Chronology of WLD Development
1979-1982 Central American Legal Services Project
- The Overseas Education Fund (OEF), based in Washington DC, hires Marg Schuler to facilitate its Central American Women’s Legal Services Project; this project lays the groundwork for the Women, Law and Development (WLD) concept.
- Marg Schuler travels to Asia, Latin America and Africa to locate and connect with women working with the law in some way to improve women's legal and social status in their countries. The Women, Law and Development (WLD) program begins within OEF.
- Interregional group meets at OEF in Washington DC to design "Third World Forum on Women, Law and Development" to be part of the NGO Forum in Nairobi, parallel to the UN Women's Conference in 1985.
- Third World Forum on Women, Law and Development takes place in Nairobi with sixty presenters and hundreds in attendance. Participants affirm wish to organize regionally and link internationally. WLD/OEF agrees to support the process.
- WLD/OEF staff and Latin American participants from the Nairobi WLD forum meet in Lima, Peru to discuss potential regional organization. Roxana Vásquez takes coordinating role.
- WLD staff and small planning group meet in New Delhi, India to discuss potential regional organization and plan Asia conference.
- Conference takes place at Tagaytay, Philippines with 52 participants from across the Asian Pacific region. The Asia Pacific Forum on Women Law and Development (APWLD) is founded and leadership elected.
- APWLD steering committee meets at Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania USA, to refine APWLD constitution and program design.
- Core group of WLD participants from Central and South America meet in San Jose, Costa Rica and establish The Latin American Committee for the Defense of Women’s Rights (CLADEM). Roxana Vásquez is confirmed as regional coordinator.
- APWLD secretariat opens in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with Emelina Quintillan as regional coordinator.
- Lisa VeneKlasen joins WLD staff at OEF in Washington DC.
- Central America WLD project launched, followed by WLD workshops throughout Central America facilitated by Marg and Lisa.
- Meeting held in Mexico city to plan regional conference with Central American WLD project participants and CLADEM leadership.
- WLD/OEF staff reconnect after three years with African pariticpants from the Third World Forum on Women, Law and Development to launch the Africa WLD project, the final regional organizing effort.
- Central American Women Law and Development Conference takes place in San Jose, Costa Rica. Seventy-two women attend, including 14 South Americans from CLADEM.
- WLD/OEF staff meet with African planning group in Harare, Zimbabwe to discuss potential regional organization and plan Africa conference.
- WLD/OEF invites 16 representatives from Asia, Africa and Latin America to Washington for an interregional meeting.
- Preparatory workshops throughout Africa are facilitated by WLD/OEF (Marg and Lisa).
- Sixty five African women lawyers and activists attend week long regional conference in Harare, Zimbabwe and establish Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF).
- Meetings in Santa Fe, New Mexico to plan "Freedom from Violence" and "Legal Literacy" research projects.
- WILDAF steering committee meets in Harare to refine program; WLD/OEF facilitates workshop on legal literacy strategies.
- WILDAF opens secretariat in Harare, Zimbabwe. Florence Butegwa from Uganda relocates to serve as regional coordinator.
- Legal Literacy: A Tool for Women's Empowerment and Freedom From Violence: Women's Strategies from Around the World published.
- WLDI begins as independent organization.
- UN Conference on Human Rights, Vienna. WLD presents several workshops on Women’s Human Rights.
- WLD’s international board meets in Vienna
- WLD publishes Claiming our Place: Working the Human Rights System to Women’s Advantage
- WLDI convenes global strategy meeting in Kuala Lumpur with over 100 activists and academics from 47 countries to assess progress on women’s rights.
- WLD publishes and distributes “A Women’s Rights Agenda” in English, Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, French, as input to the upcoming World Conference on Women
- WLDI publishes From Basic Needs to Basic Rights: Women’s claim to Human Rights
- WLDI offers Human Rights Training as part of the NGO Forum in Beijing
- WLD publishes State Responses to Domestic Violence in support of the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
- WLD publishes Gender Violence: The Hidden War Crime in support of the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
- WLD researches and produces Women’s Human Rights Step by Step: a Practical guide to using International Human Rights Law and Mechanisms to Defend Women’s Human Rights
- WLD publishes State Responses to Rape in support of the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
- WLDI implements the Advanced Human Rights Leadership Training for Women with 122 women from 22 countries across Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States
- WLDI implements the Advanced Human Rights Advocacy Training for Women six countries in Central and East Africa.
- WLDI published Becoming an Advocate Step by Step
- WLD implements the Activist Facilitator’s Human Rights Training Project with 20 participants from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and North America
- WLDI publishes the Women’s Human Rights Step by Step Facilitator’s Guide and Strategy Workbook.
- WLDI implements Human Rights Advocacy Training project in Nigeria
- WLDI ceases as an organization.