Meanwhile, back at the ranch….

Great to hear from Sue and Adele in Oaxaca (particularly that they’re both safe and well, given the current political situation), and to hear their reflections on this year’s Know How experience. Looking forward to seeing them both on their return next week. We all miss them!!

I’m back at the library now, desperately trying to write up my notes and collate all the information I gathered at Know How (I think I was over-zealous in collecting leaflets and posters – amazed it all fitted in my rucksack…). I’d like to add some more reflections about our time in Mexico, and what it meant to me.

It’s difficult to put into words how inspiring the Know How conference was. Being in the company of hundreds of women, who are doing similar jobs to us, often in more difficult situations that we have to cope with, is really quite powerful. For instance, hearing about the limitations facing Women’s Information Centres in Japan, who are funded by the government and often have to ‘toe the party line’ in terms of the materials they can provide to women. Or hearing about the difficulties indigenous women in Central America or women in rural South Africa have in accessing ICT, something I rely on in my everyday life and now tend to take for granted.

It was amazing to see all the effort, commitment and enthusiasm put in by the young women organising the conference. Despite being run off their feet 24/7, they still made time to offer advice, have a bit (or a lot!) of banter and generally make us all feel really welcome. It was so moving to see them all up on the stage at the closing ceremony, receiving thunderous applause from everyone in recognition of their hard work.

It was also great to hear such positive feedback about the work we’re doing from people who attended Adele’s paper (well done Adele!). With reference to the documentation project, a lovely young woman from Russia called Daria commented that she could sense ‘strong friendship’ between library staff and the women involved, and that GWL’s work was like a ‘breath of fresh air’.

Know How was an incredible learning and networking experience, and we fully immersed ourselves in all it had to offer. Some days I think we felt like our heads were going to explode with the amount of information that was being desperately crammed into them (particularly if we’d been listening to English translation via headphones, which was quite hardgoing). I’m so glad that we were able to attend, as I think the friendships we made and knowledge we gained will have a long-lasting impact on GWL.

Anyway, better get back to my pile of notes now….

Wendy