|  The
History of GTW
The phrase "Gather the Women" literally entered
the public domain in November 2001, when the domain names
GatherTheWomen.net, com and org were reserved by Carol Hansen
Grey. Grey was serving as the Executive Director of Women
of Vision and Action (WOVA), a non-profit organization based
in California that provided a network for women leaders who
shared a commitment to "be the change you want to see
in the world". During the months leading up to November,
Grey had experienced a compelling phenomenon: numerous women
contacted her describing the same vision that we needed to
begin to gather the women of the world. Though these women
came from diverse backgrounds, all shared a deep passion for
awakening the power of women in service of a better world.
When she continued to be contacted by women who envisioned
a need to gather the women, Grey used her computer skills
to set up an e-list in June 2002 so that these twelve women
could begin an on-line dialogue. This was the start of the
Gather the Women Steering Committee, which worked to define
priorities for global action, exchanging more than 23,000
e-mails over the next year and meeting twice for lengthy planning
sessions.
The Work Begins
Their initial goals included:
- Create a website which would serve as an interactive
communication hub for the women of the world, where women
could share news of their successes and learn from one another.
- Invite women of the world to create gatherings to commemorate
March 8, International Women's Day. Women would be
encouraged to create events large and small suited to their
economic needs, spiritual beliefs and cultural values, posting
news of their events on the website. Eventually, this idea
developed into plans for a week of events beginning 3/3/03.
- Outreach to women using the basic tools of grassroots
organizing with one new twist – the internet as global
communication tool.
By the end of that first March event, the Steering Committee
had much to celebrate: the website now hosted over 4,700 women
from 67 countries as registered participants and listed more
than 450 events in 23 countries. The three core Steering Committees
members who staffed the initiative (two as volunteers) were
kept busy answering e-mails and telephone inquiries from around
the world. Women were drawn to this open container, which
was described by GTW Events Coordinator Marilyn Nyborg: "We
seek not to change minds but to connect hearts." GTW
was launched; without any funding and without ever having
printed a brochure, the movement had reached women on every
continent.
GTW Congress
The next phase of Gather the Women was already gaining momentum
with the February 2003 announcement of the First Gather the
Women International Congress to be held in San Francisco in
October 2003. The Congress took Gather the Women to the next
level by creating a model to involve and connect the many
diverse global women's organizations. Gather the Women
invited other organizations to partner in the creation of
the Congress and to bring delegations of women from their
networks. Kathlyn Schaaf, 2003 Executive Congress Coordinator,
could barely keep up with the expansive flow of creative ideas
generated through these collaborative partnerships. "We
had a lived experience of the abundance that is available
when we work together. Collaboration does not divide our resources;
it multiplies them."
Among the organizations that joined the Gather the
Women Global MatrixSM
in 2003 were Millionth Circle, Peace X Peace, Foundation for
Conscious Evolution, AYA Partners, Pathways to Peace, Earth
Luck International, Spiral Muse, Women of Wisdom, Red Web,
and Women Rise for Global Peace.
The 2003 Congress was a huge success, drawing 330 women from
26 countries representing more than 25 partner organizations.
Numerous on-going collaborative projects grew from the three
day event.
The Future
Gather the Women continues to expand daily. New partner organizations
are being drawn into the matrix for the 2004 Gather the Women
International Congress to be held October 15 -17 in Dallas.
Donna Collins is the 2004 Executive Congress Coordinator,
and she has pulled together a dynamic team to host 600 women
from 50 countries at that event. Donna describes her commitment
to Gather the Women in this way: "It is an active, growing
hub of possibility, rich with diversity, filled with courage,
strength, compassion, dedication and a commitment to balance,
harmony and peace."
Plans are also being made to use this unique collaborative
model to create 6 Congress on 6 Continents in 2006. Partners
have proposed several creative publishing and media projects.
The grassroots leadership model of GTW is viewed as a crucial
element of the planning for a 5th Women's World Conference
to build on the original global gatherings sponsored by the
U.N. in 1975, 1985 and 1995.
GTW remains committed to building global participation in
and recognition of International Women's Day, offering
a clearinghouse for information about the diverse events being
created that day.
Gather the Women is a 501.c.3 organization recognized by
the Internal Revenue Service as a tax exempt organization.
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