The Hague, Netherlands - Three members of the Women's Federation for World Peace-Netherlands joined the Sept. 20, 2014, International Day of Peace event organized by the Women’s Plaza of The Hague in cooperation with ProDemos (House of Democracy and Rule of Law) called Salon on Women and Democracy.
Six tables were organized with women from different educational and vocational backgrounds. Each table had a chair and an expert on the theme of democracy and looked at it from different angles. The Women's Federation representatives were at a table chaired by a former member of parliament who had voluntarily stepped down because she could not agree with certain issues (mostly related to morals). Her educational background being in journalism, she is frequently invited to speak on programs on television and other media.
Last year, the Women’s Plaza organized a women’s meeting around the very first woman who received the Nobel Peace Prize, Mrs. Bertha von Suttner. The photographer Mrs. Mieke Schlaman initiated this year's event in cooperation with ProDemos, one of the key partners in the Networking European Citizenship Education. Funding came from Fonds 1818.
Overall the spirit was vibrant and the program was well organized. Anita Poolman read poems about the early Greek women and some poems from South Africa. Her performance was excellent, and she skillfully used moments of silence. Music was performed by a harpist, a young woman. Everything was done with elegance. There was a mixture of younger women and older, more experienced, women. Participants expressed interest in making progress and investing more of themselves.
Women's Federation for World Peace participants included Mihoko Koetsier from Ikeya, Setsuko van Vliet from Matsumoto and Rita Salaris from Lichtenberg. The three women talked with the project manager of ProDemos and developed a plan to work together with with ProDemos and Vrouwenplaza in an observance of the UN International Women's Day in 2015.