Note from the editor

Welcome to the 13th edition of Roadmap to Equality! Keeping you updated on regional developments.

In November the SADC Gender Protocol Alliance was appointed to the gender cluster of the SADC Council of Non Governmental Organisations (SADC-CNGO) after an engagement process that started in August at the 6th Civil Society Forum convened by SADC-CNGO.

This positive development is a confirmation that the Alliance is doing work which is recognised regionally and it will help strengthen relations with SADC-CNGO.

Country launches of the SADC Gender Protocol 2010 Barometer remain high on the agenda as 2010 comes to a close. On 22 November, South Africa Minister of Home Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma launched the Barometer in Pretoria at the beginning of the 16 Days of No Violence against Women Campaign. Malawi is scheduled to launch the regional and country reports on 6 December in Lilongwe.

Progress is also occurring on 2010 Barometer country reports. Seychelles, Madagascar, Zimbabwe and Zambia are finalising theirs and hope to conclude before year end. The Botswana and Mauritius 2010 Barometer reports are accessible here and here. We hope this inspires the remaining countries to prioritise their reports so they can also be shared with the rest of the globe.

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) has this month made headway in forming the gender, peace and security cluster. ISS convened a meeting that brought together more than 40 participants from Africa to brainstorm and exchange experiences on gender, peace building and security issues. During the meeting members identified clusters and developed draft action plans for the gender, peace and security clusters. The SADC Protocol Alliance would like to acknowledge the initiative and congratulate ISS on these developments.

Economic Justice Cluster leader Naome Chimbetete represented the Alliance at the Regional Consultation and Training Institute on Gender, Economic and Environmental Justice in Africa. The event brought together activists, researchers, analysts and policy makers from Africa and beyond to sharpen the analysis around linkages on issues of gender, economic and environmental justice in an African context. The event was hosted by Development Alternatives with Women in a New Era (DAWN) and Third World Network-Africa in Accra.

On behalf of the Alliance, Gender Links participated in a Voluntary Service Overseas-Regional AIDS Initiative of Southern Africa (VSO-RAISA) meeting this past month on governance and HIV & AIDS: policy engagement and political commitment.

The 16 Days of Activism campaign has been going strong for another year with engaging cyber dialogues, debates and marches occurring across the region. To read more about the Campaign please click here.

In order to remain fresh and relevant to the issues in your country and our region WE NEED YOUR INPUT! To make contributions and comments or get information, please write to alliance@genderlinks.org.za.

We request that all contributions be submitted by the 25th of each month in order for us to get our newsletter out on time. Do note that the e-newsletter goes out on the 1st of every month.

We wish you a joyous festive season and best wishes for 2011, as continue to march towards 2015, believing that YES WE CAN, THE TIME IS NOW!