Gilded Lilla

Ask the co-ordinators at the Lilla International Women’s Network about the philosophy which underpins their work, and they will inevitably at some point cite the words of Brisbane-based Aboriginal educator, activist and artist Lilla Watson: “If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. If you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

This, then, is the essence of the Edmund Rice Centre’s latest venture. Launched in 2007, the network aims to connect women at the grassroots level, with Lilla acting as an umbrella network to connect individual women, groups, and organisations on local, national and international levels. It will be publicly launched on Sunday, November 8, with an exhibition entitled ‘Walking Together’, featuring the work of artists who came together for a workshop on International Women’s Day this year.

Network co-ordinator Anjali Roberts said Lilla aimed to support women who are passionate about social justice, and actors in their communities for change. “The platforms exist at the level of the UN, but there’s not a lot of exchange and learning that happens between women on the ground,” she said. “With differing circumstances globally, the opportunity for sharing is limited. There is also limited time to build those resources, and obviously for a lot of the women you have more mundane, day-to-day issues to worry about as well.”

But despite the differing conditions across locations, Ms Roberts stressed many of the core issues remained similar. “One of the main ones is domestic violence; another is trafficking – including sex trafficking, with freedoms restricted across borders and in-country,” she said. “In Australia there are migrant and refugee women who aren’t aware of their rights and are vulnerable to exploitation.”

The International Women’s Network will be launched at the Mori Gallery, 168 Day Street, Sydney, from 4pm; all are welcome to attend.