Ho lia-Tetun

Challenges and Possibilities: International Organizations and Women in Timor-Leste

Organizing Committee
    . Anna Trembath, The Globalism Institute, RMIT University
    . Damian Grenfell, The Globalism Institute, RMIT University
    . Cleo Fleming, The Globalism Institute, RMIT University
    . Chris Raab, Community and Regional Partnerships, RMIT University
    . Heather Smith, East Timor Women Australia
    . Deb Salvagno, East Timor Women Australia
    . Kristin Gapske, East Timor Women Australia
The Globalism Institute, RMIT University

The Globalism Institute is a research institute based at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. It was established in 2001, and has around twenty staff. Our research sites include Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, as well as various sites within Australia. The Globalism Institute places a strong emphasis on undertaking collaborative research projects with governments and civil society organizations in these sites. These projects draw on expertise in fields such as global politics, international relations, community studies, cross-cultural communication and international education. Our central research themes are globalization, nationalism and community sustainability. Further information about the Globalism Institute can be found at www.rmit.edu.au/globalism.

The Globalism Institute has been undertaking research in Timor-Leste since 2003, particularly focusing on investigating how forms of identity are redefined in through the process of nation-formation. The key themes guiding our research and other activities in Timor-Leste are Gender, Nation Building, Justice and Security, and Community. For further information about the work of the Globalism Institute in Timor-Leste in both English and Tetun, please see www.timor-leste.org.

Community & Regional Partnerships, RMIT University

The Community & Regional Partnerships (C&RP) group at RMIT exists to establish, broker, facilitate and support sustainable partnerships between the community and the university. A key aim for the group is to build capacity in the university to enable civic participation. C&RP is committed to enacting RMIT's mission to 'make a difference' in the world and be 'engaged, partnered and creative in supporting individuals, enterprises and communities'. C&RP works both with communities (including virtual communities, learning communities, scholarly communities and communities of practice) and regions (at present in Victoria and internationally, in particular the City of Melbourne and Northern Melbourne, Hamilton and region, East Gippsland, East Timor, Vietnam and India).

C&RP work at RMIT is diverse. The C&RP team:
    . Manages whole community partnerships through the development of projects and programs which respond to needs and aspirations, position us as active members of the community and build capacity across organisations, RMIT and within the community.
    . Works from the outside in, connecting and networking across communities and within RMIT to ensure that RMIT's learning and research programs are informed and shaped by community needs and aspirations.
    . Brings new ways of learning from the community into the university and from the university into the community.
    . Establishes, supports and manages projects.
    . Explores and contributes to the scholarship of engagement.
    . Works, learns and researches collaboratively.
East Timor Women Australia (ETWA)

ETWA was founded by a group of university friends in March 2004. We are a volunteer association based on the principles of mutuality and cooperation. Our group is an extension of solidarity between women in Australia and East Timor. Our objective is to support the socio-economic and cultural empowerment of women in East Timor through sustainable and purposeful livelihoods, community welfare, education and health initiatives.

We are all volunteers who work from a community development approach, focusing on skill development and empowering communities to be responsible for their own resources and decision-making. We focus on building networks with individuals and organisations to enable us to better assist the women we support in East Timor.

We are based in Melbourne, Australia. For more information please visit our website at: www.timorwomen.org.
 



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