Isis-Women’s International Cross-Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE) is an international organisation which promotes justice and empowerment of women through documenting violations of women’s rights and facilitating the exchange of information and skills to strengthen women’s capacities, potential and visibility.
Isis-WICCE utilizes different creative strategies to generate and share information and knowledge to enable women to enhance their leadership potential in order to participate in decisionmaking process from grassroots to the global stage.
Mission
Isis-Women’s International Cross-Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE) exists to promote justice and empowerment of women globally through documenting violations of women’s rights and facilitating the exchange of information and skills to strengthen women’s capacities, potential and visibility.
Isis-WICCE utilizes different creative strategies to generate and share information and knowledge to enhance women’s leadership potential and participation in decision making processes both at local, national and international level.
History:
Isis-WICCE is named after the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis who symbolises wisdom, creativity and knowledge.
Founded in 1974 in Geneva, Switzerland as an action oriented women’s resource centre to meet the needs for information by women from various regions of the world, Isis-WICCE later moved to Kampala, Uganda in 1993. The aim of the move to Africa was to tap into African women’s ideas, views and problems and share this information with women at the international level.
Since relocating to Kampala, Isis-WICCE started national and regional programmes to facilitate the flow of information from Uganda to other parts of Africa and the rest of the world. The organisation immensely contributed to and strengthened the women’s movement in Uganda and on the African continent.
Isis-WICCE has three programmatic areas: the International Exchange Programme Institute, Information and Documentation Programme as well as the Publication Programme.
From Mexico to Beijing and New York, Isis-WICCE still carries on the vision of its founders; Jane Cottingham and Marilee Karl of communicating ideas, creating solidarity networks and sharing information to overcome gender inequalities.
Milestones
After its move to Uganda amidst intense armed conflicts in different parts of the country, Isis-WICCE threw itself to the deep end tackling conflict resolution, peace building and post conflict reconstruction.
It was the sole Uganda based organisation that catalysed women’s collective popular action and social change in different conflict affected districts. Since then Isis-WICCE has used various strategies to reach out to women to create spaces for empowerment and ensure their participation in peace processes on both local and national levels.
In 1997, Isis-WICCE started documenting the impact of war on women and women’s efforts to rebuild their communities in central, south west, northern and northern eastern Uganda. It followed up this with medical interventions for conflict affected women on sexual and reproductive health and trauma management.
1999-2005, Isis-WICCE initiated a 5 year leadership institute for women leaders in Uganda and held a special institute for women in the great lakes region, leading to the formation of eleven CBOs that have continued to lead in building a culture of peace.
In 2006, Isis-WICCE was part of the core group of the Uganda Women Peace Coalition (UWPC) who lobbied to ensure women’s needs, concerns and priorities are integrated in the Juba Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
In 2006, Isis-WICCE carried out in-depth research study in Southern Sudan on women’s experiences during the armed conflict from 1983-2005 in southern Sudan. This was followed by an in depth study in Liberia in 2007 on the situation analysis of the women’s survivors of the 1989-2003 armed conflict in Liberia. Isis-WICCE carried out a medical intervention in Liberia in 2009 and in South Sudan in 2011 to address the consequences of armed conflict on the reproductive health of women.
In 2008-9, Isis-WICCE was mandated by UWPC to spearhead the collective effort to ensure that women’s needs, interests and rights are prioritised and gender equality becomes a reality in north and north eastern Uganda through the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP). This led to the formation of the Women’s Task Force for a gender responsive PRDP of 21 diverse women’s organizations in the greater Northern Uganda region (West Nile, Acholi, Lango, Teso and Karamoja sub-regions) that are coordinated by Isis-WICCE.
These groups monitor the implementation of the recovery programmes.
In 2010, Isis-WICCE continued to replicate best practices in the war ravaged countries like Liberia and Southern Sudan. In 2009/10, Isis-WICCE carried out an International Exchange Programme Institute in Nepal, which led to the building of the capacity of women leaders from 35 countries. This was followed by an in-depth study in 10 districts of Nepal on the ‘Access of Justice for Victims and Survivors of Rape in Nepal’. In south Sudan, Isis-WICCE carried out a leadership institute where women leaders from five states were trained on peace building and conflict transformation.
Organisation’s Operations
Since moving to Uganda in 1993 from Switzerland, Isis-WICCE has mobilised resources and expertise to address the physical, mental and gynecological emergency needs of survivors of wars in Uganda, South Sudan and Liberia.
- Over 2,000 women affected by wars have received gyneacological surgeries and treatment
- More than 3,000 individuals have received counseling and trauma management treatment
- Over 1,000 women worldwide have benefited from the training on human rights and peace building
- More than 5,000 library materials are available online at http://library.isis.or.ug