Poland - Women, chemicals and health
Two workshops on Women, Health and Chemicals
| Country: | Poland |
| Donors / Program: | European Commission, DG Environment, Netherlands Ministry of Environment |
| WECF Partners: | Karat, Social Ecological Institute |
| Issues: | Chemicals, Gender |
| Duration: | 03/2004 - 06/2005 |
Fiftysix women participated in the workshop "For a Toxic-Free-Future", which
was organised by WECF and its two partner groups, Social Ecological
Institut (SEI) and the Karat Coalition the workshop in Warsaw on
December 6, 2005.
This event was an introduction for women primarily from Poland to
become more acquainted with the health and environment related aspects
of toxic chemicals and to hear about the current opportunity to give
input as the EU is revising it’s chemicals policy. It brought women
from the region together to talk about their concerns, their challenges
and networking with others doing similar work.
The event was a first step to introduce women to this complex issue of health, chemicals and gender aspects in
a way that was relevant and understandable to them in the
context of their daily activities and their family’s health. We
discussed chemicals and health, cosmetics, detergents and the
particular vulnerability of women and children. We also discussed the
political debate under way in Brussels and opportunities for women’s
interventions.
First impressions from comments and evaluation sheets is that participants find the event very interesting and important and they hope that it is just the beginning and that the work will continue.
The press-conference attracted 20 journalists, and 3 experts were interviewed on breakfast television, for more information contact wecf.
For more information about chemicals in Poland, go to the Polish WWF website.
