Working Women's Centre Timor-Leste

I'm looking forward to the opening of the Working Women's Centre Timor-Leste. It's a not-for-profit community organisation that supports women employees or women who wish to work. It's aiming to increase women's participation in and contribution to workplace arrangements that improve their income and conditions, by:

• Providing information, advice and support to women on work issues

• Initiating and implementing training programs on women’s work issues

• Responding to specific issues in the workplace

• Developing resources on issues facing women in or entering the workforce

• Working with unions in their efforts to gain true equality for women members

• Encouraging women to take an active part in their union

• Actively promoting equal employment opportunity for women through policy development, committees and campaigns

• Building good relationships with other non-governmental organisations, with government and labor organisations domestically and internationally.

The Working Women's Centre Timor-Leste will initiate and implement Education, support and advocacy for vulnerable women workers in Timor-Leste, providing women working as domestic workers with education, advocacy and support to enable them to access their rights.

The project is a first stage pilot and will focus on domestic workers in Dili, Bacau, Ermera, Los Palos and the enclave of Oecusse.

The new centre will be launched officially during a conference to be held in Dili on September 1st and 2nd, 2011, "Our Work, Our Lives", which will cover a range of topics relevant to women's issues in the workplace.

Like many women all over the world, the women of Timor-Leste often carry heavy burdens, juggling family with work outside the home. In a developing country, the chores are sometimes much more onerous as they struggle with insufficient water and electricity supply at home, dealing with family health issues, trying to feed many mouths on a very tight budget and getting themselves to work when public transport is scarce and often unaffordable.

I'm all for anything that helps Timorese women to cope.

They have a blog at http://workingwomenscentretimor-leste.blogspot.com/

Timor-Leste flag autographed by Xanana Gusmao fetches AU$3,400 at charity auction for Alola Foundation

Kirsty Sword Gusmao displays the autographed flag

A framed Timor-Leste flag autographed by the Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao fetched AU$3,400 at a charity auction and fundraising dinner for the Alola Foundation in Darwin on October 29^th.

Mr Gusmao’s wife and Chair of the Alola Foundation, Kirsty Sword Gusmao, was the guest of honour at the dinner, which was also attended by the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, Mr Paul Henderson, and many leading figures in the Darwin business community.

Sponsors for the event – which was held at the Timor Chinese Association Club - included the Northern Territory Government, Airnorth, Carlton United Breweries, Metcash, Darwin Airport Resort, Nivagi Homewares and the Jape Group.

The charity auction was conducted by Mr David Ley from Professionals Real Estate, who ensured that top prices were reached for all of the lots offered, including a pair of tickets to the Chief Minister’s Marquee at the V8 Supercars Sunday race day, a signed copy of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and books authored and autographed by Xanana Gusmao and Kirsty Sword Gusmao.

Alola Foundation CEO Teresa Verdial made a presentation about the organisation, which works with Timorese women and their communities toward the fulfilment of their social, economic, political and cultural aspirations. Guests were also entertained by a Timorese traditional dance group based in Darwin.

“I am grateful to the Jape Group for organising this fundraiser, which exceeded all expectations”, Sword Gusmao commented after the dinner, “I am so grateful for the generosity of all who supported the event and I assure you that the funds raised will be put to good use in strengthening the Alola Foundation’s programmes”.

For more information about the Alola Foundation, see: http://www.alolafoundation.org

Photos below:

Traditional Timorese dancers perform for the guests

Kirsty Sword Gusmao chats to NT Chief Minister Paul Henderson

Tony Jape with Alola Foundation CEO Alita Verdial

Sunset Fair Opening in Dili, Timor-Leste

Eastern-Western Fusion food at the Sunset Fair

Taste of Timor Lesté is coming to the Sunset Fair! The owners previously operated at the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets and also own Café Timor Leste in Darwin. Their aim in returning to Timor Lesté is to introduce visitors to the true tastes of their nearest neighbour. The cuisine is a fusion of Eastern and Western flavours as it contains both Oriental ingredients and flavours of Timor Lesté and the European flavours of Portugal. The owner, Hernany Lopes, originally from Suai, has many years experience cooking in Australia and is happy to be home.

Traditional dishes include:
Batar Daan (vegetarian dish of mungbeans, eggplant, corn, kangkong & pumpkin shoots);
Caril (capsicum based coconut curry);
Ikan Sabuko (spanish mackerel with tamarind, capsicum and basil); Sutate (pork ribs in tamarind, palm sugar and soy sauce);
Chilli Beef (beef in sambal olek, with kaffir lime leaves & lemongrass);
Feijoada (borlotti beans, chorizo and smoked pork stew).

After-Fair Party at the Caz Bar!
The Caz Bar has already signed up for the Sunset Fair to serve their famous grilled prawns, hotdogs and nachos from their stall at Kristu Rei (5pm-10pm). They will also be hosting an After-Fair party on the night of the Grand opening, September 11th, from 10pm till late, with DJ Luis. All are welcome!

Boy Clemens to perform at grand opening of Sunset Fair in Dili, Timor-Leste

Sunset Fair organizers have announced that Timorese recording artist and songwriter Boy Clemens will be performing at the launch of the event in Dili, Timor-Leste on September 11th, 2010.
Paulus Boy Ratamila Clemens, aka Boy Clemens, was born in Kupang, Dec 16th, 1968. His mother is Timorese, although she lost contact with her family in the strife of Timor-Leste’s struggle for independence.
Boy Clemens said that he started to love music as a child. He was already playing in bands when he was at junior and high school. As a college student, he started to perform in cafes in Jakarta and sang regularly at church; this led to him joining an “a capella” group, Talenta. His key influences are black music and jazz.
Boy Clemens’ big break came when he met renowned Indonesian composer Erwin Gutawa, who asked him to sing backing vocals with his orchestra, which helped him to develop his distinctive voice and musicality, as well to gain experience of working across a wide range of different genres. Appearances on Indonesian television soon followed and Boy Clemens started to write his own material. The result was his debut album, “Forca de Amor”, which he composed, arranged, mastered, produced and distributed himself, without the support of a record label.
The spirit behind “Forca de Amor” is Boy Clemens’ pride in his Timorese heritage: “I want to tell the world that Timor-Leste has a beautiful cultural tradition” he explained.
The songs on the album span a variety of musical styles, with lyrics in Tetum (an indigenous Timorese language) and themes touching on peace and reconciliation, love of nature and the country’s stunningly beautiful landscapes. Overall, the sound of Boy Clemens is melodic and laid-back, perfect for easy listening as you watch the sun go down after a day at the beach. This is why the track “Areia Branca” (White Sands) has been selected as the anthem for the Sunset Fair, a weekly event in Dili featuring entertainment, food and local handicraft stalls, which is being launched on September 11th - on the Dili beach that inspired the song.
“I made that song to remind people that the beauty of the ocean belongs to them. But I had never seen the beach when I wrote the song – I had only heard stories from the people how beautiful it is. The song is supposed to call people around the world to see that Timor-Leste also has a beach that is just as beautiful – if not more – than beaches in Bali or elsewhere”.
Now Boy Clemens will be travelling to Timor-Leste to participate in the concert for Sunset Fair launch: “Who could have imagined that I would be performing my music in that very place?” he said, laughing, “I’m so excited. It feels so good. It must be my destiny”.

Boy Clemens’ album, “Forca de Amor” will be on sale at the Sunset Fair. For further information, email boyclemens@yahoo.com or call +670-7234715. Listen to "Areia Branca" here

Regular updates of Sunset Fair activities, entertainment and stall registration can be found at http://www.mtci-timorleste.com/ or on the Sunset Fair Facebook group, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=142081139145799 , or on Twitter @SunsetFair

DILI NIGHT LIFE: SUNSET FAIR BRINGS FOOD, CRAFTS AND MUSIC TO KRISTU REI BEACH

National Director of Tourism Jose Quintas announced on Thursday (August 9th) that the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce and Industry is organizing a weekly Sunset Fair to be held every evening throughout the dry season at Kristu Rei beach. The event launch on Saturday, September 11th, 2010, will feature Timorese and international entertainers, food stalls serving dishes from all over the world and a market for local handicrafts. Guests at the launch – which is open to the public - will include several hundred Tour de Timor participants, members of the diplomatic community and government officials.

The inspiration for the Dili Sunset Fair was drawn from a recent visit to the highly successful Mindil Beach Markets in Darwin by the Minister of Tourism, Commerce and Industry, Mr Gil Alves, who was impressed with the range of local and international products on sale and the large numbers of visitors to the event, which has become one of Darwin’s leading tourism attractions and a major contributor to the economy of the Northern Territory.

“I thought to myself, ‘we could do something like this in Dili’. We have the products, we have the location, we have the talent and we are keen to expand the range of experiences that Timor-Leste can offer to tourists, as well as the market for our local handicrafts”, Alves said.

The Sunset Fair location at Kristu Rei has recently been renovated by the Timor-Leste Ministry of Tourism, Commerce and Industry.

“This is a fantastic use of this purpose-built tourism facility,” Quintas said, “There is a performance arena, plenty of parking and space for up to 50 stalls. It is right beside one of our country’s most beautiful white sand beaches, with spectacular views of the sunset and it is surrounded by a nature reserve. I am sure that the Sunset Fair will be a great addition to our night life in Dili and will be popular with both foreign and local tourists, especially families”.

The Mindil Beach Sunset Market Association Inc will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Directorate of Tourism, to share their expertise with their Timorese counterparts in launching and developing the Sunset Fair. MBSMA General Manager, Kylie McCourt, who paid a visit to to Dili recently to discuss the agreement, said that the technical support being offered to the Sunset Fair organisers would extend to advice, training, cross-promotion and regular exchanges of traders and entertainers between the two events.

“I believe that Mindil Markets’ relationship with the Sunset Fair will be a two-way street,” McCourt said, “One of our aims is to promote the sharing of cultural community and we are looking forward to developing long-term ties with our friends in Dili, so that we can learn more about what Timor-Leste has to offer in terms of products and cultural experiences, to the benefit of both parties. We would love to see some Timorese traders and visitors over here at Mindil”.

A delegation from the MBSMA will be travelling to Timor-Leste to participate in the September 11th inauguration of the Sunset Fair, which is expected to run every Wednesday evening throughout the dry season, from October 6th until December 15th 2010.

Sunset Fair will be offering a wide range of local and international culinary specialities as well as traditional weavings, carvings and other typical local handicrafts and products. Timorese entertainers will include Boy Clemens, who recently recorded a song about the Sunset Fair beach, entitled “Areia Branca”, which he will be performing at the opening event. His album, “Forca de Amor” will also be on sale. The Sunset Fair will allocate a proportion of its stalls to international traders, as it aims to offer a multi-cultural experience to visitors and to extend the creativity of Timorese business in developing new products.

As space at the Kristu Rei is limited, businesses wishing to participate in the Sunset Fair will be chosen according to strict criteria designed to promote the project’s core values of Diversity, Creativity and Quality. One of the reasons for the success of the Mindil Markets is that no two stalls can offer exactly the same merchandise or dishes, a rule that will also be applied to the Sunset Fair in Dili.

“My advice for Sunset Fair participants is to specialize: select your best products, focus on them and do not attempt to sell the whole range of items available in your main business. In this way, the Sunset Fair will serve as a “shop window” to promote your company’s activity and increase day-to-day trade,“ Quintas explained. In the case of National traders, precedence will be given to those offering items produced from Timorese materials, using Timorese labour and representing Timorese culture. A limited number of spaces will be allocated to international traders offering products not available in Timor-Leste, especially innovative or technological items or hand-crafted merchandise reflecting the creativity and culture of the producer (fashion, art, jewellery, etc.). Any stall – National or International - offering products suitable for children will be favoured in the selection process.

The Sunset Fair will also offer a regular opportunity to Timorese entertainers to gain experience in performing in public and to promote their music. They will be allowed to sell their CDs at the event. “We encourage all performers who are seeking an audience to register their interest with us so that we can draw up a schedule of entertainers to last the whole Sunset Fair season,” said Quintas, “This is also a chance for youth and church groups to get valuable exposure and to raise funds for charity”.

Applicants must submit their requests to Mr Antonio Da Silva, tel: 7410185 or go directly to the National Directorate of Tourism, Rua Dom Aleixo Corte-Real, Fomento, Mandarin. The deadline for application for the October 6-December 15, 2010 Sunset Fair season is: Tuesday, September 14th. Applications received after this date may be put on a waiting list.

Participants must commit to operating their stall every Wednesday evening from 5pm-10pm for the full market season. The government will provide electricity, water and a basic stall structure to participants, but they must supply any other equipment they need, such as tables and extra lighting, themselves. Stalls at the September 11th Sunset Fair Inauguration event are free of charge, but traders must pay a fee ($50 per stall) to register for the full season (from Oct. 6th-Dec. 15th 2010) in cash once their application has been approved and their Sunset Fair Trader pass has been issued. A copy of a current business registration must be attached to the Sunset Fair application form. No refund will be given in case of withdrawal and 2-weeks’ notice is required to cease trading. Full criteria for stallholders can be viewed here and you can join our Facebook group here and follow us on Twitter @SunsetFair.

Darwin-Dili Yacht Rally: in Tetum

For a report on the 2010 Darwin-Dili Yacht Rally in Tetum, click here