SADC Protocol@Work Community of Practice launch on 8 December!

Johannesburg, 05 December 2017: Gender Links (GL) will launch the SADC Protocol@Work virtual Community of Practice (COP) on December 8, under the theme Making Information Technology (IT) Work for Gender Justice.

Partners are cordially invited to join us at

• Physical centres across Southern Africa from 11 to 14.00 South Africa time
• Virtually on the Zoom Webinar from 12.00 to 13.00 South Africa time

Full details can be found here

“As Gender Links, we are very proud to be part of the SADC Protocol Alliance, and taking this bold and positive step into the future. This platform will enable us connect with and learn from other people within and beyond the region as we work towards building an inclusive and just society,” said Gender Links Chief Executive Officer, Colleen Lowe Morna.

She added that the use of modern technology for advocacy and research work has become very important especially at a time when women’s rights organisations are facing funding challenges that make face to face consultations very expensive and difficult.

During the launch GL will facilitate a forum discussion on “Empowering women, ending violence” in line with the 16 Days theme. Financial dependence on abusive partners is a source of Gender Based Violence (GBV). This has serious consequences on the welfare of women’s health, safety, security and stability within families.

Over 1300 women across SADC took part in Gender Link’s Empower Women, End Violence programme, rebranded the Sunrise Campaign in 10 countries and 100 local councils. At forum discussion time during the launch, GL will share updates on efforts to empower women GBV survivors in business and life skills. The trainings and support provided to a selected group of women enabled secondary prevention of GBV. GL will facilitate discussions on best practices to empower women across the region and garner concrete actions for the year ahead.

Throughout the 16 Days of Activism GL staff will coordinate similar discussions at policy and implementation levels on different topics in the community of practice. GL will continue to use social media platforms including Twitter and FaceBook, as innovative media platforms for campaigning to influence social change. Access the 16 Days events calendar on the GL website here.

For more information contact allianceooficer@genderlinks.org.za, phone 27 (11) 028 2410