The Walkers: Summary of the project sent on the 25th November 2009

The Walkers are dressed marionettes that illustrate the diversity of women, their histories, their experiences, their living conditions, their demands, their dreams. The project aims to generate and to represent the links and solidarity among the National Coordinating Bodies and regions of the world. It symbolises that we are together on the march again, meeting and re-meeting as grass-roots women.
Each National Coordinating Body (NCB) that would like to participate in the project is responsible for creating one or various Walker(s). The idea is to create at least one piece of clothing that will be used by a marionette, but the NCBs can decide to create as many as five items of clothing for five Walkers – each representing a WMW world region. It is proposed that these Walkers be created during popular education workshops with WMW grassroots activists.

The suggestions is that the Walkers (and, consequently, their clothing) are given the dimensions of a large woman (from 2 to 2 ½ metres tall) so that they are highly visible during the International Women’s Day / 3rd International Action Launch marches and mobilisations in 2010.

After the marches / mobilisations in March, each NCB will have two options:  

1. They can send the clothing of one of their Walkers to a designated country or territory in their region (for more information: info@marchemondiale.org). From there, the clothing will be sent (via a delivery service or a WMW sister travelling by air) to Bukavu, South Kivu (DRC), location of the international mobilisation in October 2010.

2. They can send the clothing with a national delegate who will participate in the regional mobilisation in their region, and from there, a WMW sister (for example an IC member) will take the clothing to Bukavu.
On the 17th October 2010, the Walkers will appear in public for the second time, carried by the participants of the international mobilisation that will close our 3rd International Action in Bukavu, South Kivu (DRC).
Timeline

November 2009    Project presented to the NCBs.
December 2009    Creation of the popular education workshops.
January / February 2010    Popular education workshops
March 2010    First appearance of the Walkers at the national level
Late March / April 2010    Walkers’ clothes are sent to a designated central location in each continent
17th October 2010    Second appearance of the Walkers in Bukavu, South Kivu

To read the complete project, please click here.