GROOTS International

Our vision: To develop, over time, a movement giving voice and power to grassroots women's local visions and initiatives attracting long-term partners, and creating new policies, to expand and strengthen their leadership.

Huairou Commission
GROOTS is a founding member of this global coalition of women focused on women in human settlements. Read more here: www.huairou.org

Disaster Watch!

Read more about GROOTS' innovative, community-led disaster relief and resilience building work by visiting:
www.disasterwatch.net

Driving the Demand for Good Governance Summit: GROOTS International at the World Bank
Washington DC, June 2-3, 2008 Building strong linkages with the World Bank has always been a priority for GROOTS International and the Huairou Commission. The Demand for Good Governance Learning Summit was an opportunity to re-establish our relationship with the Social Development Unit as well as build new linkages to other units and departments within the Bank. . In addition to presenting a discussion paper, “Beneficiaries to Stakeholders: Grassroots women’s groups drive the demand for good governance through pro-poor development,” GROOTS was invited to present innovative practices in driving the demand for good governance from the community perspective, along with the Social Development Department’s stocktaking of demand-driven good governance practices within the Bank itself. Read the full story by clicking here

News

CENTER-STAGING WOMEN’S EFFORTS IN DISASTER RISK REDUCTION Groots International’s participation in ProVention Consortium’s Annual Forum
Panama City, April 8-10, 2008 Amidst academics, researchers, donors and development banks and NGOs at ProVention Consortium’s Annual Forum ‘From Grassroots to Global: People Centered Disaster Risk Reduction in Panama City’, GROOTS International’s team led by Latin American women made a strong case for the need for grassroots women and their communities to drive resilience-building programs. Affirming his support for the global efforts of the GROOTS’ network to empower women to shape DRR programs, Vinod Menon, member of the National Disaster Management Authority of the Government of India, publicly congratulated Groots and presented a plaque from the Government of India to the GROOTS network. Read the full story by clicking here

Swayam Shikshan Prayog named as an Ashoka Changemakers Finalist! Vote today!

GROOTS member Swayam Shikshan Prayog has been named as a finalist in the Ashoka Changemakers competition: Tapping Local Knowledge - Unclogging the Water and Sanitation Crisis. We urge everyone to log on to vote in order to support SSP's groundbreaking approaches that are making Universal access to safe water and sanitation a reality. The online voting ends on May 11. Visit the Ashoka website by clicking here to vote!

Selma Demirelli, of the Foundation for the Support of Women's Work, is named as one of the most recent Ashoka Fellows! GROOTS International congratulates Selma for this historic accomplishment. She is one of the first grassroots leaders to be awarded an Ashoka Fellowship.

Selma is spearheading the first housing cooperative in Turkey run by women. After the 1999 earthquakes, Selma engaged local women in economic development activities—but housing remained their most pressing need. Beyond providing shelter and financial independence, governing housing cooperatives gives women finance, business development, and urban planning skills for the future. Property ownership is a key step to advancing women’s rights and equal legal standing in Turkey.

Our Developmental Work

Resilience Building

HIV and AIDS

Caring Communities

Governance