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From
Introduction to the Forum
by Genevieve Vaughan
It's wonderful to see you all here. This
event is really a great thing. In celebration
of Mother's Day, let me say that we need
to invent or find within ourselves a mother-based
economic system, that is based on caring
for needs, instead of on stimulating greed.
I believe that women are socialized into
caring and therefore that we already have
an alternative value system within ourselves,
which many men also have. I created the
Foundation for a Compassionate Society
in an attempt to try to put caring values
into reality. The Foundation is not a society
of particularly compassionate people, rather
we are trying to make the society itself
compassionate. This momentous task has been
made more difficult by right-wing messages
and interpretations which are broadcast
towards us from all sides, discouraging
women from taking the initiative. Yet, most
of us know in our hearts that something
is terribly wrong, and we welcome the possibility
of contributing to social change.
Working together in the Foundation has
allowed a diverse group of women to support
each other for a vision of a better world.
We have been made stronger by the women
who have come before us and those who are
still contributing their unflagging energy
to social change. Now I want to welcome
our keynote speakers. I am glad that these
almost mythological women have come to share
their thinking with us.
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