VOICES RISING

YEAR IV - Nº187

June 23, 2006




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1.- CALLS FOR INCREASED ACCOUNTABILITY AND ACTION UNDERSCORE CONFERENCE THEME, TIME TO DELIVER

2.- MANAGEMENT OF WWW.WHITEBAND.ORG

3.- ANTI-HIV/AIDS CAMPAIGN ASKS:'WHAT KIND OF MAN ARE YOU?'

4.- TRAINING ANNOUNCEMENT: WOMENLEAD IN PROMOTING PEACE AND STABILITY
5.- CALL FOR ARTICLES (FEMNET NEWS MAY-AUGUST06)
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International Seminar

“Education and Citizenship of Youth and Adults:

Unlearning and Learning in the Construction of new Proposal”

This seminar will take place in Montevideo, Uruguay, from the 26 to the 28 of June.  It has been thought of as a contribution to the debate around Youth and Adult Education at the national and international levels.

The seminar is being co-organised by ICAE, REPEM, CEAAL, the Ministries of Education and Culture and Social Development from Uruguay and the National Administration of Public Education.

CONTACT:  ICAE secretariat@icae.org.uy


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1.- CALLS FOR INCREASED ACCOUNTABILITY AND ACTION UNDERSCORE CONFERENCE THEME, TIME TO DELIVER

XVI International AIDS Conference Organizers Take Steps to Broaden
Access to World’s Largest Professional Meeting on AIDS

To read this release in French, click
http://www.aids2006.org/fr/admin/images/upload/853.pdf

20,000 Participants Expected in Toronto, Canada in August 2006

Toronto [6 March 2006]—With the 25th anniversary of the first reported cases of AIDS approaching, organizers today announced the theme and focus for the XVI International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2006) to be held in Toronto, Canada from 13-18 August 2006. The Conference theme of Time to Deliver underscores the urgency of bringing effective HIV prevention, care and treatment to communities the world over, as well as the need for increased accountability on the part of all stakeholders.

“The AIDS 2006 theme recognizes the need to accelerate scientific research while also dramatically expanding access to the knowledge and tools currently available to prevent new infections and prolong life among people living with HIV/AIDS,” said Conference Co-Chair Dr. Helene Gayle, President of the International AIDS Society (IAS) and President and CEO of CARE USA. “The challenge at hand is to garner the resources and the
collective will to translate existing knowledge and experience into broadly available HIV prevention and treatment programs.”

Toronto is the third Canadian city to host the International AIDS Conference; it was held in Montreal in 1989, and in Vancouver in 1996. It was in Vancouver that Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) was first announced. Over the past decade, access to HAART has led to dramatic declines in AIDS-related mortality.
However, today the vast majority of the estimated 40.3 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, particularly those in the developing world, continue to be without access to these treatments. The linkage between prevention and treatment cannot be overstated when worldwide only one in five individuals at risk for HIV infection has access to prevention information and only one in ten people living with HIV has been tested and knows their serostatus.

“As the largest and most diverse gathering of people engaged in the global response to HIV/AIDS, AIDS 2006 will do more for AIDS education and awareness than any other single event,” said Conference Co-Chair Dr. Mark Wainberg, Chair of the Toronto Local Host Board and Director of the McGill University AIDS Centre.
“Toronto and Canada are proud to serve as host, and to provide a venue for leading scientists, as well as community, government and other leaders, to chart the way forward to achieve real, meaningful progress in defeating AIDS.”

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2.- MANAGEMENT OF WWW.WHITEBAND.ORG

Ana Agostino

ana@icae.org.uy

Tender: Management of www.whiteband.org

Tender Value: £35,000

Tender Length: 12 months

Tender Submission Deadline: 4th July 2006

Successful Bid announced: 11th July

Tender to begin: 18th July

Return tender documents or any queries to: <tender@whiteband.org>

GCAP PURPOSE:

The Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) is a worldwide alliance committed to making world leaders live up to their promises, and to put an end to poverty. In particular the coalition focuses on the following demands:

• Public accountability, just governance and the fulfilment of human rights.

• Trade justice.

• A major increase in the quantity and quality of aid and financing for development.

• Debt cancellation.

Purpose GCAP’s web and email communications:

The purpose of the Whiteband.org website and other GCAP interactive communications is to ensure

that people are inspired to take action and work together with civil society in the fight to end poverty. In

particular the online and web communications will also need to;

• Support the work and profile of national GCAP coalitions.

• Support the work and profile of the month of mobilisation.

• Enable a effective online campaign mechanism.

The planned events for the month of mobilisation require online support in the areas of online

marketing, audio and video file sharing, promotional and event specific content, reporting of events,

email communication and e-campaigning.

Key GCAP Timelines:

July 06 – August 06 – Redevelopment and re-launch of site, planning and support for Month of

Mobilisation.

September – October 06 – Month of mobilisation leading up to the 17th of October as the key date.

17th October 06 – November 06 – Follow up, event reports and impact of the Month of Mobilisation.

December 06 – July 07 – ongoing supporting the global growth of GCAP and the lead up to the

German G8.

Overall responsibility of tender:

To revitalise the website and then effectively plan, prioritise, maintain and develop online and email

content in accordance with GCAP objectives, mobilisations, supporter and member’s communication and campaign needs.

REPORTING LINES:

The winning bid reports to and takes direction from GCAP E-Communications working group, with

direct line management from the Chair of the GCAP E-communications working group. The GCAP ecommunications

group takes direction from GCAP’s executive body, the International Facilitation

Team (IFT), which has delegated responsibility of e-communications to the E-communications group.

The winning bid will also need to work closely the GCAP mobilisation group to ensure adequate
support for the Month of Mobilisation. The GCAP Mobilisation group will provide a key contact to liase with.

The winning bid will also need to co-ordinate content from regional areas that will come via nominated
representatives of the GCAP regional area.

BUDGET RESPONSIBILITY:

The winning bid must account for all money spent on this project. Monies not spent at the end of the
contract must be returned. Monthly financial reconciliation of fund expenditure must be sent to Civicus.

TENDER DIMENSIONS:
• Management of high profile internet and external email communications for GCAP.
• Expert knowledge/experience of online communications
• Well developed negotiating and planning skills.
• Requires ability to analyse and communicate complex information to a wide range of audiences.
• Managing external suppliers of hosting, external mail management system and other support services.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Work with the GCAP E-Communications team to shape the direction the editorial vision of GCAP’s online communications and Strategy.
• Work with the GCAP Month of Mobilisation Task force and the GCAP E-communications group to ensure that Whiteband Month of Action is fully supported online.
• Create and manage an editorial plan for GCAP’s online communications and contribute to intranet work.
• Rework the visual identity of www.whiteband.org with liaison with GCAP E-communications group.
• Commission, develop and edit content for the website.
• Work with the GCAP E-Communications Group to use analysis – in house, licensed and commissioned – to inform the content plan and to make frequent changes to the site.
• Identifies opportunities for the distribution of GCAP interactive media content to external websites.
• Review and recommend editorial changes and updates on the www.whiteband.org.
• Provide advice to key stakeholders (such as the Mobilisation group) on the optimal use of interactive media and how it can support GCAP objectives.
• Manage and assist national coalitions access to the Content Management system.
• Manage and delegate tasks and responsibilities to GCAP regional web editors, online communication interns and volunteers where applicable.
• Work with the GCAP Secretariat to produce and distribute the Public GCAP Email Newsletter.
• Work with the GCAP Online Communication Group and other key stakeholders Co-ordinate the integration of e-campaigning into the site.
• Make the GCAP E-communication Group aware of any major issues that could impact the website or the affect the goals or brand of GCAP.
 

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3.- ANTI-HIV/AIDS CAMPAIGN ASKS: 'WHAT KIND OF MAN ARE YOU?'

By Kathambi Kinoti

AWID
Resource Net Friday File
Issue 279
Friday, June 16, 2006

India now has the highest number of people living with HIV. According to the recently released 2006 Epidemic Report of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), although some of the country's states save recorded significant progress in combatting the disease, interventions are generally weak, with less than 10% of those in need receiving antiretroviral drugs.

AWID spoke to Mallika Dutt of Breakthrough, about the organization's 'Aap kis tareh ke aadmi hain?'[What Kind of Man Are You?] campaign, which draws public attention in India to the implications that HIV/AIDS holds for women who make up 2.2 million of the 5.7 million cases of HIV infection in  the country.

AWID: How have men reacted to the call to use condoms with their wives?

Was the response positive from the outset?

Mallika Dutt: Most people have seen the advertisments as a larger call for gender equality and male sensitivity towards women, particularly in marriage. That was the goal of the campaign - not just to call for condom use within marriage. Overall the response to the campaign has been very good. It has spurred a lot of dialogue and conversation because people are quite startled when the advertisements come on air or are seen in the local paper. Regional focus groups show some variations in male reactions. Men in the south think they are already very sensitive and have the highest HIV infection rates; men in the west think the campaign is great; and men in the north find it very tough on their sex but have some of the highest violence rates in the country.

AWID: Has the campaign influenced women to take the initiative and ask their husbands to use a condom?

MD: It has certainly make women think about the issue. Whether women are asking their husbands to actually wear condoms is not something we can test.

AWID: Different states in India have different HIV/AIDS prevalence rates and also different prevalent modes of infection. Does the campaign take this into account, or does it have a more generalized reach?

MD: The campaign was disseminated in seven languages including Tamil, Kannada, Telegu, Hindi and Bengali so we were able to reach high prevalence states as well as low prevalence states. Again, we created one campaign concept which was then translated into the different languages.

AWID: Your campaign recently won some awards from the Advertising Agency Association of India and this recognition is obviously one of the pointers to the success of the campaign. In what other ways have you measured your success?

MD: Our success is two fold. One is that this is the first time that a public dialogue about women and HIV/AIDS that is not focussed on sex workers is taking place in the country. The second is the extraordinary media partnership we have been able to garner across media platforms-radio, print, television, movie theatres and bookstores. This kind of pro bono media reach is quite unprecedented for women's issues or any human rights issue.

AWID: What challenges have you faced in the campaign?

MD: It was very difficult to create a campaign concept that addressed HIV infections in marriage from a gender sensitive and human rights perspective. We spent a year with the advertising agency McCann Erickson on concept development and the earlier ideas only reinforced patriarchy. It

Was challenging to finally create a campaign that addressed both gender-based

discrimination and condom use in marriage. And like all women's groups, getting financial resources together is always a big challenge. 

AWID: What are the main factors that contributed to the success of the campaign?

MD: The Breakthrough team worked really hard to get multiple media partners on board in seven languages. McCann Erickson's creative director is a well-recognized player in the media world and his pro bono participation made it a lot easier to get media time on the scale that we did.

AWID: What are your future plans?

MD: Like all our media products, Breakthrough creates curriculum around the issues addressed and engages in human rights education with the youth. community based groups, women's groups and other organizations. We have been conducting workshops and training with all the media products on women's rights, violence and sexuality since the campaign was launched in May 2005 and will continue to do so. The media campaign continues to be disseminated in smaller towns and rural communities through a partnership with UNIFEM. We are also working on our next media campaign which will address stigma and discrimination faced by HIV positive women in the family.

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4.-TRAINING ANNOUNCEMENT: WOMENLEAD IN PROMOTING PEACE AND STABILITY
 
WomenLead in Promoting Peace and Stability
Date: Oct. 23 – Nov. 17, 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Application Deadline: July 1, 2006
 
In countries emerging from conflict, there is a window of opportunity to advance women’s leadership and participation in the process of creating new policy frameworks, institutional and governing structures, and new democratic cultures. The meaningful participation of women in shaping peace processes and post conflict reconstruction improves stability, ensures responsiveness to issues affecting women and children, and fosters accountability.
 
CEDPA’s flagship training program WomenLead in Promoting Peace and Stability strengthens the technical, leadership and management capabilities of women working to transform post conflict societies.  The program examines successful approaches for strengthening women’s participation in political and decision-making processes and community and civil society participation in reconstructing and revitalizing essential institutions and services. The workshop includes site visits to related programs, NGOs and donors in Washington DC and New York.
 
WomenLead is designed for early and mid-career women from NGOs, faith-based organizations, advocacy groups, government, the private sector and political institutions who work in post-conflict reconstruction at community, sub-national or national levels. Fluency in English is required.
 
WomenLead alumni leave with increased self-confidence and heightened awareness of their own leadership styles and management skills; tools for improved program design, monitoring and evaluation, and community participation; effective approaches for reconstruction; strategies for organizational sustainability; linkages with donors, networks, partners and CEDPA staff and alumni; and effective communication, advocacy and fundraising skills.
 
For more details on how to apply for this WomenLead workshop, please go to CEDPA’s Web site.
 
Worldwide, CEDPA strengthens women’s leadership skills through global, regional and country-level training program. Our more than 5,000 alumni in 150 countries have gone on to become vice presidents, ministers and parliamentarians in their nations.
 
 
Leadership & Capacity Building
The Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA)
1133 21st Street NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
T 202-667-1142
F 202-332-4496
www.cedpa.org
 
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5.- CALL FOR ARTICLES (FEMNET NEWS MAY-AUGUST06)
Dear colleagues,

Greetings from FEMNET.

FEMNET encourages you to submit articles for the next issue of our newsletter - FEMNET News May - August 2006. The issue will focus on Gender and An Alternative World Economic Order. We encourage you to use this issue as a platform to showcase and share experiences on what your organization is doing in the area of gender and trade.  Articles in either English or French
are welcome and should be between 800-1,000 words.
Please send your articles to Christine Butegwa, Communications Officer, FEMNET, at communication@femnet.or.ke or admin@femnet.or.ke by July 01, 2006.

Kindly note that we will re-circulate this call in French at a later date.

warm regards,

Christine Butegwa
Programme Officer, Communications
African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET)
Réseau de Développement et de Communications des Femmes Africaines
P. O. Box 54562, 00200,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Tel: +254 20 3741301/20
Cell: +254 725 766932
Fax: +254 20 3742927
E-mail: admin@femnet.or.ke
Website: http://www.femnet.or.ke