Francis Mdlongwa – South Africa

Sol Plaatje Institute (SPI) is a university-level institute in Africa offering professional media management and leadership training programmes. It has been working with Gender Links since 2005. We have been working with Gender Links since 2005 from then on we have had several encounters with GL colleagues like Dumisani Gandhi, Kubi Rama, Sikhonzile Ndlovu.

A lot has been happening since we started working with Gender Links. GL and SPI started the Gender and Media awards. We rewarded the media institutions which mainstreamed gender in their policies. We also rewarded media institutions which mainstreamed policies which contributed to the fight against HIV and AIDS and deliberately worked to raise awareness on HIV. The award ceremonies are the most memorable. They are a living testimony to our partnership and furthermore to the work that Gender Links has been doing in Southern Africa. Working with Gender Links has impacted on the institution in unexpected by positive ways. The Media Summits have been fruitful engagements that we have had. If we could move them to be Pan African in reach, it would expand our reach on gender and media in Africa.

From my perspective I think there has been dramatic and positive change around the SADC media which Gender Links has helped to bring about. For example, the media it has been working with over the years has not only taken on board HIV and AIDS policies and also a gender policy but it has gone further and entrenched these in their day to day work and widened knowledge on gender in the media institution.

Gender Links is a pioneering organisation in tackling this endemic issue of gender inequality with so much vigour and energy, doing it against many odds in an African society which is very conservative and backed by so many unfair traditional ways of living. I commend GL for the foresight it has.

This partnership should continue to take place as we still have not done enough to bring about change. There is need for Gender Links and SPI to expand on their engagements and collaborate more. We will be able to gain more if we work together. It is high time we rejuvenate our partnership new projects, and bring on board all parts of the organization, so the cooperative work continues even as individuals change.