Meet VAN - RGS Participant # 2

Vanessa Theresa Paroni Dugenia
Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP)
4A Maalindog St., UP Village, Diliman, Quezon City

Tel Nos: 92717-66; 92563-95
Telefax No: 43643-84
Email Address: vanessa.dugenia@gmail.com

ABOUT DSWP:
Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP) is a national federation of 157 accredited grassroots community, and sector-based chapter organizations that promotes and advances socialist feminism in 13 regions of the country. The federation's membership is drawn from the various marginalized sectors in Philippine society. DSWP recognizes the importance of addressing both women's practical and strategic needs and this, implements programs and projects to respond to these.

We envision the DSWP as a strong, credible, self-sustaining and socialist feminist federation of grassroots and community-based women able to significantly contribute to the Filipino women's empowerment in a just, human, egalitarian, peaceful and progressive society that fully recognizes respects and promotes the rights of all its citizens.

Van is DSWP's Information Officer (IO). Her principal functions include leading the conceptualization, development, production and distribution of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) such as quarterly comics and newsletters, information pack and training handbooks for women in the informal sectors.

She directly reports to the project coordinator. Her other responsibilities include: providing documentation and research work for the various publications and/or other project components' IEC materials; designing evaluation instruments; writing/contributing to publications; writing position papers, letters, press releases and other advocacy papers; preparing project and organizational presentation materials; assisting in media monitoring activities and perform other tasks that may be necessary to achieve project and organizational objectives.

Van maintains a personal blog entitled "unleash the balderdash", which up to now I stil have to know the meaning.