The Packard Foundation awards the Face to Face Campaign $1,200,000
	The Federacion de Planificacion Familiar de Espana luanches its International Photo Exibition "Women of the World, Face to Face"
	Federacion de Planificacion Familiar de Espana organizes 4th International Seminar "Women's Health and International Aid"
	Male Responsibility and the question asked by many men "why should I care about women's issues?"

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation has awarded Face to Face International, Inc. US$ 1.2 million for the Face to Face Campaign in Western Europe. It is a three-year grant of $400,000 per year. Additional new grants to the Face to Face Campaign include a $250,000 grant from the Flora Hewlett Foundation, a $60,000 grant from the Wallace Global Fund, a $5,000 grant from the Compton Foundation and, most recently, a $25,000 grant from the Fulcrum Fund.

Of these funds, $740,000 is available for fiscal year 2000. Of this, $390,000 has been allocated to Campaign Partner grants. As more monies are raised, a greater proportion of funds can be allocated to grants, as many operational costs like overhead, salaries, professional management fees, the newsletter and Web site maintenance will not increase proportionately. Grants for this fiscal year are being made to: Equilibres & Populations, International Foundation for Population and Development, Associa?‹o para o Planeamento da Familia, …sterreichische Gesellschaft fur Familienplanung, Population Concern, …sterreichische Stiftung f?r Weltbev?lkerung und Internationale Zusammenarbeit, AIDOS, the Italian FPA, the Swiss FPA, Vaestoliitto/Mikko Kuustonen, the Spanish FPA, and Foreningen Sex & Samfund.

Western European Campaign NGO Partners not receiving grants this year can be reasonably assured of receiving a grant next year. The goal is to capitalize the Western European Face to Face Campaign to a point where grants can be given to all 22 Western European Campaign Partners on a consistent, annual basis.

The Federacion de Planificacion Familiar de Espana (FPFE) has been a very active partner of the Face to Face Campaign since its official launching in Spain in February 1999. Different strategies have been employed to make the Spanish governments, the media, NGOs and the Spanish public aware of the sexual and reproductive health rights and needs of millions of women around the world. The strategy used by FPFE in its photo exhibition, "Women of the World, Face to Face: A View on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights," is the idea that visual images are powerful, effective tools for conveying messages and creating social change.

The first step in the creation of the exhibition was compiling the photographs. FPFE organized an international photo contest. It called for amateur photographers all over the world to send their best pictures, showing their views of what sexual and reproductive health and rights are. The jury gave the first prize to Nadia Benchallal, a French photographer, who presented eight black and white photos about Muslim women taken during her trips to Algeria, Bosnia and Gaza.

The jury selected 60 photos from the 260 that FPFE received, and photos from several professional photographers who offered FPFE their work freely. The exhibition is composed of a total of 79 photographs from 21 different photographers, showing images from countries as diverse as Burkina Faso, South Africa, Peru, India and Siberia.

The exhibition is divided into six sections with distinct themes: women's human rights; economic resources; sexual education; healthcare services; right of choice; and adolescent needs. FPFE's exhibition gives its viewers multiple images of the critical problems that women in developing countries face: maternal mortality, lack of quality health services, lack of contraceptives, STDs and HIV/AIDS. The photographs explore the reasons for and structural causes behind these realities. For example, there are photos of women in traditional roles imposed on them, the discrimination they are subjected to, and the difficulties they face in gaining education and economic resources.

Xavier Sarda (below), popular TV presenter, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and Face to Face Campaign Spokesperson for Spain, led the opening ceremony for the exhibition. Mr. Sarda stressed the need for developed countries, such as Spain, to fulfill their Cairo commitments and to set aside all possible resources for sexual and reproductive health programs. Mr. Sarda is determined to use his celebrity 'voice' to denounce violations to women's rights wherever they exist.

Other speakers at the exhibition's opening included Isel Rivero, Director of the United Nations Information Office in Spain and Lyn Thomas, Executive Director of IPPF European Network. Ms. Rivero encouraged FPFE to continue with its outstanding advocacy work and Ms. Thomas emphasized the importance of guaranteeing sexual and reproductive health services to women all over the world. Ms. Thomas also proposed that FPFE take the exhibition to Brussels for International Women's Day on March 8, 2001.

Over the last two months, thousands of people have viewed the exhibition at the Museo de la Ciudad in Madrid. Some individuals have contacted FPFE and offered themselves as volunteers for the Face to Face Campaign. All this publicity came from FPFE's media broadcasting strategy which involved radio talk shows, articles and photo images published in newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and, finally, having the exhibition covered by TV broadcasters.

In addition to support from UNFPA and the Face to Face Campaign, the exhibit was supported by several Spanish agencies, including the Institute for Women's Affairs of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Women's Affairs Unit of Madrid's Regional Government, Antonio de Nebrija University and the British Council. FPFE will take this exhibit to Barcelona in September, Santander in November, and to many other cities throughout Spain over the next year.

FPFE received a proposal from the Health Education Unit of Madrid's Regional Council to present the exhibit at the Spanish Medical Association meetings in Madrid. This will be a great opportunity to do advocacy work with professionals.

In June 2000, FPFE organized the 4th Annual Seminar on "Women's Health and International Aid," led by Dr. Nafis Sadik, UNFPA Executive Director. The seminar was undertaken in collaboration with the Spanish Development Agency (AECI) and focused specifically on NGOs. Some 70 people attended the seminar. Many excellent speakers evaluated the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women in the developing world and the responses of agencies and governments to their dire education and service needs. Other speakers included: Fernando Riquelme, AECI's Ambassador for Multilateral Affairs; Alfonso Sancho, President of the Development NGOs Network; Pascaline Sebgo, former director of the Family Planning Program in Burkina Faso; and Nancy Palomino, member of the Latin American and Caribbean Women's Health Network.

For more information, contact Marta O'Kelly at FPFE,
Tel. 34.91.319.9276, or e-mail: fpf@adv.es

During the UNFPA Goodwill Ambassadors Conference in Geneva in June 2000, many Goodwill Ambassadors expressed the need for issue briefing materials and, in particular, guidance on how to answer very specific, common questions from the media and other audiences. Over the next several months, this page of the Face to Face Update will be devoted to providing specific information about various Face to Face Campaign issues and common issue-related questions. We invite UNFPA Goodwill Ambassadors and Face to Face Campaign Spokespersons to e-mail us questions you would like answers to or expert opinion on.

This month, the issue is:
Behind this question is often the thought or unspoken question: "What's it in for me?" or "What do I gain [or lose] from women's empowerment?"

Firstly, our positions: Greater male involvement in family planning is needed in order to improve and protect the sexual and reproductive well-being of both men and women.

Men's support for women's empowerment is essential as men hold the majority of positions of power in societies throughout the world.

The objective is gender equality. The result is always: fewer unwanted children, healthier babies, a reduction in infant and maternal mortality, a reduction in the spread of STDs, greater economic security, a reduction in poverty and greater overall quality of life.

Secondly, men should care about women's issues and empowerment because men's gain from women's empowerment and equality in the home, in the workplace and in the local and national governing process includes, but is not limited to:

Material gains

* more resources from sharing financial burdens
* increased income to the family
* life becomes easier when you share responsibilities

Health gains

* men live longer when they have a loving relationship with their spouse
* men are less prone to depression, mental disorders and violence
* men get more job satisfaction which leads to less stress

Emotional gains

* men appreciate life more when they spend more time with their spouse and children
* men become less aggressive when they are and act as parents
* more intimacy and communication with one's spouse means more peace of mind and sexual intimacy
* men need to communicate and to express their feelings as much as women do

Gains to society

* 180 nations agree that the empowerment and autonomy of women and the improvement of their political, social, economic and health status are essential for the achievement of sustainable development.