The Walkers present in demonstrations: always irreverent !
Many countries intend to, or have already carried out workshops to construct their “Walkers” - puppets dressed in clothes and messages reflecting our demands that, after participating in their country’s action, will participate in the regional mobilisations and will be present in the international closing event in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Until the closing of this edition, the IS had received photos of Walkers from Argentina, 
Belgium, Brazil, the Philippines, Galicia, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Quebec and Switzerland. During the last WMW’s IC meeting, Jean Enriquez (Philippines) and Michele Spieler (Switzerland) noted that the Walkers contribute to increased visibility of the WMW. Along with the “batucadas”, the Walkers encourage ever more animated demonstrations. 
“We have made three Walkers in Vigo, which represents the fisherwomen, the young women and the women working in the tinned food industry”, declared Tereixa Otero from Galicia. “In our country we are only used to seeing women in church processions, we don’t see women making demands. The Walkers have contributed the mobilisation of women from trade unions and also of young women, and they will continue to be present in other mobilisations such as the International fisherman Forum, that will soon take plac in Galicia.”
In Brazil, during 10 days of action, a group of around 20 women from all around the country, dedicated two days to the creation of clothes for the Walkers. They were made in a workshop under the orientation of the artist Biba Rigo. She told us that the two days were intense: “we worked morning, afternoon and night; each participant drew images that express aspects of women’s lives related to their place and culture of origin.
Then we created molds for stamping the fabrics and making the dresses.” Biba tells us that one of the highlights of the immersion workshop on cultural diversity was the possibility of being able to exchange experiences and life stories among indigenous, young, black, rural and urban women.
In Switzerland, while they were sewing, the dress creators chatted about the WMW’s history, the four Action Areas and of the closing event in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In Neuchatel, a Swiss
city, they used organic cotton (produced without pesticides) as raw material, purchased from small-scale producers in Burkina Faso and Mali.
To watch a video on the creation of these dresses in Switzerland, please click on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-kqOT9ofxU&feature=player_embedded#
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