GEMSA Newsletter August 2005

E-Newsletter of  the Gender and Media Southern Africa Network

Issue 8, August 2005

IN THIS ISSUE:

·    Letter from the Exco 
·    Alerts 
·    Breakthroughs 
·    Gender Justice Barometer 
·    Network News 
·    Notice Board

Remember to send information you think that the network will find useful to: gemsa@genderlinks.org.za and we will include this in the newsletter. The newsletter reaches over 800 individuals and organisations, so share with us your challenges and successes so that collectively we can build a stronger gender and media network in the region.

Contact your GEMSA country representatives:
Angola: Anacleta Pereira 
nani@netangola.com
Botswana: Pamela Dube 
dube@mmegi.bw
Lesotho: Mathabang Fanyane 
mathabangfanyane@yahoo.co.uk
Malawi: Stella Mhura 
s_kaliwo@yahoo.co.uk 
Mauritius: Loga Virahsawmy 
gonaz@intnet.mu 
Mozambique: Jose Marciano Mubai
mmubai@hotmail.com 
Namibia: Sarry Xoagus- Eises 
sxoaguseises@yahoo.com
Seychelles: Jean Claude Mantombe 
nccadmin@seychelles.net 
South Africa: Kubi Rama 
kubi@genderlinks.org.za 
Swaziland: Phumelele Dlamini 
phumied@yahoo.com 
Tanzania: Rose Haji 
misatan@africaonline.co.tz 
Zambia: Emmanuel Kasongo 
ekasongo@coppernet.zm
Zimbabwe: Loveness Jambaya 
loveness@mmpz.org.zw 

Contact the GEMSA Executive Committee: 
Chair: Colleen Lowe Morna (South Africa)
clmorna@mweb.co.za 
Deputy Chair: Emmanuel Kasongo (Zambia) 
ekasongo@coppernet.zm 
Secretary: Tom Mapesela (Lesotho) 
tmapesela@yahoo.co.uk 
Treasurer: Patricia Made (Zimbabwe) 
chisamiso@webmail.co.za 
Jennifer Mufune (Namibia)
jennifer@misa.org

We would like to know your thoughts on the newsletter. Write to us at gemsa@genderlinks.org.za

We encourage you to send us alerts, news and any other information you think may be of interest to others. 
  

Media Institute of Southern Africa
www.misa.org 

Gender Links 
www.genderlinks.org.za

Highlight: Gender and the MDGs
Please join us for a cyber dialogue on the theme ‘Gender and the MDGs’ on Wednesday, 14 September from 14h00 to 15h00. The cyber dialogue will be followed by a video conference linking several Southern African countries including , , , and . GL will be launching a new publication called Finding Gender in the MDGs: Southern African Women Make the links. Read more.

Letter from the Exco
It is with sadness that we write to inform you that our colleague Janet Karim unfortunately has to return to for personal reasons. She explained these to the Executive Committee during a teleconference and we understand the difficulties that she is going through. On behalf of all of us, we would like to thank Janet most sincerely for the energy that she brought to GEMSA over the last few months. Janet will remain an active member of GEMSA in , and has pledged to assist in getting the country chapter off the ground. We have just had an excellent IT workshop in , and many new members have joined.  

Indeed, GEMSA provincial members from eastern came by bus to join the workshop and were hosted by Janet at her home in Blantyre . This kind of dedication is what we have come to expect from GEMSA colleagues and while we are losing Janet at regional level we know that we have gained a wonderful foot soldier where it counts: on the ground. 

Kubi Rama, GL Deputy Director, will take over the day to day management of GEMSA to ensure continuity and momentum, especially as we work towards the Sixteen Days, and next year, our GM and Summit . Kubi’s work load, especially her responsibilities to SAGEM, the SA chapter of GEMSA, will be restructured to help to ease the burden. As you know Kubi has been closely involved in the IT training, and has a long history of service to GEMSA going back to the summit. 

August and early September has been a busy time for GEMSA chapters. GEMSA country representatives and members from the GEMSA Exco participated in a SADC Civil Society meeting, held from the 14-16 August, that pre-empted the SADC Heads of States meeting in . The first day of the meeting focused on SADC and Gender and called for the elevation of the SADC Declaration on Gender and Development to a protocol. 

GEMSA representatives also participated in the cyber dialogues that were running parallel to the SADC Civil society meeting. Some of the reps experienced facilitating a cyber dialogue for the first and were quite empowered by the experience.

Immediately after the SADC and Gender 2005 meeting, GEMSA country reps from , , and met on the 18 August to kick off Unpaid Care Work project. The project is being done in partnership with UNIFEM. The aim of the project is generate policies around unpaid care work. The first stage of the project involves interpreting existing research into user friendly facts sheets in local languages and to collect stories from care workers and specialists in the field. These will contribute to in country workshops to develop policy. Campaign materials will be developed to create awareness around unpaid care work. 

The IT for Advocacy training workshops have been completed in most SADC countries. The training in will happen from the 26-28 September 2005. and will receive the training next year after the IT Manual has been translated into Portuguese. Momentum is gathering for the 16 Days campaign; don’t forget to submit your country’s poster for the GEMSA regional poster competition.

GEMSA membership is growing and special congratulations to Zambia who now leads the way with 53 members. 

Thanks again to all and let us keep making the voices count. 

Till next time.

Colleen, Emmanuel, Pat, Tom and Jennifer 

ALERTS
Protest over violence against women in The Herald newsrooms 
The following petition is being circulated by Kubatana.net on behalf of civil society organisations in . GEMSA supports this petition and urges all its members to sign the petition and protest against violence against women in newsrooms. The undersigned organisations who are subscribers and readers of The Herald on a daily basis write to protest in the strongest terms violence against women in your newsrooms.  As civic society organisations we are gravely worried that civilized spaces like your newsrooms and offices have become unsafe and hostile spaces for women in your employ. Read more and email coalition@zol.co.zw to sign the petition and log onto our e:activism page here. 

BREAKTHROUGHS 
SADC and Gender 2005 
The SADC Heads of States meeting in from the 18-19 August 2005 marked an important milestone for gender equality in the region. GEMSA welcomed the commitment made by SADC to endorse the principle of gender parity in all areas of decision making. However, it noted with disappointment that the SADC meeting did not take the opportunity to elevate the SADC Declaration on Gender and Development to a protocol.

GEMSA is now part of the Southern African Gender Protocol Alliance that consists of GL, GEMSA, MISA, SAFAIDS, WILDAF, WLSA, CREDO, WiPSU, Women in Politics Caucus and the Women Land and Water Rights Southern Africa. The Alliance is committed to taking forward the campaign to elevate the SADC Declaration on Gender and Development to a Protocol. Under the banner ‘50/50 by 20/20’ the Alliance has already begun working on creating public awareness and engaging with SADC leaders on the campaign. Read more. 

The Alliance members in Zimbabwe have met and put in place steps to create awareness and to keep the momentum of the campaign going. Representatives of the Alliance will attend a Roundtable Review of the SADC Declaration on Gender and Development (SDGD) being convened by SADC PF and the SADC GU in during the week of the 20 September in Angola. Further strategies for taking the SADC and Gender campaign forward will be discussed. 

GENDER JUSTICE BAROMETER 
16 Days countdown 
There are 72 days left between now and the 25 November. GEMSA country chapters are well on their way.  The IT for Advocacy workshops have been completed in Malawi and Tanzania . Both workshops were very successful. 16 Days planning in both countries are well on the road. GEMSA Tanzania produced a 16 Days poster in Swahili while GEMSA Malawi has made an important link with College of Medicine as a possible venue for cyber dialogues. 

SAGEM held its 16 Days planning meeting on the 9 September and has planned an excited follow up to the cyber dialogues 2004. A key element of the campaign will be to hold decision makers accountable for commitments they made during last year’s campaign and to monitor if and how they fulfil their commitments in the coming year. 

On the ground training will be happening in two rural sites in all nine provinces in South Africa. This will increase the extent and depth of the cyber dialogues as community organisations develop plans for the 16 days campaign for their area including participation in the cyber dialogues. The South African Government Communications Service will make their Multi Purpose Centres available as cyber dialogues access points during the 16 days. 

GEM Plus in the Seychelles has had an exhibition of children’s artwork on gender violence to start their pre 16 days campaign. GEMSA Namibia is in consultation with an IT organisation to create access to computer facilities for the 16 days. MWO has met with the Director General of the MBC and secured the support of MBC television and radio during the campaign. 

Please send regular updates on 16 days activities to gemsa@genderlinks.org.za. 

Finding gender in the MDGs: Southern African Women Make the Links 
Prior to the SADC and Gender 2005 campaign, activists involved in the campaign conducted an audit on the provisions for gender equality and the extent to which these have been implemented in different regional and international instruments including the MDGs. The single greatest challenge identified in the audit was the need to move from an era of commitments to an era of implementation. 

In an interview prior to the MDG Summit, Salma Khan, a member of the UN CEDAW Committee, stressed the need for incorporating a broader range of gender-sensitive targets and strategies, and for making gender-equality a cross cutting issue across the goals. Gender concerns in Southern Africa and throughout the developing world go far beyond health and education. Many educated women lack access to employment, political participation and experience gender violence. 

Unless gender is centrally located across all of the MDGs they will have no meaning for women. Similarly, unless the MDGs and all regional and international commitments are given meaning and made binding in regional, sub-regional and national contexts, they will just add to the growing pile of words that have little meaning where is matters most: on the ground.  Read more.

To discuss ‘How gender can be mainstreamed in the MDGs?’ join us for a cyber dialogue on Wednesday, 14 September from 14h00-15h00. Click on this link https://www.genderlinks.org.za/page.php?p_id=217 and follow the instructions to register in the Gender Links Chat box. 

Media lags behind on HIV/AIDS and Gender policies 
Less than ten percent of media houses in Southern Africa have HIV/AIDS policies, and an even lower proportion have gender policies, according to a study conducted by Gender Links as part of the Media Action Plan (MAP) on HIV/AIDS and Gender. 

The study, released at the launch of MAP during the annual general meeting of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) covered 366 media houses in twelve SADC countries, or 91 percent of the total media houses in the region. It found that of the 37 media houses with such policies, (18) and (12) had the highest number, although this is still relatively small compared to the media density in each country and especially in .  Read more.

The HIV/AIDS and Gender Facilitators who will be co-ordinating the MAP Policy roll out in the region will be in Johannesburg from the 10-14 October training to conduct the HIV/AIDS and Gender Baseline Study. 

NETWORK NEWS 
GEMSA Membership 
GEMSA membership continues to grow. Country chapters are to be congratulated on their incredible drive to sign up new members.  As of 9 September 2005 GEMSA has 201 individual members and 12 institutional members. Zambia leads the way with Tanzania, Lesotho and Mauritius following.  South Africa, Swaziland, Botswana, Mozambique and Angola have some catching up to do. The 16 days will be a good time to sign up new members. 

GEMSA country chapter registration

To continue with the good news several GEMSA chapters have been working towards registration. GEMSA Malawi is now registered as a network while Lesotho, Namibia, SAGEM and GEMZi are all in the process registration.

GEMSA Committee meeting 
Registration of GEMSA country chapters was one of many agenda items at a recent GEMSA committee meeting. The meeting was held in Botswana on the 17 August 2005. The meeting was possible as most country representative were present for the SADC Civil Society meeting held prior to the SADC HOS meeting. GEMSA country representatives reported back on progress in country and then shared regional plans for the next few months. Read more. 

GEMSA Exco meeting 
The GEMSA Exco met on the 16 July 2005 at the GL offices. The Exco discussed GEMSA Institutional issues, the POA, the SADC and Gender campaign, funding and staffing. Click here to read the minutes of the Exco meeting. 

Developing a GEMSA website

High on the list of priorities is the development of the GEMSA website.  Individuals from each country will be trained to administer and update their page on the website from the 10-14 October in Johannesburg at the new GL offices.

The website will use a simple content management system that will enable each country to administer its own page. This will mean that each country can update their information as and when they need to. The GEMSA regional pages will be administered by the GEMSA manager. By the end of the workshop the GEMSA website will be live and with content from each country chapter.

MWO meets MBC

Mauritius Media Watch Organisation had a successful meeting with the Director General of the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC). The meeting resulted in several key outcomes. These include : communication and media support for the MBC radio and television during the 16 days campaign against gender violence;  attention to the revised Gender Policy for the MBC; the air time for an awareness campaign on the gender and media baseline study,  media monitoring done in August and October 2004 as well as the audience research survey; advice regarding sexist advertising and to send reports on MBC coverage. 

Dates for country IT training and country representative’s details:
Zimbabwe: 26-28 September        Loveness Jambaya

NOTICEBOARD

EVENTS
Hundreds of women eye political posts. (IRIN) – Hundreds of women in are running for seats in parliament as well as local authorities, and one of them has her eyes on the presidency in the 30 October general elections. http://www.agenda.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=574&It

NEW PUBLICATIONS 
Finding Gender in the MDGs: Southern African Women make the links 
GL is launching a new publication Finding Gender in the MDGs: Southern African Women Make the links. The publication explores if and how gender is mainstreamed in the MDGs. Edited by Janine Moolman, it is a compilation of articles framed around 10 strategic areas identified as key for achieving gender equality in Southern Africa.  Each thematic area has two accompanying articles – one providing an ‘expert’ view and the other a more personal perspective. All the articles and an overview that addresses the critical question “Where is gender in the MDGs?” are available through the GL Opinion and Commentary service. Read more. Copies of the book are available at GL, contact susan@genderlinks.org.za for more information.

Women’s Property and Inheritance Rights in   
LeBeau, Debie & Conteh, Michael & Iipinge, Eunice 
In-depth analysis of the challenges facing women in with regard to inheritance and property laws and customs among several ethnic groups. Apps, map, 240pp, . UNIVERSITY OF NAMIBIA PRESS. 2004 999166369X Paperback GBP25.00. For more information see http://www.africabookcentre.com/acatalog/New_Titles.html

CALL FOR PAPERS/PROPOSALS/AWARDS 
UNESCO Digital Arts Award 2005

Submission deadline: 14 September 2005

Young artists from around the world are invited to take part in this year’s award devoted to the theme of ‘Cities and creative media’. Organised in

collaboration with Art Center Nabi ( Seoul , Republic of Korea ), the award programme specifically aims to encourage young emerging artists to cultivate new forms of expressions using new media and technology to envision how urban spaces and city environments could be transformed into creative outlets. The total prize money is US $10,000 and an international jury will select the award-winning projects. All project proposals should be submitted online at the official website of submission of the competition at www.nabi.or.kr/unesco_award where participants will also be able to find further information.

GRANT &  OPPORTUNITIES

Synergos Fellowship Programme 
Application deadline: 1 October 2005

Applications are now available for the Synergos Institute’s Senior Fellows programme, which brings together some of the top minds in organized philanthropy from around the world. The three-year fellowship beginning in 2006 is open to individuals with at least 10 years experience in philanthropy, and a proven track record of accomplishment, originality, and innovation. For more information go to http://www.synergos.org/02/sfcall.htm or www.synergos.org/02/sfcall.htm  or contact seniorfellows@synergos.org. 

SWOP fulltime PHD Fellowships: 2006-2009 
The Sociology of Work Unit (SWOP) is based at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg researching the changing nature of work in South and Southern Africa. We are looking for candidates who have recently completed ­ or are close to completing – Masters Degrees to apply for our new fellowship programme. The theme of the programme is The Future of Work: Patterns of Inclusion and Exclusion in South and Southern Africa . The fellowships are R85,000 each per year and cover university fees, basic research expenses and a monthly stipend. Fellowships will be reviewed yearly and subject to satisfactory progress will be renewed for four years of fulltime study. Six fellowships will be awarded on a highly competitive basis. Applications open on 25 July 2005 and close 30 September 2005. Please submit a full CV, an example of academic written work, as well as a 3-page statement of interest in a topic within the broad theme. For more information, contact Khayaat Fakier on 011 7174460 

Write to us: 
Send us information on what activities are taking place in your country to gemsa@genderlinks.org.za.