- The main objective of the meeting was to begin preparations for HNI’s Congress which will be held from April 25th to 28th, 2023, in Kathmandu, Nepal.
After nearly one year and eight months of working remotely and meeting virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the HomeNet International Working Committee, the transitional leadership committee that contributes to building and strengthening HNI, and the Secretariat, reconnected and finally held their first in-person Working Committee meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal, from the 18th – 22nd of October, 2022.
Over the course of five days a series of events took place, for instance, Working Committee members participated in the formal inauguration of the first HomeNet South Asia Congress and a Solidarity March around the streets of Kathmandu, celebrating Home-based Workers Day.
HNI Working Committee members and HNI Secretariat celebrated and stood in solidarity with the 60 member organisations from 7 South Asian countries that make up HomeNet South Asia and that represent the home-based workers movement in South Asia.
Subsequently, part of the HNI Working Committee and Secretariat held a field visit, kindly organised by SABAH Nepal, to the remote town of Kavre to visit the Panauti Cluster of women home-based workers. These home-based workers worked primarily in the garment and footwear sector and agriculture sector, and they shared their experiences in their areas of work.
In the afternoon of the 20th of October, HNI International Working Committee members held the 20th Working Committee meeting. Representatives presented the current situation of home-based workers in their regions, their concerns and worries, strengths and weaknesses and how they connect together.
The main objective of this meeting was to begin preparations for HNI’s Congress which will be held from April 25th to 28th, 2023, in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Congress is the highest decision-making body of HomeNet International and is to be held at least every four years.
The HNI Congress, for the first time will bring home-based workers and their representatives from around the world to discuss and deliberate the key thematic areas of their work, showcase their work and products and for the first time elect their governing body through a democratic process.
The HNI Working Committee agreed to keep the mood of the Congress celebratory, participatory and inclusive.
