GJLG Summit newsletter

Johannesburg: 26 April À“ Participants to the 2012 Gender Justice and Local Government Summit have urged SADC Heads of State to sign an Addendum to the Protocol on Gender and Development on Climate Change this August when they meet in Maputo, Mozambique.

The Addendum commits governments to acknowledge that climate change affects women most and therefore mainstream gender in mitigation and adaptation efforts. The 280 participants from ten Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries also signed a petition that will be presented to the region’s leaders when they meet for the annual Heads of State Summit in Maputo in August.

Women are likely to bear the heaviest brunt of the impacts of climate change due to their dependence on agriculture for their livelihoods, gender roles that increase their responsibilities for providing water, fuel and good sanitation for their families, and their limited access to information on climate change. Panellists speaking Tuesday at the third annual Gender Justice and Local Government Summit called on local government councils to integrate gender and climate change into their service delivery at local level to educate communities and to mitigate against the effect of climate change on women’s lives.

While women remain close to parity with 49.1% representation in local councils, the upcoming national elections may also bring an increase in women’s representation in governance structures at the national level. Women and men will contest for parliamentary seats in the upcoming national elections on May 26. Women are currently only 23.5% of the members of Parliament, but Lesotho delegates to the third annual Gender Justice and Local Government Summit in Johannesburg, expressed optimism that women will gain more seats. Gender Links (GL) convened the summit under the banner “365 days of local action to end violence and empower women.”

The annual Gender Justice and Local Government Summit continues to grow from strength to strength. Two hundred participants attended the inaugural summit in 2010, 231 in 2011, while 280 participants are taking part in the 2012 event held in Johannesburg April 23-25. This summit is also unique in that for the first time, it was preceded by six in-country summits and awards. Gender Links (GL), the convenor of the regional summit, conducted six in-country summits in Botswana, Madagascar, Mauritius, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Some 703 people participated in the national summits. Winners at the national level are competing at this week’s regional summit.

Gaining confidence from their participation in capacity building programmes rolled out in their country by Gender Links (GL), the Swazi women of the Lutsango LwakaNgwane cooperative will document the stories of women who paved the way for their empowerment. Velabahleke Masuku, the chairperson of the Lutsango Multipurpose Co-operative, says Swazi women want to write the book to honour the women who played a crucial role in the development of the women belonging to the group.

Politics and decision-making in Africa is largely dominated by men and young women are yet to claim their space in this field. In Zimbabwe and indeed in Africa, very few young women occupy positions in politics and decision-making. What has been lacking is the grooming and nurturing of young women to assume political posts within political parties.

What would you like to see included in the SADC Gender protocol addendum on climate change? We caught up with seven summit participants and this is what they had to say (Note that this is the view of the participants and not those of the institutions that they are representing)

When Sgogodela Babadu arrives to work each morning, she is ready to face a throng of 250 to 300 persons three times a day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Ensuring that her team meets the needs of hundreds of conference goers is all in a day’s work for the thirty-five-year old restaurant manager at the Kopanong Hotel and Conference Centre. “You have to be self-confident. I find the courage to do my job… I’d also say that one should have wisdom. And that’s what I ask from God before leaving home for work,” said Babadu who has worked at the hotel for 13 years.

La Kopanong Hotel & Conference Centre, située Á  Benoni, Johannesburg, accueille tout le long de l’année (Á  l’exception du mois de décembre où les activites sont freinee car les organisations/entreprises vont en congé) des sommets, des conférences et des activités de la sorte. D’ailleurs, Kopanong accommode du lundi 23 au mercredi 25 avril 2012, la 3e édition de la Gender Justice and Local Government Summit & Awards ; un sommet auquel 280 délégués d’une dizaine de pays ont répondu présents. Pour les employés de l’hôtel Kopanong, cela se vit Á  la vitesse grand V. Toutefois, ces derniers gardent le sourire et font de leur mieux pour offrir les meilleurs services aux clients. Nous avons voulu savoir comment les différents employés de l’hôtel qui travaillent de près avec les visiteurs, et vivent ainsi ce quotidien… loin d’être tranquille.

Joanesburgo – Arrancou hoje a terceira cimeira de justiça de género e governo local, onde participam 280 representantes de 10 paises da Comunidade de Desenvolvimento da África Austral (SADC). Sob o lema 365 Dias de Acção Local para Acabar com a Violência e Empoderamento das Mulheres, a cimeira vai discutir aspectos prÁ¡ticos da aplicação do Protocolo da SADC sobre Género e Desenvolvimento nas vidas de mulheres e homens comuns na região da SADC e passar em revista o desempenho dos paises em relação a implementação do Protocolo.

Local councillors from 10 SADC countries lit the candle of commitment at the start of an evening of fun and dance as countries displayed their cultural heritage Monday evening during the third annual Gender Justice and Local Government Summit in Johannesburg. The COE project is a good initiative. We have embraced the project from the time that Gender Links introduced it to us, especially the young leaders. It has enabled us to mainstream gender in all aspects of our work and people now accommodate gender aspects,” said Isabella Kavendjii, Deputy Mayor of Arandis Town Council in Namibia.

Do you think your country will achieve the 50% target of women in local government by 2015? We caught up with seven summit participants and this is what they had […]