July 9, 2002
go to MILLIONTH CIRCLE WEB SITE
THIS PAGE IS A REGULAR SPACE FOR UPDATES ON THE PROGRESS OF THE MILLIONTH CIRCLE INITIATIVE
Today you will find:
- Report from training workshop at Findhorn, Scotland
- Report of Summer Solstice retreat, New York State
- Report from the UN Conference on the Child
- SUMMARY of the Millionth Circle Initiative
"Circles encourage connection and cooperation among their members and inspire compassionate solutions to individual, community and world problems. We believe that circles support each member to find her or his own voice and to live more courageously. Therefore, we intend to seed and nurture circles, wherever possible, in order to cultivate equality, sustainable livelihoods, preservation of the the earth and peace for all. Our aim is to celebrate the millionth circle as the metaphor of an idea whose time has come."--Millionth Circle 2005
The Millionth Circle Initiative
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REPORTS FROM THE CIRCLES
Findhorn Circle Training
by Beverly EngelFindhorn Park consists several buildings spread out over a larger area. Jananne and I were the only ones in our bungalow over the weekend but Ronita and Judith joined us on Monday. Our bungalow became "the party house" where several of us met in the living room and laughed until our stomachs hurt. I got to know Judith in an entirely different light now that she is in love and I have grown to love her dearly. Ronita was loose and put on a show that I wish you'd all been able to see. I had my moments as well.
Before Ronita and Judith arrived Peggy, May East and I were the primary facilitators. Although Peggy and I had never worked together before we worked together beautifully. Our nonverbal communication was excellent and we were in complete agreement as to what to do at any given time. May moved in and out silently and skillfully adding wisdom, depth and vitality. Jananne and May worked beautifully together to provide us with wonderful music and song. But our time together was not easy. As I had learned from the conflict and transformation training, conflict is bound to arise and it did. The form it took was Linda's intention to videotape the training. There were several women who strongly objected and their voices had to be heard and respected and we were all happy to do this. Several times the idea was tabled, to be revisited later on. After awhile some women became impatient with those who objected and wanted to move on. Tensions arose. I remembered an exercise I had learned the prior week and suggested to Peggy that it might help women to "stand their ground in their position" and at the same time gain empathy for the position of others. Peggy knew the exercise, having studied with Arnold Mendel and agreed it might help. The exercise worked beautifully to help each woman understand how others felt, it relaxed some of the tension and it brought up the important issue of oppression. Many of the women at the training were from other countries and had experienced oppression personally. It also brought up the issue of how victims often become oppressors themselves.
Ronita arrived to offer her clarity and sense of timing and Judith offered her gentle but persistant reminders to think about the women in other countries who do not have circles. But the conflict concernng the videotaping did not get resolved. I suggested we table the idea entirely and that we create a media working circle to iron out the problems (where the video would be shown, etc.) but some were clearly invested in having a video of the training. Some compromises were finally reached but not until some were completely frustrated at the length of time we were taking to discuss it.
Another issue and another frustration was that of those to whom English was not their first language. Time after time they asked us to speak slower and many of us could not even pronounce the names of two of the women (from Burma and Thailand).
But in spite of the conflicts, frustration and the obvious disappointment of some of the more outspoken women, the seven facilitators trudged on (Peggy, May, myself, Ronita, Jananne, Judith, Linda). We all worked beautifully together with no conflicts whatsoever and this was heartwarming. When we broke up into smaller circles we got to know one another on a much deeper level and this helped with the frustration. I was fortunate to work with May in our smaller group. I have wonderful memories of our time in the earth lodge, dancing around the fire and singing songs. Others met outdoors or in the nature sanctuary.
Each morning we entered our beautiful, large round meeting room to the sounds of Jananne's flute or a beautiful recording. We smudged each woman as she came in (or sprinkled her with water someone brought from Glastonbury). We freshened up the altar, sometimes with new flowers and each day a different woman was asked to open the circle. Patricia's quiet bells and reverant manner stands out as a shining moment for me personally. We danced and sang. We held hands and looked at one another in appreciation. Our friendships were deepening and even those who were our loudest protesters began to soften. By the end of the week the circle had once more done its magic. Those who had the most objections admitted to being afraid to open their hearts and were grateful to find a place where it was safe to do so once again. I had encouraged every woman to try on a different role in the circle and many reported that they had indeed tried this with wonderful results and self awareness.
Our skits on the "learning points" the last day were both funny and poignant as we laughed at one another and at ourselves. Some women, such as Patricia from Ireland, Mattie from Scotland, Isabella from Spain and Ivanya from Sweden (via Costa Rica) were so moved by the experience that they wish to become an active part in the Millionth Circle. I met with these women and others on the last night (Ronita had to leave) and we strategized their first steps to becoming the European branch of the Millionth Circle.
We all learned a great deal from this experience. The most important lesson is to trust the process and let the circle do its work. But we also learned that we need to be more clear on issues such as videotaping before presenting the idea to a group of women and there are aspects of the training that need to be improved as well. Overall, it is evident that we have all grown and that seven women can work together beautifully when there is mutual respect. The fact that we conducted this training at Findhorn is also an important factor in its success. May worked very hard to prepare everyone for our arrival and we were gently held by every person at Findhorn.
I will be eternally grateful for my Findhorn experiences and the opportunity to get to know so many beautiful women. I know that three women from my small group had life changing experiences and who knows how many others were touched in important ways and how many others they will in turn touch.
Summer Solstice gathering at Wainwright House in New York
by Ann Smith, Executive Director of Global Education Associates (GEA)
The Millionth Circle gathering over the Summer Solstice weekend had about twenty-six women including us. Ingrid brought the Millionth Circle to this event and the planning and carrying it out were treasures in my life. We had a beautiful altar with enough musical instruments for everyone. All who came were thankful to being part of the sacred women's circle and all we grateful to the Millionth Circle movement. Even those who have been a part of circles were grateful to our intention and our principles. Many said they would use the principles in creating sacred circles or nurturing their own circles. We had an opening ritual by Fran that honored the four directions and was the same Native American ritual that Dette in Wales taught us. The intersecting of all the MC events is very powerful. The sacred hoop is mending as each new circle is formed and connecting to the whole.
by Donna L. GoodmanOn this most auspicious weekend of Summer Solstice and the Golden Full Moon, a meaningful Millionth Circle gathering was held at Wainwright House in New York.
The weekend event was of Native American tradition with focus on the Mending of the Sacred Hoop. A few of us attended the solstice ceremony on Friday night, and in a magical synchronicity, I ran right into the luminous Avon Mattison. Avon was attending another event at the House, yet, it was clear that she was preparing the space for our gathering.
When Avon met Ingrid Willgren, who organized our presence at the event, she stressed to her the importance of Ingrid's participation in the West Coast deepening circle at Joan Kenley's home as a way of weaving these circles and events into one holistic quilt of love and light.
Our Millionth Circle gathering on Sunday was marvelous. It was attended by approximately 26 women of all ages, each of whom were touched by the magic of the circle. The shared leadership was seamless and the "pregnant pauses" after each sharing deepened the space immeasurably.
A three-and-a-half-hour space of time was expanded into all of the time in the world... with no rushing ever needed, we joined in a Native American invocation of the four directions by Fran Schutta; deepened our experience in small circles; were guided in a peace meditation by Ann Emerson; heard a reading to invoke the grandmothers by Sylvia Golbin, drummed, danced and shared silence. Several of the "new participants" felt comfortable enough to use their sharing time to lead us in additional activities that deepened our mindfulness.
Many of us stayed to close the larger circle of weekend participants, once again weaving the Millionth Circle into a wider web of consciousness.
Personally, I feel very blessed to have been a part of this wonderful event and to learn and grow from each of the wise and wonderful women on our path and would like to thank all of us for creating the energy and intention of the Millionth Circle that we were able to tap into.
United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children
May 8-10By Lauren Wiener
With the gracious assistance of Ann Smith, Donna Goodman, and Nancy Grandfield (my grandmother), I was afforded the opportunity to attend the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children (UNGASS) that took place May 8-10 in New York City. I feel extremely honored to have observed and participated with thousands of individuals from almost two hundred countries around the world, all unified for the same reason: to establish goals and action plans in order to create a world fit for children.
In 1996, the United Nations General Assembly agreed to hold a Special Session on Children- an unprecedented meeting dedicated to the children and adolescents of the world, bringing together heads of state, non-governmental organizations (NGO's), children's advocates and youth from around the world.
The General Assembly formed two objectives for the Special Session:
1. To review the achievements in the implementation of the Declaration and Plan of Action adopted at the 1990 World Summit for Children.
2. To renew commitment and a pledge for action for children in the next decade.
This was the first time the General Assembly has held a meeting solely devoted to all aspects of children's lives. It gave governments a second opportunity to achieve full implementation of the 1989 UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. It also provided an opportunity to review the successes and failures in achieving the goals set at the 1990 World Summit for Children. Moreover, it was the first time that youth have actively participated in deliberations at a major UN conference in such numbers. More than 300 children were delegates.
The purpose of UNGASS was to produce the "Outcome Document," which includes a declaration of the goals and commitments to children, a review of progress and lessons learned, and a detailed Plan of Action. The Plan of Action outlines how to create a world fit for children through specific goals linked to the 1989 treaty from Convention for the Rights of the Child, strategies and action, mobilizing resources, and follow-up actions and monitoring.
There are four priorities for children in the coming decade:
1. To promote healthy lives.
2. To provide quality education.
3. To protect against abuse, exploitation and violence.
4. To combat AIDS/HIV.
The two topic areas emphasized at the Special Session include:
1. Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues
2. Status of the Rights of the Child
The major areas of contention were the reproductive and sexual health issues and death penalty for juveniles. The United States delegates were notorious for their inflexibility and unwillingness to negotiate on these main issues, which resulted in myriad debates and a delay in the finalized production of the Outcome Document. Tommy Thompson, the Bush Administration's Secretary of Health and Human Services, expressed his disappointment in the draft of the Outcome Document. It failed to satisfy him for several main reasons. He wanted abstinence included as part of the sex education portion, and "reproductive health services" to exclude abortion entirely. Furthermore, he did not believe that the language was strong enough to adequately protect children under 18 from prostitution and pornography. Finally, he was disappointed in the degree to which the Document refers to the landmark 1989 treaty on children's rights. (The United States and Somalia are the only countries that opted not to ratify the document due to its prohibition of the death penalty for juveniles, which is legal in twenty-two US states. One hundred ninety one countries did ratify the treaty.)
The Child's Rights Caucus, composed of over 100 international NGO's, worked to pressure the United States to negotiate on these issues, publicize the negotiations, and make press releases to point out the failures of governments to follow through on their promises, and outline the challenges we face in the future. This group was formed two years ago to promote the child's rights perspective and implementation of the 1990 Convention, to ensure that governments confer with members of civil society, facilitate communication between NGO's, to emphasize government accountability, to issue periodic position papers and to encourage the writing of alternate reports. In these reports NGO's can express their perception of their country's commitment to the standards established at the 1990 Convention, monitoring, reporting, and NPA's. The only requirement to become a member of the Caucus is commitment to full implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and an interest in being a member. The Caucus agreed at the Special Session to continue to function for the next year, to monitor the creation and implementation of NPA's.
The Caucus expressed extreme disappointment mid-convention that the Outcome Document was marginalizing the Rights of the Child because of the struggle against the US, and that the language in earlier drafts was being weakened because the US was contradicting prior agreements.
The General Assembly was able to reach consensus after three days of debate, closing after thirty consecutive hours of deliberation. Many goals were established to address the issues of child trafficking, child labor, the child soldier, early marriage, sexual exploitation, child abuse and neglect, the right to education, infant mortality, preventable diseases, AIDS/HIV, among other topics. The main areas of contention, reproductive and health services, and corporal punishment, were finally agreed upon. The Bush Administration did not succeed in getting an explicit policy against making abortion available to teenagers. Nor did it manage to make abstinence for unmarried teens the focus of sex education. However, in compromise, the term "reproductive health services" was expunged from the document because of US opposition to abortion. However, the US delegation did win in its attempt to diminish the importance and emphasis upon the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In addition, the ban on executing criminals under 18 did not make it into the document, due to the US' adamant stance.
After the Special Session, governments will be required to develop national, and where appropriate, regional action plans within one year of UNGASS. UNICEF produced guidelines for governments to prepare National Plans of Action. The NPA's are meant to take global goals from the Outcome Document and bring them to a National Level Plan. They must take into account the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as local, cultural, and social traditions. They must include goals, targets, organizational strategy, outline mechanisms, enabling resources, and budgets. Governments must then integrate these goals into all governmental activities. A recent study determined that NPA's from the 1990 had mixed success. They were helpful to countries whom either had strong national planning traditions or were going through major political transformations, using it to refocus their priorities. Although many plans were drafted, however, numerous countries evaded responsibilities. Therefore, it was concluded that contemporary NPA's must undergo changes in strategy to be more participatory, with greater civil society involvement, and less of a technocratic approach.
The greater picture of this emphasis upon the Child's Rights Caucus and NGO's is that WE, as citizens of the United States, can make a significant difference in the lives of the children of the world. It is our responsibility to communicate with other North American NGO's and together, ensure that the action plans of the Outcome Document are implemented through our National Plan of Action. We can communicate, spread awareness of these issues, listen to others, and most importantly, encourage civil society and CHILDREN to be involved in the process and require governmental implementation of the CRC and Outcome Document. The Child Right's Caucus strongly encourages our participation and wants to listen to what we, and the children of the world, have to say. Furthermore, NGO's can also submit Alternative Reports to assess the success of our NPA.
As I departed from four intense days of debates, panel discussions, lectures and networking, I felt overwhelmed by the issues of the world, yet also optimistic and energized by the level of commitment of the hundreds of others devoted to the same cause. I felt empowered with the knowledge that there are thousands of NGO's and thousands of individuals with whom we can collaborate to ensure that our governments follow through on their commitment to make a world fit for children. Additionally, I was convinced that there are concerned ears eager to act upon our concerns.
I also feel strongly that we commit to encouraging greater child participation. The children were an influential, incredibly articulate and intelligent body represented at the Special Session. Not only are they are our future, but they also have incredible insight, vision, and energy to contribute to the decision makers of our world. We must go forth united in order to achieve the enormous goals that we have set, to improve the world for our children.
SUMMARY - The Millionth Circle InitiativeOUR INTENTIONS:
Circles encourage connection and cooperation among their members and inspire compassionate solutions to individual, community and world problems. We believe that circles support each member to find her or his own voice and to live more courageously, and intend:
* to seed and nurture circles,wherever possible, in order to cultivate equality, sustainable livelihoods, preservation of the earth and peace for all.
* to bring the circle process into United Nations accredited non-governmental organizations and the 5th UN World Conference on Women in 2005.
* to connect circles so they may know themselves as a part of a larger movement to shift consciousness in the world.
THE VISION
A proliferation of circles with a spiritual center becomes a force for social justice by bringing feminine values of relationship, nurturing, and interdependency into a global culture in which hierarchy, power over others, conflict and competition dominate. When sufficient numbers of women and men bring these values into consciousness, culture will change and patriarchy will end.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead
WHO WE ARE
We are a grass-roots, international volunteer organization of women who believe that the circles are the means through which world consciousness will change.
We first came together in March 2001 in California drawn by the idea of the millionth circle, with leadership from Peggy Sebera (California). Elly Pradervand (Geneva), and Elinore Detiger (Costa Rica & The Netherlands). We are evolving through a series of gatherings in which our purpose and participation has grown.
We are under the official auspices of Global Education Associates in New York <http://www.globaleduc.org>, a non-governmental organization with United Nations consultative status. Our 501.C IRS status as a non-profit is as an official program of GEA.
We are also sponsored by the Women's World Summit Foundation <http://www.woman.ch> headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, another international NGO accredited to the United Nations, and are informally affiliated with numerous organizations, networks, and individuals throughout the world.