Global work for justice

Working for change to sustain people and earth

International Presentation Association

International Presentation Association is a network of Catholic religious congregations of Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, friends, and associates who work for personal and systemic change for People and Earth.

Our mission is to speak and act in partnership with others for global justice from a contemplative stance in a spirit of oneness with the whole of creation.    ( 2017 IPA Assembly)

See: https://globalpres.org/who-we-are/

As Presentation people we have become aware that we live in a global world. We are aware that everything is connected and that what happens locally affects the whole world just as what happens globally affects the local situation. Our foundress Nano Nagle had a global vision at a time when people were only beginning to discover the extent of the world’s boundaries. We know that to carry out the mission of Jesus in the spirit of Nano Nagle in today’s global context we need to think globally and act globally and locally in partnership with others.

The International Presentation Association is accredited with the United Nation’s Department of Public Information (DPI) from 1997 and with the Economic and Social council (ECOSOC) from 2000. Guided by the UN Charter, ECOSOC is the one UN body that has established rights for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to observe and contribute to its work.

The IPA NGO Representative at the UN connects the grass roots and the UN by bringing in the experiences of local communities to the UN and facilitating grass root participation at UN events.

An IPA—Action Update: Our new website goes ‘live’

On June 10th our new IPA website went ‘live’! The website is our digital home, enhancing the vital online interface of the International Presentation  Association as a window to our mission across the IPA Network, and our advocacy work at the United Nations.

Its primary focus is on our action for justice as well as informing visitors about ‘us’ as an organisation.

We consulted with a great many  people in our initial exploratory phase last summer, and again throughout the design process in order to arrive at this stage. The feedback we received guided the design and content of the final outcome. We were greatly appreciative of the comments from everyone, and for the professional feedback from those Congregations who engaged with their Directors of Communication.

We are indebted to Trish Groves from ‘Five Trees Digital’, the content writer for the website, and ‘Sprout Studios’ who   designed and built the site.

It was envisaged, that in developing the website we might also design a new Logo. We then paused on this, and decided instead to refresh the existing logo.

If you look closely, you will notice that we have retained the integrity of the original work while making it just a little bit sharper for viewing online.

Our new website also has a new web address (known as the ‘URL’). See International Presentation Association – International Presentation Association (globalpres.org).  A long URL can be difficult to type into a search bar, especially for people for whom English is not their first language, so happily we have chosen to go with ‘globalpres.org’.

The good news is that during the changeover process (a bit like redirecting post) we can keep both addresses and simply redirect everything to the new address.

This is YOUR website: a living space where we focus on our continuing action for justice. The launch of the site is therefore not the end; it is a starting point. To keep things up to date, we would love to receive your photographs and stories, as a window to how you are living the IPA mission today.

Making Uncomfortable Conversations Comfortable

In early 2020, when we were collectively enduring and witnessing a time of great upheaval due to COVID-19 pandemic, the IPA had identified “Elimination of Violence Against Women and Children” as its specific UN Advocacy Focus. The focus emerged from the IPA Priority Action “Women and Children”, intersecting with Priority Actions to “Honour and Advance the Rights of the Earth and the Rights of Indigenous and Tribal   people” as well as the Sustainable Development Goals framework.

The COVID-19 global pandemic, intensified and worsened violence against women. The confined living conditions of lockdown, with severe health, economic and social impacts, amplified existing inequalities and power imbalances and disproportionately affected those most vulnerable worldwide.

During COVID-19 pandemic, Presentation Sisters and People have actively engaged in various projects for minimizing violence against women. As leaders in their missions and professions, they work in partnerships with women and their communities to educate and empower them with skills in all aspects. Promoting gender equality has been a critical part of preventing and addressing violence against women. This includes interventions, at global and local level, that address the entrenched beliefs and cultural norms from which gender inequalities develop in   order to reduce gender-based violence. Gendered stereotypes and attitudes might influence the likelihood of a gender-based violence survivor feeling comfortable or uncomfortable, being able or unable, to seek help and report to the support services. The monumental impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on entrenching gender roles and patterns of gender-based violence was the pressing reason for the current publication.

Our particular interest lies in providing a voice to women experiencing gender stereotypes and domestic violence – presenting not only their experiences, but also their needs going forward, as reflective of their culture and society.

This research publication, ‘Making Uncomfortable Conversations Comfortable’, has been conducted by Ella Rayment, Research Fellow International Presentation Association under the supervision of Dr. Despoina Afroditi Milaki, the IPA NGO Representative at the UN, as a response to the unparalleled entrenchment of gender stereotypes and domestic violence as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Setting the stage for developing IPAs advocacy work in the future, this publication will be the first of many to work with survivors and advocates to privilege experiences and present solutions to gender stereotypes and domestic violence.

As ‘IPA’ may we continuously be awakened with a global consciousness to the woundedness and pain of our world, standing with people in their struggles, while speaking and acting for justice, healing and hope for all.

See Resources – International Presentation Association (globalpres.org)

Sr. Ann Marie Quinn
Executive Director, IPA

(This publication was launched on 25th May 2022).