CWIL Conference 2007 "Women as Intercultural Leaders: Collaboration at the Crossroads

Ishar Multicultural Centre for Women's Health

Perth, Australia

Present "Ran Away"

Ishar Multicultural Centre for Women's Health based in Perth, Western Australia responds to the needs of about 12,000 women every year from more than 80 different ethnicities. Their team and management committee are from widely diverse cultural backgrounds as well. Many women they serve are from immigrant and refugee backgrounds who deal with the trauma from civil strife, social upheaval, and cultural dislocation, as well as family and personal issues. Their mission is to provide quality, holistic healthcare services in a culturally sensitive and appropriate manner that will enable women to make informed decisions regarding their health and to enhance diversity of lifestyle.

Ishar operates on the philosophy of Social Model of Health, which does not separate its clients' medical conditions from the 'real life' interconnections of personal, social, economic, racial, age and gender related problems that they may experience.

Shobhana Chakrabarti, Ishar's previous director, was recognized for her leadership when she was selected for the Catherine McAuley Award, a one-year Leadership Enrichment program for women in conjunction with the Sisters of Mercy. In 2004, Shobhana received a prestigious Women's Fellowship sponsored by the Government of Western Australia, Office for Women's Policy to study global women's leadership. As a result of her global travels interviewing women from around the world she wrote Sangam: Inclusive Leadership outlining a model for women's leadership. CWIL was one of the places she visited, and she incorporated parts of CWIL's intercultural leadership model into her model.

This began a rich and dynamic partnership, and now Shobhana serves on the CWIL International Advisory Board and has been a presenter at the Wellsprings of Wisdom conference and in the community. In 2006, again thanks to a grant from the Australian government, CWIL presented their women's intercultural model at Ishar to several groups of women. We are delighted and honored to have the Ran Away performers and leaders at our conference to continue the exciting partnership between our two centers.

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