Eduardo Namburete

Gender Links has since its establishment managed to get recognition from various sectors from government offices, public and private media to civic society organisation throughout the region, yet it still to authenticate its status as a regional organisation that covers all the diversity that represents the Southern Africa region.

For many, GL is still perceived as a South African organisation working in other Southern Africa countries through subcontracts with its local partners. This impression has, in some cases, made it difficult for local governments and institutions to engage with GL in an open way. This is even stressed in the Portuguese speaking countries where, apart from the lack of a systematic presence in these countries, the language barrier has been a serious blockage for the full engagement of these countries in GL’s activities and for benefiting from the knowledge produced by GL.

GL has taken a right step in establishing satellite offices in Mauritius and Botswana which gives it a true image of regional organisation and, by establishing a physical presence in a francophone country; it amplifies the language diversity that comprises the Southern Africa region. In the same direction GL has a unique opportunity to systematically engage the Portuguese speaking countries which, because of language barrier, have felt left out in the knowledge sharing process within the region.

Eduardo Namburete is a GL Board Member and the Coordinator for the GL’s Mozambican office.