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GEO/ICAE
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1. - Global Alliance for Development
2. – 34th Session of the UNESCO General Conference Paris, France
3.- Nordic Countries Top The World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index
4. - African Gender Award 2007
5. – Scholarships to UN Commission on the Status of Women 2008 1. - Global Alliance for Development
The event made part of the aims of spreading and sensitizing civil society on the objective 8 of the Millennium Goals and of keeping the impulse and looking for the implementation of concrete actions with a view to achieving the goals before the feeling of despair that came up at the midpoint (2007) that We won’t make it! in 2015. Another aim was to stimulate a stronger citizenship responsibility from developed countries in order that developing countries could meet their goals. What is particularly sought is a more effective aid, a sustainable debt reduction and more fair trade rules before 2015.
Representing ANUE was Mrs Marina Bru, director; Mr. Xavier Guerrero, assistant director; Angels Matero, Codirector, and Ariadna Quintero. Other participants: Andreu Felip, director of the Catalonian Agency of Cooperation for Development; Dr. José Antonio Alonso, director of the Complutense Institute of International Studies; Mrs Barathi Sadasivam, Political consultant of the UNDP’s Civil Society Division; Mrs Isabel Ortiz, Interregional consultant of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and Mr. Eduard Soler, President of the Catalonian Federation of NGOs for development.
In order to fulfil its mission, ANUE is interested in establishing contact with networks of women from the SOUTH of the world.
Please find attached the paper I presented.
Best regards, Fanny Gomez
THE CIVIL SOCIETY AT THE GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT
We can only get a better world as we are ready to invest our moral energies in its achievement, and as we are ready to struggle with those who, under whatever guise and for whatever excuse, prefer an inegalitarian, undemocratic world. (Wallerstein)[1] Introduction
On behalf of the International Council for Adult Education – ICAE – and the Women’s Popular Education Network – REPEM – I would like to thank ANUE for inviting me to participate in this World Development Day celebration event, presenting our reflections on development and the role of civil society in the World Association for Development, eighth of the Millennium Development Goals.
In order to place the role of civil society within the GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT it is necessary to briefly explore the concepts of ‘development’ and ‘civil society’. To talk about development in this case implies a critical look to the development model in force and a mention to new development paradigms characteristics, i.e., to ask oneself about the efficiency and effects of the development model that predominates and the kind of development we want to encourage and build. To talk about civil society implies a look over the evolution of its notion and practice, but mainly over its present moment, as an essential actor in many parts of the world.
1st part: What development are we talking about?
The feature of the development model in force is the predominance of a growing accumulation of capital which social effect is a deep gap between those who have and those who don’t and that paradoxically coexists with a legal system based on citizenship equality.
a) Questionings to the effects of this model: Economic growth that is not expressed in better life quality because it excludes the majority of the population from its profits, it doesn’t care for social welfare and it limits political and cultural development. It is focused on things and not on the people. It increases the production of the same goods and services which flood the market today, and “it combines great material and technological progress with an extraordinary polarization of the populations all over the world”.[2] b) It is a model in crisis because:
It increases inequality: while economy grows, technologies improve and processes of wealth concentration accelerate, poverty and extreme poverty increase in the world. Besides, it is not aimed to satisfy the basic needs of the population as a whole, but to produce export commodities for middle and high-income sectors’ consumption. It damages the environment because it exploits natural resources without caring for renewing them, it diminishes the crop area, the forest land and sea resources, and ecological imbalances grow with air and stream pollution, and pesticide and waste spill.
It reduces life quality, at least by three ways: 1 – Economic inequalities cause social resentment and violence, people’s distrust and isolation increase, citizenship discontent grows, there is a loss of credibility in democracy and crime rises. 2 – The growing interest for the accumulation of capital favours production strategies that contaminate soils, water and food affecting not only human life but all living creatures of the planet. 3 – The expansion of the commercialization process, typical of the system, to all life spheres, even the most private ones, damages social relations and bonds seriously affecting individual and collective mental health and basic social cohesion.
It has not led humanity to a safer world, with more hope and more comfortable to live in; on the contrary, this first half of century world tends to be more violent than the world of cold war where we come from. It has non desirable social, economic and political effects on human development:
SOCIAL because it weakens the social capital based on interpersonal confidence, interaction networks, cultural tolerance, sense of reciprocity; it retracts people towards the private field and hence insecurity, distrust and individualism gain ground; it produces a localized increase of violence that fosters the proliferation of weapons and war (a significant number of countries have nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, and we would not forget that war industry generates the biggest profits) and it increases South-North, East to West Europe migration, facilitated by economic globalization and pushed away by the absence of free movement globalization. Frontiers have to be open for goods but not for people.
ECONOMIC because it consumes world’s natural resources in a kind of waste festival that, by consuming its own possibilities every day, it expands its dynamics of destruction all over the world, and
POLITICAL because it builds different population groups’ interests as a mechanism of representation, it generates discriminations that segment society and its capacity to identify the origin of segregations and of becoming strong as civil society, exert pressure and legitimate its collective interests in the public debate; and it generates the contradiction between the need of migrating labour force to support the economies of countries having the greatest accumulation while it repudiates them and makes them live in the core of their democracies without human rights and political rights.
Wallerstein, regarding this development model that he calls "the capitalist world-system”, affirms that what we are living after the “fall of communisms” is not the last victory of capitalism (that lost precisely there its breakeven point), but its first real crisis, marked by four devastating long-term tendencies for those who look for the endless accumulation of capital.
1. The deruralization of the world. (Two hundred years ago, between 80 and 90 per cent of the population of the world was rural. Today we are beneath 50 per cent, and some regions of the world are beneath 20 per cent. What about this? Let’s remember how capitalism works: Capital gain is divided between those who own the capital and those who work, and there is a basic contradiction there: if work remuneration is low all over the world, the market is limited (purchasing power of workers is reduced), and if it is very high, benefits are limited. As time goes by, wherever workers are concentrated, trade unions’ power and haggling increase. Hence, benefits are reduced. The solution has been to keep a group of workers well paid to supply the market, and to increase the world labour force in politically weak sectors, ready to accept low salaries, which makes it possible to reduce production costs. These people have been gained from rural areas. The deruralization of the world threatens the essential process of capitalism, which is to maintain the level of profits).
2. The ecological crisis: A crucial element that maintains the level of profits is that capitalists do not pay the whole of the production costs but they outsource an important part of infrastructure costs and toxic waste cleaning costs. Hence, rivers pollution and their surroundings, air pollution, etc. are then paid not by the companies but by the population. The new speech of companies’ social responsibility is not enough to give an account of the dimension of these costs. Ecologists announce that the world faces a choice between an ecological disaster and the imposition of internalization of these costs that threaten the accumulation of capital and globalizes the ecological crisis.
3. The democratization of the world: the programme of concessions to the population with the “welfare state” that includes salaries for old people, health and education facilities initially… was given to European workers on the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Nowadays workers all over the world make demands that can only be met decreasing the accumulation of capital. And this is not happening; that is why we are living, especially in the South, a process of democracy without development, as democratization will never be of interest for capitalists.
4. The loss of state power: for four hundred years, the states have increased their power because they ensured the order and the monopolies, the only way to accumulate capital for sure. Currently, the states have plenty of demands due to ecological crisis and democratization, and they are entering a fiscal crisis that makes them reduce their expenses and play their role less well, so they get into a vicious circle as if the state is less efficient, the rebellion against taxes increases. The capitalist world system cannot work properly without strong states. However, the democratization of the world demands equal rights, reasonable incomes (a job and then an allowance) and access to education and medical care. People will insist not only on having these three things but on periodically increasing the minimum acceptable of each one.
Another development is possible.
The dissatisfaction produced by the neoliberal model or “capitalist world system” encourages the search for a new paradigm of development that interrelates the macroeconomic management with the quality of life of the population, which promotes an environmental sustainability, which questions the exclusions and articulates gender equity with social equity. Equity in general, gender equity in particular and redistribution are the axes of the new paradigms.
Some of them are:
a) The UNDP human development approach that
b) The development model on a human scale (Max Neef and others)
Which civil society are we talking about today? We no longer talk of Lechner’s notion[5], that it was always supported by a certain drawing power, by a moving notion that resumes the effort of laying the foundations of power on secular and earthly matters, facing and eroding the so called divine right”, that was incorporated by Gramschi in western Marxism and that reappeared in intellectual and popular opposition to Eastern Europe countries’ regimes and on the opposition to authoritarian military dictatorships in South American countries. We recently said that civil society organizations are shown as an alternative form of working in politics that are shaped as complaints from groups (ethnic, religious, sexual, linguistic, of migrants, afrodescendant or indigenous) that see themselves as an alternative to citizenship and that respond to a post-modern account that praises diversity, cultural individualism, multiplicity of languages, forms of expression and life projects, and axiological relativism, where pluralism does not find the favourable conditions for its development. Thus, the demands of recognition of their identities and particularities coexist with demands of different nature from groups formed by exclusions and segregations of the system, a homogenizing globalization and democracies incapable of granting legitimacy to their positions. In a gender perspective, women’s organizations claim for a redistribution of the access to resources, opportunities and economic and political justice, given that for gender reasons, economic, cultural and political subordination and recognition[6] of our identity and our contribution to the economy from our role in the world of reproduction, the working force and society in general has been paradigmatic. In these claims, women’s organizations have strengthen as social groups that articulate our demands between the global and the local level, working in networks and articulated to wide social movements. With reference to this new reality, the World Bank uses the term “civil society” to refer to a “wide array of non-governmental and not-for-profit organizations that have a presence in public life, expressing the interests and values of their members or others, based on ethical, cultural, political, scientific, religious or philanthropic considerations. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) therefore refer to a wide of array of organizations: community groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), labour unions, indigenous groups, charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations, and foundations.” 2nd part: Civil society’s role in the Global Development Alliance The questionings to the “capitalist world system” are reasserted by Kofi Annan when, at the call for the International conference on Financing for Development, he states: “The world has seen faster human and economic development during the past half century than during any previous comparable period in history. Almost everywhere, literacy rates are up, infant mortality is down, and people are living longer lives. But some very real challenges remain. Over a fifth of the world’s population still lives in abject poverty (under one dollar a day), and about half lives below the barely more generous standard of two dollars a day, One quarter of the population of developing countries are still illiterate. The 2.5 billion people who live in the world’s low-income countries still have an infant mortality rate of over 100 for every 1,000 live births, compared with just 6 per 1,000 among the 900 million people in the high-income countries. Illiteracy still averages 40 per cent in low-income countries. Population growth, although slowing, remains high. Sadly, increasing polarization between the haves and have-nots has become a feature of our world. Reversing this shameful trend is the pre-eminent moral and humanitarian challenge of our age. For people in the rich world, elementary self-interest is also at stake. In the global village, someone else’s poverty very soon becomes one’s own problem: of lack of markets for one’s products, illegal immigration, pollution, contagious disease, insecurity, fanaticism, terrorism.”.[7] Acknowledging this reality, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Millennium Declaration that commits governments to free the world from extreme poverty, fixing international development goals for 2015[8], that are specified in 18 global goals combined with national goals, with 48 quantifiable indicators with terms to supervise the progresses attained which consolidate many of the most important commitments undertaken separately at the summits and conferences of the United Nations in the 90s. However, it is said that they are a reasonable agenda for Africa, but not for the rest of the regions, minimalist as it reduced the conquest of civil society in previous international summits, which is a draw-back on development for some regions of the world (Latin America and South-West of Asia). For this it has been criticized by ONGs and similar organizations, but encouraged by the UN as attainable indicators. But at the midpoint of the achievement of the MDGs, (2007) the discussion has been developed mainly on the direction money and cooperation have taken, more than on the strategies and vision that guided them: the reduction of poverty and its relation with growth and macroeconomics, because the burden of the external debt in highly indebted countries is still disappointing, because countries do not make enough social expenditure and fiscal reforms in favour of poor people; because trade liberalization and privatizations have mainly affected the poorest people, including women, because financial liberalization has reduced jobs, salaries and even growth, and finally, the promises of help have failed. Specifically, in the goals of the Global Development Alliance[9], the progress chart by 2007, based on analyses of tendencies between 1990s and 2005, only shows results on the goals related to decent jobs for young people (the goal for 2015 is not expected to be attained in Africa, South Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States of Europe and Asia) and impulse and democratization of ICTs.
NEW CHALLENGES FOR CIVIL SOCIETY.
In this scene of dissatisfaction before the development model and the leadership the United Nations are exerting for the achievement of MDGs, the pending task of civil societies is to keep the impulse and to express those goals in concrete actions in order to provide resources that produce tangible results for the poor of the world. In developed countries it will be necessary to persuade the citizenship on the whole that development and reduction of poverty must be concerns inherent to national policies and that the solution of these problems will demand resources and structural changes. In developing countries the civil society has been a key actor
· Having an incidence in the formulation of public policies at global, regional and local level. In the United Nations setting it is worth stressing the participation at the World Conference on Financing for Development FDF which aim expressed at the Final Statement was to work together to try that the global systems of finance and trade fully support economic growth and social justice for all the people in the world, in order to achieve a fair globalization that includes everyone, recognizing that the main moral and humanitarian problem of our time is to invert polarization between privileged and underprivileged people . · Mobilizing the public opinion with supporting campaigns to matters such as reduction of poverty, banning of the use of landmines, debt release, education for all and environmental protection, subjects that have mobilized thousands of people all over the world. · Participating in the World Social Forum, a recent demonstration of the vitality of the international civil society that debates and suggests more equitable and sustainable alternatives to present models of economic globalization.
But within the framework of the reform of the United Nations, the action of civil society is determined by these four pillars: A Programme in common, a budgetary framework, a leadership and a National Coordination 1: A programme in common that responds to national priorities. MNUAD identifies “Four National Priorities” that have to be developed in order to attain the Millennium Goals: • To achieve a sustainable economic growth. • To reduce poverty and eradicate extreme poverty. • To reduce inequality (economic, social, territorial, intergenerational, of gender, ethnic and others) from its roots and in terms of an access to social services with better quality. • To promote the strengthening of human rights and to increase democracy quality through civil, political and social citizenship.[10] The challenge to the civil society is to prevent that the possible direction of the achievement of goals on the programmatic areas would be the economic growth seen as a response to the problems of poverty, discrimination, eradication of HIV/AIDS, inequality and exclusion more than the search for a necessary structural transformation with a view to economic and social equity. In this sense, it is necessary to identify strategies and to find mechanisms of organization and coordination that make them viable. While we cannot ignore that national states of countries from the south suffer from the pressures of the stronger interests of monopoly capitals (after all, the essential task of national states is to create the conditions for the development of the capital), the civil society has the task of finding the strategies and mechanisms to make that the achievement of the goals mean structural transformations in that figure of political administration that we call nation-state and that in the countries of the south never attained internal coherence. Maybe this is the cause of all its limitations and problems, but maybe it is also the condition of possibility of its faster transformation.
2. A budgetary framework In this second pillar, the challenge for the civil society is that the tendency of concentration and canalization of resources via UN and national governments requires a good agreement and the search for connections and intersections between programmatic areas and civil society's initiatives not specified in the millennium goals, for instance, to attack the feminisation of poverty, illiteracy among Adults, deruralization of the countryside, the increase of infectious diseases, etc.
One way of making interconnections and complementarities visible between MDGs and development priorities not expressed in them can come from education (a task that we perform from ICAE and REPEM)
At the very Centre of all these contradictions the civil society must be capable of working knowing that in moments of stability the possibility to predict what can happen and where can we reach increases, but in moments of instability, like the time we live, predictability diminishes and the range of possibilities increases and then, the responsibility of civil society for the possible future is greater, as it depends on its ability of political choice of possibilities and on its ability and decision to work on the chosen direction.
In Latin America, the civil society should be capable in next years to make a double work: while trying to meet the goals of GDA, spot the structural factors that generate the basic inequality and find any minimum mechanism to start the transformation.
Finally, the civil society has a significant role in the Global Development Alliance and it can strengthen its role through action strategies such as:
Fanny Gómez REPEM-ICAE
2. – 34th Session of the UNESCO General Conference Paris, France
Major Programme I - Education October 22-24, 2007 Item 3.1
INTERVENTION OF CANADA Dr. Raymond Théberge
Director
General and Spokesperson for Education Canadian Delegation Document: Draft Medium-Term Strategy for 2008-2013 (34 C/4)
Mister
President, ministers, distinguished delegates, Thank you once again for the opportunity for Canada to contribute to the development of the UNESCO’s Medium-term Strategy, the blueprint for UNESCO’s work over the next five years.
First of all, let me start by saying that Canada supports the conception of the Draft Medium-Term Strategy as a rolling strategy and the intersectoral framework it provides.
More specifically, Canada supports the enhanced attention to gender equality in the revised Medium-Term Strategy and in particular the introduction of a two-pronged approach to pursue women’s empowerment and gender mainstreaming in both Member States and the organization. Canada also supports UNESCO’s commitment to the development of an action plan to facilitate planning for and monitoring of results against specific gender-relevant indicators.
In addition, in describing the critical goal of gender equality, Canada recommends that UNESCO highlight the important role of women and their positive contributions, as well as the challenges to be addressed. It is recommended that UNESCO recognize the key role of women in the peace and sustainable development movement, in agriculture and farming, and in providing effective informal learning for children within family settings.
As the timelines for measuring the progress achieved in fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approach, Canada supports specific reference to the MDG commitment to the elimination of gender disparity at all levels of education by no later than 2015 as a core component of the EFA agenda. Indeed, gender equality and the education of women are critical to prevent the intergenerational transmission of poverty and to ensure the fulfilment of all the MDGs.
Canada strongly supports the inclusion of linguistic diversity and indigenous knowledge. Language is a key factor in improving quality learning outcomes and in strengthening cultural and linguistic identity while embracing diversity.
We support the greater emphasis placed on higher education and teacher education Higher education is important for all the overarching priorities because of its role in conducting research, forming leaders and teachers, sharing knowledge and good practices, and providing an opportunity for dialogue.
Canada supports the overarching objective of “Attaining quality education for all and lifelong education.” It is critical that momentum continue unabated toward achieving the EFA goals. We support a focus on EDUCAIDS, the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment, and the Teacher Training Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa as key means to achieve these goals. It is recommended that UNESCO ensure a broad concept of access to education for all: one that includes a focus on education for girls and women, people with disabilities, those affected with HIV/AIDS, and those in post-conflict zones and fragile states. The quality of education must remain a central priority, keeping in mind cultural and historical contexts.
We support the addition of technical and vocational education and the emphasis on HIV and AIDS education. In addition, given the devastating affect that HIV/AIDS had on educational systems in many countries, it is recommended that UNESCO support the implementation of measures that ensure that the education system is protected from the impact of HIV and AIDS, including human resource policies for teacher support and measures to ensure a stable labour force.
Canada approves the inclusion of lifelong education as one of UNESCO’s basic tenets and its acknowledgement as an important facet of sustainable development for all. We also welcome the commitment to a strong focus on literacy and to supporting ministries/departments and others in the integration of literacy goals in national policies and plans and actions. It is particularly appropriate to give priority to adult literacy and lifelong learning given the upcoming International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI) in 2009 and the UN Literacy Decade (2003-2012).
Finally, Canada approves the inclusion of education for peace, which is central to the mission of UNESCO and arts education as a means to promote creative and critical thinking. We also support the emphasis on Education for Sustainable Development and its inclusion in Strategic Programme Objective 2. We note UNESCO’s continuing coordination and collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on education for sustainable development, especially in sharing data-collection instruments for reporting. Following the recent UNECE conference “Environment for Europe” that took place in Belgrade, where Canadian delegation took an active participation, we encourage strengthening cooperation between the two agencies to foster a more effective implementation of commitments adopted within the framework of Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD).
Thank you, Mister President.
3.- Nordic Countries Top The World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index
http://www.weforum.org/en/media/Latest%20Press%20Releases/Global_Gender_Gap_2007
Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday 8 November – Four Nordic countries, Sweden (1), Norway (2), Finland (3) and Iceland (4) once again top the latest Gender Gap Index released today by the World Economic Forum. All countries in the top 20 made progress relative to their scores last year – some more so than others. Latvia (13) and Lithuania (14) made the biggest advances among the top 20, gaining six and seven places respectively, driven by smaller gender gaps in labour force participation and wages. The performance of the United States (31) was mixed over the last year – its scores on political empowerment improved but this was offset by a bigger gap on economic participation – causing the United States to lose 6 places relative to its rank in 2006. Switzerland (40) loses 12 places relative to its position in 2006. The change was the result of a correction made by the UNDP in its calculation of estimated earned income for women and men – the ratio between women’s and men’s incomes is now larger than previously reported (0.61 in 2007 vs 0.9 in 2006). Switzerland's scores on all other variables remain largely static. France (51) remains one of the few countries holding the number one ranking on both education and health and has made considerable progress relative to its 70th position in the 2006 ranking. This significant increase is due to an improvement in the ratio between women’s and men’s labour force participation rates as well as the availability of new data on women in skilled employment. Calculations based on the new data show that the proportion of women among "professional and technical workers" as well as the proportion of women among "legislators, senior officials and managers" increased. In the bottom half of the rankings, countries such as Tunisia (102), Turkey (121) and Morocco (122) not only fall further in the relative rankings but also show a drop in scores relative to their own performance last year. On the other hand, Korea (97), the United Arab Emirates (105) and Saudi Arabia (124) show encouraging improvements in their 2007 scores as compared to their 2006 scores.
4. - African Gender Award 2007
Dear Member, Friend and Partner,
On behalf of Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), its Pan African Centre for Gender, Peace and Development (PAC), please accept our warm greetings.
We would like to kindly inform you the dates of the 2nd Edition of the African Gender Forum and Award 2007 on the 9th-12th December 2007 in Dakar, Senegal.
These dates have been recently proposed by both President Wade of Senegal, host of the event, and President Kagame of Rwanda, 2007 Award Laureat, who have met, last week in Kigali on the margins of the ITU Summit.
Building on the positive feedback of the first Edition on May 2005, which was a concertation with Arab women in partnership with the Arab Women’s International Forum, the African Gender Forum 2007 will this year feature a dialogue with the African Diaspora on gender and migration, economic, social, and political issues.
The African Gender Award 2007, presented to HE President Kagame of Rwanda, represents a time of celebration that recognizes and rewards African Leaders, who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in gender mainstreaming and women's advancement as stated in the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equita in Africa.
Please also note the dates include FAS Side Events, such as the Executive Board meeting, the Selection Committee of the Award meeting and the PanAfrican Center Coordination Committee meeting.
Please find attached the Aide-Memoire of the AGFA 07 and we will confirm the logistics details as soon as they are finalized.
We thank you for your continuous support and look forward to welcoming you soon.
Best regards,
Coumba
Fall (Mrs)
Femmes Africa Solidarité
Second African Gender Forum and Award Draft Aide-Mémoire December 2007 Dakar, Senegal, In the perspective of creating a better future for women of the African continent, Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) and its PanAfrican Centre for Gender, Peace and Development, in conjunction with its partners, is holding the second edition of the African Gender Forum and Award in Dakar, Senegal.
Introduction Building on the positive feedback of the first Edition on May 2005, which was a concertation with Arab women in partnership with the Arab Women’s International Forum, the African Gender Forum 2007 will feature a dialogue between the African women on one side and the African Diaspora1 and the African descendants on the other side. The discussions will concentrate on the relationship between women and migration, and its socio-economic and political implications with a focus on migration’s positive contributions to development. The vision behind the African Gender Forum is to contribute to building a space for exchange and dialogue, and to harmonize, strategize and emphasize the action of women's networks in the African continent. The Forum aims at bringing together African women and women from other continents in order to share experiences and lessons on important current issues from a multi-dimensional perspective which integrates gender, economic, social, and political discussions. The Forum allows African women movements to make their own assessment of their situation and to propose strategies and measures for maximizing the effective implementation of women's instruments including the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA). Eminent women join together to share experiences, build bridges and strengthen concerted actionn between actors in public and economic spheres, with the aim of instilling a culture of solidarity at the continental level. This year, the 2nd edition of the Forum will seek to stimulate comparison, debate and discussion on the risks and opportunities arising from migration in order to identify ways for Africa to benefit from its trained and skilled migrants as well as from its African descendants living abroad who may often feel the urge to contribute to the development of their country of origin. 1 The term “Diaspora” will be understood as the populations of black people living outside of Africa. Among them, we will call the Africans dispersed throughout the world during the Trans-Atlantic enslavement period the “African Descendants” while the term “migrants” will refer to the more recent dispersal which has been caused by wars, genocides, human rights violations, disease, famine, or lack of economic opportunities in Africa.
The African Gender Award, on the other hand, represents a time of celebration that recognizes and rewards African Leaders or Government representatives, who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in gender mainstreaming and women's advancement as stated in the SDGEA adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Third Ordinary Session of the African Union in Addis Ababa in July 2004. It also recognizes other stakeholders from the private sector and the civil society who are designated from the Award recipient country. The selection of the recipient is guided by specific criteria and indicators designed to monitor the implementation of the SDGEA. The first edition of the African Gender Award was awarded to President Wade of Senegal and President Mbeki of South Africa in celebration of their work towards gender equality and gender mainstreaming in the African Union (AU). On 27 January 2007 in Addis Ababa, on the margins of the 8th African Union Summit, the Selection Committee of the African Gender Award, chaired by Hon. Ambassador Gertrude Mongella, President of the Pan-African Parliament, elected President Paul Kagame to receive the 2007 African Gender Award. Since the 1994 genocide, Rwanda has been distinguished for its integration of women in the reconstruction process, the fight against gender-based violence, the protection of the rights of women and girls, the promotion of women’s rights to economic development and to own property, as well as the rights of women and girls to equal education, particularly in rural zones. Rwanda is the only country in the world that can boast 48% of women members of the national Parliament, as well as total gender parity in the attribution of teaching positions in higher education and in the country’s judicial system. The African Gender Award 2007, presented during a Gala Dinner chaired by President Wade, will celebrate the exceptional achievements of President Paul Kagame who integrates women into Rwanda’s policy making institutions, demonstrated by a series of political and legislative reforms, which have made Rwanda an exemplary country, not only for the African Continent, but for the entire world. At the ceremony, two other recognitions will also be awarded to the Private Sector and the Civil Society. Pro-Femmes/Twese Hamwe will receive the distinction for the Civil Society and the Banque Populaire pour la Promotion de la Femme the one for the Private Sector. These laureates will be rewarded for their commitment in women’s advancement. Background Following a string of milestones, African women are now facing an incredible opportunity to effect positive change on their continent. Following the “Durban Declaration on Mainstreaming Gender and Women’s Effective Participation in the African Union” signed in June 2002 by the African Civil Society Organisations, a gender parity policy was unanimously adopted in the AU Commission thanks to the joint efforts of President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and President Thabo Mwulyelwa Mbeki of South Africa. This resulted in the election of five female Commissioners out of ten and in the adoption of the “Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa” by the African Union in July 2003. A year later, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under the leadership of African Union Chairperson, His Excellency Alpha Oumar Konaré, the relentless efforts of women resulted in the African Heads of State adopting the “Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa”. The African Heads of States had proposed to monitor themselves on gender mainstreaming. In 2005 in Dakar, Senegal, to build upon the above initial hard-won advances, the PanAfrican Centre for Gender, Peace and Development, in conjunction with its partners, has initiated the African Gender Forum and Award as a way to encourage accountability on the parity decision and on the “Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa”. The African Gender Award highlights and recognises those who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in furthering gender mainstreaming in the economic and political spheres, as well as addressing social and cultural barriers that impede the involvement of women. Context The 2005 edition hosted by the PanAfrican Centre for Gender, Peace and Development was an exchange with Arab women on the stakes of globalization. It showed that economic empowerment and balanced leadership that include women are necessary for a lasting peace. The 2007 edition, based on the insights, experiences and contacts gained during the first forum, is inviting the African Diaspora, the African Descendants living abroad and other stakeholders to discuss i) the relationships between gender and migration, ii) their political, social and economic implications and iii) propose some solutions to maximise the positive impact of regional and international migration and enhance the benefits of return migration for development. Indeed, regional and international migration plays a critical role in the continent's struggle to develop and improve welfare, peace and stability. Migration between African countries as well as migration of African citizens to other continents represents a highly multifaceted issue of the 21st Century. Of the 185 million migrants in the world, more than 50 million are estimated to be Africans. Women are highly affected by the migration process. The most vulnerable group victimized as passive and active part of the migration process are women and children. Furthermore, African women pay a heavy tribute in relation to this phenomenon. On one hand, women are left behind with their children, when young fathers try to build a new existence and future in another country. On the other hand women constitute a growing part of migrants in Africa as well as in other continents. Female migrants increasingly include women who are no longer just following their husbands or fathers, but migrate independently. Brain drain, as the direct consequence of migration, is one of the greatest obstacles to Africa's development. The African Diaspora represents such an important population that during the cycle of conferences called “Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and The Diaspora" (CIAD) held in Dakar, Senegal in 2004 on the request of President Wade and in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, in 2006 (CIAD II), African leaders, were requested in the Declaration which was adopted, to consider the Diaspora as the "6th region" of the continent to supplement the five African traditional regions: North, South, East, West and Central. Aim The aim of this Forum, the second of a series to be organised every two years, is to ensure that there is actionable discussion between the various stakeholders in African and other communities on the relations between women and migration in order to identify best practices and solutions to maximize the positive impact of migrations on Africa’s development and develop strategies to better help the continent to benefit from its skilled Diaspora and from the African descendants. This second edition of the Forum will bring together African women, members of the African Diaspora and African descendants, African and European Governments, African Ministries for Women’s Affairs, International Organisations, Civil Society’s Organisations, as well as members of the Private Sector. Objectives The Forum and Award will try to bring solutions by Better understanding the changing trends and the feminization of migration Better understanding the working and living conditions of women migrants, their status and how they are integrated in the host country, Examining migration and gender issues in relation to the achievements of the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA), the MDGs, the Beijing Platform, Exploring the particular challenges faced by women migrants, Exploring the special contributions of women as actors for change and development, Considering the importance of Diasporas with a focus on making better use of their experience for the development of the Continent, Enhancing the benefits of return migration for the development of the homeland, Creating a platform for dialogue to promote cooperation between African women, African members of the Diaspora and African descendants so as to identify empowerment strategies. Venue and Dates The second edition of the African Gender Forum and Award (AGFA), hosted by the PanAfrican Center for Gender, Peace and Development will be organized in Dakar, Senegal in December 2007. The Award ceremony will be the culmination of the 2-day African Gender Forum and will be presented on the evening of the second day. Programme Forum The Second Africa Gender Forum will ensure a dialogue between African Women on one side and the African Diaspora and the African Descendants along with various stakeholders in Africa on the other side on the following issues: gender, migration and their economic, social and political implications. The Forum is built on the insights, experiences and contacts gained during the first edition of 2005 while the workshops, lectures and information sessions will be based on analysis and literature related to the actual topic. The Forum will allow high level participants to explore questions around the African Diaspora and African descendants, their training, their current activities, the status of women in host countries, and the opportunities they may have to contribute to the development of their continent of origin. The five identified themes will be discussed in four plenary sessions per day, during which panels will take the floor to present their paper in 15 minutes. In addition, to cover all the issues raised, we will organize parallel workshops which would take place during the two days. After an introduction on the issue of Gender and Migration, the tentative programme will focus on women’s empowerment through the added-value the Diaspora women can bring to the continent and will be articulated around the five following issues: PROGRAMME Theme 1: - Women and migration, (assessment of the situation) - Migration and changing gender roles: women as economic providers/heads of household Theme 2: - The benefits of migration: what added-value for the women of Africa? - The economic dimensions of migration Theme 3: - Building bridges between the continents: opportunities and good practices - Contributions of the African Diaspora and success stories Theme 4: - Roles and responsibilities of the different actors (Western Union, African governments…) - African Governments and Migration Theme 5: - Perspectives, challenges and recommendations. (For the detailed programme, please see Annex 1) The Forum agenda will include networking breakfasts, lunches with speakers, dinners with discussions, workshops, and plenary sessions: • Networking breakfasts will be an opportunity for informal discussions; • Speaker lunches and dinners will enable distinguished guests to share their experiences with other participants; • Workshops will allow for interactive problem solving within small groups; • Plenary sessions will highlight a range of views on key issues. Side Events On the margins of the Forum, FAS will organize partnership and networking activities. FAS’ Executive Board meeting, the African Gender Award Selection Committee meeting and the PanAfrican Centre for Peace, Gender and Development Coordinating Committee meeting will be held in parallel with other events including a dialogue between the Rwandese and the Senegalese Private Sector, as well as a field visit to the Island of Gorée. Private Sector Event Since one of the aims of the forum's side event is to contribute to the development of a vibrant African Private Sector and to promote African entrepreneurship, the Forum will facilitate informal bilateral events in order to arrange for the Rwandese, the Senegalese and other African entrepreneurs to network and share experience and best practices. The aim will be to devise strategies, and discuss partnerships, which would allow entrepreneurs to access the global market. In doing so, the Private Sector will be presented opportunities to rely on programmes such as the programmes of the African Union, the AGOA, the Nepad, UNDP, etc. Members of the Private Sector such as la Rwanda Private Sector Federation, the “Patronat du Sénégal”, the “Confédération Nationale des Entreprises du Sénégal”, the African Chambers of Commerce, UBS Philanthropy Services and the World Economic Forum, will be invited. The private sector event will be hosted by the Prime Minister of Senegal. The Award Ceremony The Award Ceremony will celebrate the Laureate's country: Rwanda and its Head of State, President Paul Kagame. The ceremony is hosted by President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal; and we anticipate the participation of President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, who was, with President Wade the 2005 African Gender Award Laureate. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia is also invited to honour the event with her presence as the first elected woman President in Africa. The ceremony will therefore be attended by Rwandese Government officials, women's groups and members of the private sector. At the ceremony, two other recognitions will also be awarded to the private sector and the civil society. Pro-Femmes/Twese Hamwe will receive the distinction for the Civil Society and the Banque Populaire pour la Promotion de la Femme the one for the Private Sector. These laureates, who will be rewarded for their commitment in women’s advancement, have been selected by two Rwandese Committees composed of members who belong to their respective sectors. African Gender Forum participants are expected to attend the Award ceremony along with the Laureate, President Paul Kagame, its invitees, the two Recognition recipients, the Senegalese and South African authorities and their invitees, and FAS worldwide members and partners. About 300 guests are expected to celebrate the event. Media and Communication In order to promote effectively the advent of the African Gender Forum and Award, a media strategy has been developed with the support of Ms. Janet Narh, Media Broadcaster and Producer, based in the UK. The local, regional and international media have also been approached. The preparation of the African Gender Forum and Award has been closely followed by international media including Jeune Afrique l’Intelligent, RFI, New African and African Business. Nandi, the name of the Award trophy, has inspired a film produced with the contribution of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA). This film, providing a briefing about the background and principle of the African Gender Award, will also be part of the media strategy as well as a film about Rwanda and its leader, President Kagame, Laureate of the Award. Moreover, two short films describing the activities and the achievements of the two Recognition Recipients of the Private sector and the Civil Society, the Banque Populaire pour la Promotion de la Femme and Pro- Femmes/Twese Hamwe will be shown. This two-day event will be covered by a press conference prior to the event, a press breakfast, interviews, publications, different films and reports. The 2005 edition was covered by BBC, RFI, TV5 SABC and Panapress among others. Partners In 2005, support for the organisation of the two joint events included the Government of Senegal, the Government of South Africa, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and the African Union Commission. Most are expected to renew their support in 2007. In addition, a project proposal of the Forum 2007 has been submitted to the Government of Spain, who is funding the project in the amount of 70,000 EUR through the Spain/NEPAD Fund. Italy, and Portugal, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the African Union and the Nepad, the European Union (UE), the “Organisation internationale de la Francophonie”, UNFPA, the African Development Bank (ADB) and the African Diaspora networks have also been submitted a Funding Proposal. Moreover, the concept of the Award is being promoted in the private sector including International Companies, Rwandese, Senegalese and South African private sector. Moreover, the programme of the event is continuously supported by the Rwandese Government and its Leader, His Excellency Paul Kagame. Expected Results It is expected that the Forum will result in: Inspiring a durable commitment to mainstreaming and accountability on gender issues. Sharing experiences and learning lessons from the dialogue between African Diaspora and African women for the benefit of the continent. Strengthening concerted action between actors in public and economic spheres. Instilling a culture of solidarity at the continental level. It is expected that the Award will result in: Reinforcing the commitments of the African Leaders on the implementation of the SDGEA. Implementing and developing more and more engendered programmes, projects, policies and initiatives from the African Governments, Civil society and the Private sector. Beneficiaries African Women Movement African Women Leaders African Diaspora Government of Rwanda Government of Senegal Civil Society Organisations African Private Sector AU and its Organs Regional Institutions (ECA, Nepad, etc.) International Community Participants The first edition of the African Gender Forum was a great opportunity and space for networking and building partnerships between actors. 116 delegates from 23 countries and four continents attended the event. The Delegates of the Forum are expected to take part in the Award Ceremony along with the Laureate, the two Recognition recipients and their invitees, the Senegalese authorities and invitees, the two Ministers for Women Affairs of Rwanda and Senegal, FAS worldwide members and partners. About 300 participants are expected to attend this festive ceremony. Who can participate? Policy makers Civil Society Organisations Representatives of International and Non-governmental organisations Representatives of African Diasporas Organisations Women Organisations Representatives of the Private Sector Journalists Academics, Researchers and Students Interested Individuals ------------------ ANNEX 1: Programme of the Forum Introduction - Introduction to the gender, women and migration issue - Statistics - Risks and opportunity cost relating to migration for the African continent Theme 1: - Women and Migration, (assessment of the situation) - Migration and changing gender roles: women as economic providers/heads of household Theme 2: - The benefits of migration: what added-value for the women of Africa? - The economic dimensions of migration o How are African emigrants contributing to the Continent’s development o The issue of remittances: gendered patterns of financial flows to the home country o Brain drain, brain gain and brain circulation Theme 3: - Building bridges between the continents: opportunities and good practices - Contributions of the African Diaspora and success stories o Identity politics and returning to the motherland: Some African American women’s experiences o African women migrant entrepreneurship in the Diaspora o What are the links between African migrants and African American women and what are the perspectives for cooperation between women of the Continent and the Diaspora o Women emigrant and social networks in the host country Theme 4: - Roles and responsibilities of the different actors (Western Union, African governments…) - African Governments and Migration o What are governments' keys concerns and positions on emigration? o Curbing emigration: What steps can Africa take to better train and retain its human resources? o How can government ensure that women benefit from the economic returns of emigration? Theme 5: - Perspectives, challenges and recommendations.
ANNEX 2: Invited Guests of Honour and Special Guests The following Guests are expected to attend the 2007 African Gender Forum and Award Ceremony: - H.E. President Paul Kagame, Head of State of Rwanda - H.E. President Abdoulaye Wade, Head of State of Senegal - H.E. President Thabo Mbeki, Head of State of South Africa - H.E. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Head of State of Liberia - H.E. Ms. Isatu Njie Saidy, Vice-President of Republic of Gambia - H.E. Mr. Cheikh Hadjibou Soumare, Prime Minister of the Republic of Senegal - H.E. Mrs. Vivian Wade, First Lady of Republic of Senegal - H.E. Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, First Lady of Arab Republic of Egypt - H.E. Mr. Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Senegal - H.E. Ms. Awa Ndiaye, Minister of Women, Family and Social Development, Senegal - H.E. Mrs. Alcinda Abreu, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mozambique, President of the African Union Women’s Committee - Hon. Ms.Valerie Nyirahabineza, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office in Charge of Gender and Family Promotion, Republic of Rwanda - H.E. Mrs. Patrizia Sentinelli, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of Development cooperation, Italy - H.E. Mrs. Gisèle Mandaila, Secrétaire d’Etat aux Famille et aux Personnes Handicapées, Belgium - H.E. Ms. Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega, Vice-President of the Government of Spain - H.E. Ms. Leire Pajin, Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Government of Spain - H.E. Prof. Joao Cravinho, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Portugal - H.E. Prof. Alpha Omar Konaré, Chairperson, African Union Commission - H.E. Cherie Booth, QC, United Kingdom - Dr. Nagia Mohammed Assayed, Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology, African Union Commission - Mrs. Julia Jolly Joiner, Commissioner for Political Affairs, African Union Commission - Mrs. Elisabeth Tankeu, Commissioner for Trade and Industry, African Union Commission - Ms. Rosebud Kurwijila, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, African Union Commission - Adv. Bience P. Gawanas, Commissioner for Social Affairs, African Union Commission - Prof. Firmino Mucavele, Executive Head, NEPAD Secretariat - Mrs. Litha Musyimi-Ogana, Advisor Gender, Parliamentary Affairs & Civil Society Organisations (CSO) NEPAD Secretariat - Mr. Donald Kaberuka, President, African Development Bank - Mr. Gilbert Houngbo, UN Assistant Secretary-General, and Director of UNDP's Regional Bureau for Africa - Mr. Ibrahima Fall, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for the Great Lakes Region - Hon. Sadako Ogata, President, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan - H.E. Ms. Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize from Kenya - Hon. Judith Kanakuze, MP, President of Rwanda Women’s Parliamentary Forum - Mrs. Aloisea Inyumba, Senator, Parliament of the Republic of Rwanda - Ms. Yetunde Teriba, Acting Director, Women Gender and Development Directorate, AU Commission - Dr. Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, Mayor Kigali City - H.E. Ms. Venetia Sebudandi, Ambassador, Permanent Representative Embassy and Permanent Mission to the Republic of Rwanda in Switzerland - Prof. Firmino Mucavele, Executive Head, NEPAD Secretariat - Ms. Valentine Rugwabiza, Deputy Director General World Trade Organization (WTO) - Ms. Ndioro Ndiaye, Deputy Director General, International Organization for Migration (IOM) - Pr. Eva-Marie Coll-Seck, Executive Secretary, Roll Back Malaria Partnership, WHO - Ms. Fama Hane Ba, Director, Africa Division, UNFPA - Ms. Asna Ndiaye, Regional Coordinator, Regional Gender Programme, UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa - Dr. Celia de Anca, Director, Center for Diversity in Global Management, Instituto de Empresa, Spain - Mr. Max Oliva, Associate Director, Social Impact Management, Instituto de Empresa, Spain - Ms. Haifa Al Kaylani, Chairperson, Arab International Women’s Forum - Dr. Aleya Hammad, Secretary General, Women Defending Peace, Co-Founder Suzanne Mubarak Women’s International Peace Movement - Ms. Suzan Collin Marks, Executive Vice-President, Search for Common Ground - Litha Musyimi-Ogana, Advisor Gender, Parliamentary Affairs & Civil Society Organisations, Nepad Secretariat - Dr. Mary King, Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Peace - Mr. Maximilian Martin, Wealth Management Director UBS Philanthropy Services - Mr. Haiko Alfeld, Director, Africa World Economic Forum - Ms. Bola Olabisi, Founder and CEO Global Women Inventors Innovators Networks - Ms. Thokozile Ruzvidzo, Officer in Charge of African Centre for Gender and Social Development, UNECA - Ms. Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Singer, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Malaria Members of FAS Executive Board - Mrs. Marie-Louise Baricako (Burundi), Consultant; former Head of Department at the University of Burundi - Mrs. Julienne Ondziel (Congo), Practicing Lawyer, Former Rapporteur on Women’s Rights - Mrs. Thandi Orleyn (South Africa), Former National Director of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA); Director, Routledge-Modise Attorneys - Mrs. Yasmine Yusu-Sheriff (Sierra Leone), Secretary General of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission - Mrs. Esi Sutherland-Addy (Ghana), Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana - Ms. Thelma Awori (Liberia) Former Head of the Africa Bureau of the United Nations Development Programme - Me Soyata Maiga (Mali) Vice-President of the Malian Association of Lawyers - Mrs. Bineta Diop (Senegal), Executive Director of FAS - Mr. Hassan Ba (Senegal) Treasurer, Advisor to the President of the Republic of Senegal Members of FAS Advisory Board - President Amadou Toumani Touré (Mali), Head of State of Mali and the President of the “Fondation pour l’Enfance” - Mrs Graca Simbine Machel (Mozambique), President of the Foundation for Community Development - Hon. Ambassador Gertrude Mongella (Tanzania) President of the Pan African Parliament - Mrs. Ruth Sando Perry (Liberia), Former Acting Head of State of Liberia - H.E. Ms Aminata Tall (Senegal) Minister of State of the Republic of Senegal - H.E. Dr Nkosazana Dalamini Zuma, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Africa - Hon. Ms. Saida Agrebi (Tunisia) President of Tunisian Mothers’s Association, Member of the Pan African Parliament - Hon. Ms Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra (Mauritius) Ombudsperson for Children, Lawyer, Former Attorney General, Former Minister of Women’s Rights and the Family - Mr. Pierre Schori (Sweden), Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General and Head of the United Nations Operation in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI) - Ambassador Mohammed Sahnoun (Algeria), Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Africa, United Nations - Hon. Ms. Elisabeth Rehn (Finland), Former UN Under-Secretary-General, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Former UNIFEM Independent Expert on a Global Assessment on the Impact of War on Women and their Role in the Peace Process; - Ms. Vivian Lowery Derryck (USA), Senior Vice President and Director of Public Private Partnerships, Academy for Educational Development - Ms. Kadiatou Koubrath Osseini (Benin) President of the National Federation of Women’s Associations of Benin Members of the Selection Committee of the African Gender Award - H.E. Ms Gertrude Mongella, President of the Pan-African Parliament, Tanzania - Hon. Ms. Saida Agrebi, Member of Parliament, President of Association Tunisienne des Mères, Tunisia - Ms. Julienne Ondziel, Practicing Lawyer, Former Rapporteur on Women’s Rights and Chair of FAS Executive Board, Congo - Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission on Africa, Ethiopia - Mr. Paulo Gomes, Former World Bank Executive Administrator, Washington DC, USA - Ms. Vivian Lowery Derryck, Senior Vice President and Director of Public Private Partnerships, Academy for Educational Development, USA - Mr. Vasu Gounden, Founder and Executive Director of African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), South Africa - Ms. Thelma Awori, Former Head of UNDP Africa Bureau, Executive Board Member of the African Women’s development Fund, Uganda - Ms. Titi Akinsanmi, GTP Programme Manager, Mindset Network, South Africa - Mr. Halidou Ouedraogo, Président, Mouvement Burkinabé des Droits de l'Homme et des Peuples UIDH, Burkina Faso - Mr. Ayodele Aderinwale, Director, Africa Leadership Forum, Nigeria - Ms. Kafui Adjamagbo-Johnson, Sub-regional Coordinator, WILDAF-WA, Togo - Ms. Janet Narh, Lawyer, Radio and TV Broadcaster & Producer, UK - Ms. Bineta Diop, Executive Director, Femmes Africa Solidarité, Senegal. ---------- Femmes Africa Solidarité International Secretariat 8, Rue du Vieux-Billard, P.O. Box 5037, CH-1211 Geneva 11, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 328 80 50 Fax: +41 22 328 80 52 Email: info@fasngo.org Femmes Africa Solidarité www.fasngo.org Office in New York 777 United Nations Plaza 5th Floor New-York, New-York 10017 Tel: (001 212) 687 13 69 Fax: (001 212) 661 41 88 Email: infony@fasngo.org Regional Office for Africa Stèle Mermoz Immeuble Rose, Appt. No. 31C, P.O. Box 45077 Fann, Dakar, Senegal Tel: +221 860 20 48 Fax: +221 860 20 47 Email: infodk@fasngo.org
5.- Scholarships to UN Commission on the Status of Women 2008
WUNRN [1] WALLERSTEIN, Immanuel. Conference given in the course of the Forum 2000: Concerns and Hopes on the Threshold of the New Millennium, Prague, Sept. 3-6, 1997. [2] Idem. [3] SEN, Amartya. Development as Freedom. Oxford University Press His development approach is focused on the creation and strengthening of people’s capabilities to meet their needs and he affirms that money income increase does not necessarily imply a welfare increase. What matters it is not to satisfy the consumption but to create capabilities in the people so that they can fully develop themselves. Freedom is a goal and the best means to reach development. People are not only the beneficiaries or receivers of the options but the main protagonists of development. Development depends on the creative effort of men and women and not of nature or luck. Development is FOR PEOPLE, because the aim is not to add zeros to national accounts but to improve people’s life. [4] Subsistence, participation, understanding, protection, affection, leisure, creation, identity and freedom. These needs are a priority and they are the same for everyone. [5]. LECHNER Norbert, "La problemática invocación de la sociedad civil", op. cit., p. 5." [6] FRAER Nancy. 1996. Redistribution and recognition: Towards and integrated vision of gender justice. [7] Kofi Annan. Call for the International Conference on FDF [8] Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women Goal 4: Reduce child mortality Goal 5: Improve maternal health Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability These seven goals were formulated for developing countries. Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development [9] 1. An open commercial and financial system, non-discriminatory, 2. To attend to the necessities of the least developed countries, with exportation quotas, debt relief, a more generous ODA and face developing countries’ debt with national and international measures to make it sustainable on the long term. 3. To specially attend to the countries without access to the sea and small insular states. 4. Strategies which provide young people with a dignified and productive work 5. To elaborate and apply strategies which provide young people with a dignified and productive work 6. To have access to essential medicines 7. Impulse and democratization of ICTs.
[10] With the following programmatic areas: Promotion of production, including micro and medium-sized companies. Promotion of territorial planning and sustainable local development. Reduction of poverty and eradication of extreme poverty (addressed to women, children and young people), support to social policies’ reforms (education, employment, health, social security and housing), as well as to the fight against inequality (economic, social, of territory, intergenerational, of gender, ethnical and others) and discrimination. Modernization of Institutions of the State and promotion of citizenship in the participation for the design, management, monitoring and evaluation of public policies at national and local levels. Promotion of policies for the eradication of HIV/AIDS. Demography and migration.
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