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<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Dear All,</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I assume that some of
you including Gender group may be interested in this
information</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Best Regards</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Ghassan Shahrour</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">..........<BR>Dr.Ghassan
Shahrour<BR>Alyarmouk Syrian Society<BR>PO Box 14189<BR>Damascus Syria<BR><A
href="mailto:ghassan.dr@gmail.com">ghassan.dr@gmail.com</A><BR></SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">As you may know, a group of
over 50 participants from 20 countries and various sectors (civil society,
governments, academia, international organizations and private sector) met in
<ST1><ST1>Quebec</ST1>, <ST1>Canada</ST1></ST1> on August 26-27 for
a Global Summit on the Rights of Women with Disabilities. All IDA
organizations were invited to send a representative, and were actively engaged
in the discussions.</SPAN></FONT><O></O></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The <ST1><ST1>Summit</ST1></ST1> was
a great opportunity to talk about the key challenges facing women with
disabilities worldwide, network, exchange ideas and take actions for us to
“claim our rights”. Together, the <ST1><ST1>Summit</ST1></ST1> participants
decided to form a new global network of women with disabilities and allies,
charged with raising awareness and carrying out advocacy.. Attached
and below is the Call for Action presented at the close of the
<ST1><ST1>Summit</ST1></ST1>. </SPAN></FONT><O></O></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><STRONG><B><FONT face=Arial
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">As the Call to
Action say, this network aims to be inclusive of women of all ages
from all parts of the world with ALL types of
disabilities.</SPAN></FONT></B></STRONG><O></O></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">In order to move forward, an
email list for the "International Network of Women With Disabilities" (INWWD)
has been set up, and interested individuals are invited to join the email
list by sending a message to: </SPAN></FONT><O></O></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><A
href="mailto:inwwd-subscribe@yahoogroups.com">inwwd-subscribe@<WBR>yahoogroups.<WBR>com</A>
Volunteers in each region are also collecting names of interested individuals
and organizations, in order to make the network as inclusive as
possible.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">==================================</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" align=center><FONT face=Arial
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P><FONT
face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">
<H4 style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><B><FONT face="Berlin Sans FB"
color=#cc3300><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 40pt; COLOR: #cc3300; FONT-FAMILY: 'Berlin Sans FB'"><FONT
size=4>GLOBAL <ST1><ST1>SUMMIT</ST1></ST1><O></O></FONT></SPAN></FONT></B></H4>
<H4 style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><B><FONT face="Berlin Sans FB"
color=#ff9900><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 32pt; COLOR: #ff9900; FONT-FAMILY: 'Berlin Sans FB'"><FONT
size=4>on the Rights of Women with
Disabilities<O></O></FONT></SPAN></FONT></B></H4>
<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A Call for Action:
Claiming Our Rights</SPAN></FONT><FONT face="Berlin Sans FB" size=6><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 28pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Berlin Sans FB'"><O></O></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Berlin Sans FB" size=5><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Berlin Sans FB'">Women with disabilities
have been the world’s forgotten sisters. There are over 300 million women with
disabilities around the world, representing a huge and important part of
society. We face multiple forms of discrimination.<O></O></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Berlin Sans FB" size=5><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Berlin Sans FB'">We, the participants in a
global Summit on the Rights of Women with Disabilities, held in Quebec, Canada,
in August 2008, have come together to claim our rights, through the Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Convention on the Elimination
of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the human rights framework. Today,
we take the first, historic step by creating a global network of women with
disabilities, which must include women with ALL types of disabilities from ALL
over the world.<O></O></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Berlin Sans FB" size=5><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Berlin Sans FB'">We will use this network
to share our knowledge and experiences, speak up for our rights, bring about
change and inclusion in our communities, and empower women with disabilities to
be leaders of today and tomorrow. We invite ALL women with disabilities to join
us and we will achieve these goals TOGETHER. <O></O></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Berlin Sans FB" color=#cc0000 size=5><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt; COLOR: #cc0000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Berlin Sans FB'">Adopted
on August 27, 2008, <U1><U1><ST1><ST1>Quebec</U1></ST1>,
<U1><ST1>Canada</U1></U1></ST1></ST1><O></O></SPAN></FONT></P></SPAN></FONT></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>