Working jointly for the first time in Seoul, the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Asia and Women’s Democracy Network (WDN) programs held a grassroots advocacy conference for women from throughout Asia on December 8 – 11, 2008. Twenty-four women representing both political parties and civil society organizations attended the conference including participants from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Republic of South Korea, and Sri Lanka. The women activists attended workshops on effective advocacy models and learned practical skills while engaged in a simulation of lobbying local government.

U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of South Korea Kathleen Stephens offered opening remarks at the conference, citing international declarations and legislation supporting women’s empowerment and recognizing key women leaders past and present who have paved the way for women’s participation in politics. In addition, Ambassador Stephens discussed the U.S. State Department’s transition from Secretary Condoleeza Rice to Secretary of State Designate Hillary Rodham Clinton and noted that U.S. foreign policy would continue to emphasize the importance of women’s economic and political empowerment.

President of the Democratic Women’s Union in Mongolia and WDN member Delgermaa Banzragch reviewed issue-based partnerships and coalitions based on her experience with the Mongolia Women’s Forum. In addition, WDN member Yuda Kusumaningsih of Indonesia’s Women’s Movement in Politics discussed advocacy tactics in a presentation on taking action. Finally, WDN Program Officer Kerri Anderson-Czerkas offered tips on building relationships with elected officials and how to effectively conduct issues-based lobbying.

During the day and a half simulation workshop, participants divided into five groups to practice the tools and methods discussed during the presentations. The groups included a city government, women’s organization, youth forum, chamber of commerce and industry, and a labor union. IRI tasked each of the groups to focus on a mock-city budget and to build coalitions and lobby elected officials on how best to allocate the government’s limited resources. The simulation ended with a city council meeting where the elected officials voted to finalize the city budget.

The conference was held at the Sungshin Women’s University in Seoul, Korea. Established as the "Sungshin Girl's School," in 1936, the University is a premier academic institution dedicated to educating women leaders.