What were the main highlights from the 2012 summit?

Ruben Prillay Munien: Mauritius
Frankly speaking the summit was an opportunity to meet lots of different people and I now know more about Gender Links’ impact in the region. I’ve also gained a thorough understating of climate change issues. As a suggestion, I think Gender Links should include a category on juvenile delinquency in their next summit.

Isa-Bella Kavendjii: Namibia
The main highlight of the summit for me was the “go green go clean” initiative which showed how the organisers of the summit are walking the talk on issues of environmental sustainability and climate change.

Motheba Makara-Mpota: Lesotho
This summit allowed us to see what Gender Links has done in our respective countries on issues relating to prevention and support strategies for victims of GBV. This space gives us an opportunity to see how far we have gone in curbing gender violence in our respective countries.

Melanie Mandeya: Zimbabwe
At this summit, I learnt a lot about the importance of gender budgeting as results will only be felt by women and men when gender matters are given enough money. Most recipients of services provided by local authorities are women who suffer when services are not provided. This puts their health and safety at risk because they have to walk far in search of services like water and basic sanitation. For this reason, local authorities should involve women more in planning processes in order to better address their needs and concerns.

Lemohang Serobanyane: Lesotho
My highlight from the summit was to see that men are also involved in projects that teach other men how to treat women and children as they are mostly the ones who perpetrate violence in relationships.

Bennedict Bennet: Swaziland
The main highlight for me was the growing number of new varied responses to GBV that were showcased.

Bonisile Ntuli: Swaziland
The main highlight was the presentations, which provided much insight on the different ways of combating GBV. I was intrigued by less known forms of gender violence, such as female genital mutilation, that happen in other countries in the region. I really enjoyed the culture night too because it was an opportunity to celebrate our diversity as Africans.

Shadreck Mwiinga: Zambia
The presentations were very informative and the summit shows that empowerment of women in many countries is indeed improving.