, Antalya ...