Cuba and the Bolivarian Alliance Issues Committee
2010 Issues Committee Evaluation/2011 Goals and Plan

Committee Chair: Cindy Domingo, HYPERLINK "mailto:" , 6508 27th Avenue N.W., Seattle, WA 98117, 206.296-0312 (work)/206.856-0324 (cell)
Committee Members Mary Bricker (), Cynthia Hall Roberts ( HYPERLINK "mailto:" ), Victoria Kill ( HYPERLINK "mailto:" ), Patricia Lockett ( HYPERLINK "mailto:" ), Jan Strout ( HYPERLINK "mailto:" ), Nancy Abbey ( HYPERLINK "mailto:" ), Barby Ulmer ()
Report/evaluation on past year:

Successes: A) Reestablished the issues committee with a broader focus than just Cuba. Although Cuba is still our main focus, we renamed the issues committee to take up issues of concern of countries that compose the Bolivarian Alliance.
B) Recruited new and old members to have a full committee.
C) Updated our website to include our new focus and updated information on Cuba.
D) Published two articles in Peace and Freedom and two action alerts.
E) Four of our committee members participated in the Detroit US Social Forum, establishing our presence in Venezuela and Cuba workshops and conducting a portion on Cuba at the WILPF Issues Committee Workshop. Although we were unable to bring a Cuban representative, Rita Olga to the USSF, we conducted a very successful workshop with Catherine Murphy showing her film Maestra.
F. Cynthia Hall Roberts attended the National Network on Cuba in Washington DC on behalf of WILPF; the first time we have been present in a few years.
Overall, we have been able to reestablish the issues committee and utilized WILPF’s outreach tools to get information out about Cuba and to request members to take action. While internally our committee has taken the first steps in reestablishing our work, we are still hampered by our members being overstretched in other work and have not been able to have any conference calls and mainly communicate by email. If we are to expand our work, we have to expand the committee and have a more democratic structure.
Our work continues to be impacted by the antiquated and antagonistic U.S. foreign policy towards Cuba and the Bolivarian Alliance. On the Cuba front, the Obama administration refuses to lift the travel ban, impacting travel by U.S. peoples to Cuba and Cubans traveling to the U.S. as exhibited by the several months delay in Vasallo’s and Rita Olga’s visa. In regards to the Bolivarian Alliance countries, especially in terms of Venezuela and Bolivia, U.S. press coverage reliably favors U.S. defense interests ignoring coverage of most all other issues.
Received a $2,500 WILPF mini-grant to cosponsor the tour of Norma Vasallo, Chair of the University of Havana Women’s Studies Program and to bring Rita Olga, representative from ICAP, to the US Social Forum. However, Vasallo’s eight city tour in October/November 2010 tour had to be cancelled. Recently, Vasallo received her visa and is rescheduled for an east coast tour in March/April, 2011. Rita Olga’s visa was never issued although the State Department said it would issue one possibly in the future.
Goals for 2011
Expand the issues committee core by four people and have 10 branches/WILPF members take up some element of our work in their city/area
Have quarterly issues committee conference calls
Update the website quarterly
Utilize WILPF action alert 2-3 times in 2011
Develop an email listserve for the issues committee
Work to incorporate issues of the Bolivarian Alliance and U.S. foreign policy into issues committee work by having at least one of the WILPF action alerts on this issue and ensuring that in every website quarterly update, one of the articles/actions deals with this issue
Co-sponsor Norma Vasallo tour by contributing up to $500 for possible speaking engagements to branches in Bloomington, Indiana, Baltimore/Washington DC area and Miami, FL; have WILPF literature at all the speaking events including membership forms; feature tour on issues committee website; post notice in WILPF Enews; add email addresses to listserve
Co-sponsor “Maestra/Teacher” featuring 30 minute documentary on the 1961 Cuba literacy campaign accompanied by Producer/Director Catherine Murphy and Cuban feminist, poet and participant in the literacy campaign, Norma Guillard. The issues committee will contribute $1500 to this tour and work towards the participation of WILPF branches in Baltimore/Washington DC area, Bay Area/Palo Alto/San Jose/Santa Cruz. Committee will have WILPF literature at the events; post the tour/itinerary on issues committee website and have a story in WILPF Enews; add email addresses to listserve.
Propose two workshops at U.S. Congress – one on Cuba and a second one on U.S. Foreign Policy in Latin America.
Investigate on how our work can impact the International Congress in Costa Rica given our focus on U.S. foreign policy on the Bolivarian alliance.
Continue to be active in the National Network on Cuba and with the Latin American Working Group
As well as conducting education work on the realities of Cuban society, we will continue to work to lift the travel ban by encouraging WILPF members to travel to Cuba and lobbying Congress (publicize Pastors for Peace Caravan, Venceremos Brigade trip, U.S. Women & Cuba Collaboration May Delegation).
Work with other issues committees
The work of this committee relates to all the other issues committees’ work in that Cuba and the other Bolivarian countries provide an alternative model to look at the various issues that WILPF is working on whether it be human rights, building the beloved community, the role of corporations and disarmament. By providing information on Cuba and the Bolivarian countries positions, domestic and international policies we assist in breaking the information blockade and provide an alternative vision for a better world based on meeting peoples’ human needs. If the issue committees decide on an overall theme to weave our work together of “End War,” our committee would support this decision. Essentially, Cuba and the Bolivarian countries have advocated for the end of the military and economic war that the U.S. perpetuates around the world.
How did you incorporate work for racial justice in your program, projects and in your committee relationship.

We have not done this very well in the past. However, we need to be conscious about integrating this into all the aspects of our work given that the revolutions that have occurred in the Bolivarian alliance countries have taken a very conscious approach to the issue of racial justice and continue to struggle about this issue in its everyday policies and functions and relations with its peoples. We need to ensure that the information and experiences of the Bolivarian alliance countries are shared with people in the U.S.

Relating to international WILPF program priorities
Our committee emphasizes all the priorities held by International WILPF including human rights, environment, economic justice, peace, disarmament, racial justice and work within the UN. The Bolivarian countries have been at the forefront of the rights of Mother Earth including the Cochabamba Declaration and the recent UN Conference on Climate Change held in Cancun. The struggle for racial justice has also been a priority especially in the Bolivaran Alliance both for people of African descent and the indigenous people. WILPF must provide the avenues to break the information blockade so that the U.S. people understand the international role that the Bolivarian alliance is playing in the struggle for the rights of workers, mother earth and the countries of the global south.
Involving Branches and members.
We have used the e-alerts, website, WILPF Congresses and branch listserve to engage our membership. Through the speaking tours coming up in this year of Cuban women and through the WILPF Congress, we hope to engage more of our WILPF members in our campaigns and work. Also, if we can strengthen our issues committee, then we could do follow up with WILPF branches or members who are expressing interest with our work.
Our information is not up to date on the website. The members of our committee must write an submit the information.

Budget – we are submitting an addendum for our mini grant that we got from the National office.