Here are a selection of Gender Links training materials which have been used in training courses in the Southern African region.

This work book is part of the training programme of Gender Links (GL), a Southern African NGO that promotes gender equality in and through the media. Each year since GL’s inception in 2001, we have taken an important theme for the region and examined its gender dimensions in relation to media coverage. Previous themes for which training material has been developed, and training conducted include: gender violence and human rights; HIV/AIDS; democracy and elections. The economy, financial and business reporting is a natural new thematic area of work.

Picture our Lives: Gender and images in Southern Africa – Training Manual

Imagine if an extra terrestrial being were on its way to earth, and had as its only introduction to life on earth the mainstream media. How would it picture our lives?

Preventing and managing the spread of HIV AIDS is inextricably linked to achieving gender equality. The media has a key role to play in promoting behaviour changes.
A Gender and Media Handbook for Southern Africa Media
Hands up anyone reading this who is aware that 18 percent of members of parliament in Southern Africa are women and that this percentage is higher than in the United States and Europe? Ever heard any discussion of this in the media?

Bringing together a wealth of examples and materials in hard copy and on CD ROM, GL director Colleen Lowe Morna calls the “Gender in Media Training: A Southern African Tool Kit”  the “how to”  of GL’s popular first publication: “Whose News, Whose Views, a Southern African Gender in Media Handbook.”


Getting Smart: Strategic Communications for Gender Activists

In partnership with the Cape Town-based Women’s Media Watch, GL convened a meeting of regional communication experts to draft a framework for a training manual of gender activists on how to be more strategic in their communications.

The manual was tested at a regional workshop of information officers of gender organisations in April 2002, before being printed and disseminated in hard copy and on-line.
The manual was also launched at the Know How conference in Kampala in July 2002.

The IT for Advocacy training manual is a sequel to this.

Gender in Entry Level Journalism:
Lessons from the Polytechnic of Namibia Media Technology Department/ Gender Links Pilot Project
The pilot project to mainstream gender into entry-level journalism education is a joint initiative of the Media Technology Department at the Polytechnic of Namibia (PON) and Gender Links (GL).
A sequel to Gender Links/ Women’s Media Watch manual: Getting Smart: Strategic Communications for Activists, the IT for Advocacy manual is a “how to” for using New Information Communication Technologies in gender justice campaigns. The manual was developed and is being put to use in partnership with the Gender and Media Southern Africa (GEMSA) Network in our joint commitment to “making every voice count – and counting that it does”.