Gender Linked, Issue 12, November 2010

Editor’s Note

Executive Director’s Office
Executive Director’s Office

Corporate Services
Finances

Board News
Board members stay gender linked

Satellite Office News

Botswana
16 Days activities
Centres of Excellence work
The power of media literacy training: a testimony from a local councillor

Mauritius
Workshops
16 Days of Activism
Other activities
Media Coverage

Laugh Out Loud

Teamwork & Dreamwork

Birthdays

Wellbeing

Gender Links Facebook

Gender Events

Public Holidays

The month of November is undoubtedly one of the most hectic and busiest periods. Country facilitators were busy finalising their 16 Days plans of activities. Intense planning and coordination between country facilitators and the Head Office has been marked by a record number of teleconferences…. Read more

Lesotho News

Mpho and Ntolo have been busy ensuring that all preparations for 16 Days are concluded when the campaign kicks off. There have been many teleconferences and the planning seems to have finally concluded. … Read more

Madagascar New

The transition government continues its process to resolve the political crisis in Madagascar. After having organised a national conference in October to gather the opinion of all Malagasy people through their elected representatives, the transition has set up two transition parliaments. … Read more

Namibia News

Sarry is busy finalising her 16 Days activities. She is tying up all loose ends and is confident that when the campaign kicks off, her machine will be up and running. The local and regional elections took place from 26 to 27 November and Sarry was very busy advocating around 16 Days and the SADC Protocol targets … Read more

South Africa News

The Centres of Excellence programme has gotten underway in South Africa at a rather rapid pace; this quarter is proving to be exceptionally busy indeed! … Read more

Zambia News

Faides has recovered from malaria and, like a true champion, is back at work and busy. Like all other countries, Zambia is full of activity. High on the agenda for Faides and her team is successfully hosting 16 Days activities. … Read more

Zimbabwe News

COE work is continuing in Zimbabwe, with Priscilla conducting stage three and four workshops in Chiredzi and Bulawayo. Her schedule is quite hectic this month. With 16 Days on the doorstep it will even be more pressing…. Read more

As part of the gender, media and elections project, the department has been working with media monitors in Tanzania as the country held elections on 31 October. The aim of the project is to monitor media content of 14 media houses on how they have been covering women political candidates and reporting on the gender dimensions of elections. … Read more

GL Opionon and Commentary Service Communication Department

November was a busy month for the Gender Links Communications department! Communications Manager Danny Glenwright travelled to Mozambique mid-month to help facilitate and inaugurate the new Gender Links Lusophone Opinion and Commentary Service. … Read more

From 4 to 6 November, Kubi Rama, Deputy Director of Gender Links attended the UNESCO expert group meeting: Global Framework on Media and Information Literacy Indicators, in Bangkok, Thailand. … Read more

Gender Based Violence and the Internet

On 29 November, approximately 30 participants gathered at Gender Links to discuss GBV and the Internet. The diverse group primarily comprised of young people from Sacred Heart School in Observatory and the Khunumani Support Group in Soweto…. Read more

We are pleased to share that in November the SADC Gender Protocol Alliance was appointed to the gender cluster of the SADC Council of Non Governmental Organisations (SADC-CNGO) after an engagement process that started in August at the 6th Civil Society Forum convened by SADC-CNGO. This positive development is a confirmation that the Alliance is doing work which is recognised regionally and it will help strengthen relations with SADC-CNGO…. Read more

This month the ED travelled to Bulawayo and facilitated a meeting of the Women in Local Government Forum (see phoro). She also launched the SADC 2010 Barometer with the South African Minister of Home Affairs Nkosozana Dlamini-Zuma and is travelling to Malawi to launch the Barometer there. She will be launching At the Coalface, Gender and Local Government in Zimbabwe at the annual meeting of the Urban Councils Authority in Zimbabwe (UCAZ) on 11 December.

The ED has also had a hectic schedule closing off all the research that GL has been involved in this year; receiving two donor delegations; and briefing three embassies (DFID, DANIDA and USAID on the 16 Days. She is also preparing for Exco on 16 December and making sure that all loose ends with regard to GL programmes are tied up before the end of 2010. Together with the new communications unit the ED is planning a major writing and editing workshop for all managers and senior staff on 12/13 December as part of the year end activities that will bring satellite office, field staff and their interns to head office for several learning and tying up activities. We hope to finally get our photo library and audio visual archives sorted and kick start all of us into the next century of social media and multi media communication.

As the year draws to an end, we are all looking forward to a peaceful rest. However, this will only be possible if the GL finances are properly accounted for. There are a large number of outstanding reconciliations from 16 Days activities and from field staff for the Centres of Excellence workshops…. Read more

Thenjiwe Mtsintso treated Head Office staff members to an ambassadorial lunch on 4 November. The event was to congratulate GL for winning the Mail and Guardian “Investing in the Future” award. We felt special and really appreciated.

We also celebrated Thenjiwe’s birthday and it was nice to have this time with her, including a very interactive session on GL’s ideology.

Ferial Haffajee was profiled in True Love magazine as a trailblazer and one of Mzansi’s most respected newspaper editors. GL is honoured to have solid board members and to be associated with such high calibre men and women who fly the GL flag high.

Eduardo Namburete celebrated his birthday on 5 November and we sent our best wishes to him from Johannesburg. He has been working hard hosting a workshop with Danny Glenwright, our editor, in order to launch GL’s work in Mozambique, along with the new Lusophone Opinion and Commentary Service. He has also been headhunting for a Mozambique Country facilitator and Celia Mevasse Sibia has been identified and will soon complete her induction. In addition, he’s been busy assisting with the registration of GL in Mozambique.

Finally, board deputy chairperson Scholastica Kimaryo will join us at our end of year party to boogie with us and also provide some tips on organisational wellness.

During the 16 Days campaign, GL staff in Botswana will also be participating in the 16 Days activities organised by the Women’s Affairs Departement and BOCONGO. … Read more

Centres of Excellence work

The journey back to the local councils to follow up the local Gender Action Plan continues. This month, the GL and BALA team were in Selebi Phikwe Town Council to have a management meeting and do a situation analysis of how far the council has progressed with mainstreaming gender. … Read more

The power of media literacy training: a testimony from a local councillor

GL conducted a three-day media literacy training course from 14 to 16 September at the President Hotel in Gaborone in Botswana. Evelyn Kgodungwe is one of the women councillors who participated in the Media Literacy & IT Skills course for women in politics, which was a joint collaboration between Gender Links and Botswana Association of Local Authorities (BALA)…. Read more

Loga Virahsawmy and Kudzai Macombe facilitated a three-day IPS Workshop on “Women in Politics and the Media – Train the Trainer Programme” from 10 to 12 November. … Read more

16 Days of Activism

On 18 November, a Cyber Dialogue on gender-based violence (GBV) took place. Loga chaired the French forum and Davinah from the Mauritius Satellite Office and Virginie from Media Watch Organisation (MWO) as well as eight other participants from DRC, participated. … Read more

Other activities

Mary attended the launch of the Children Annual Report by the ombudsperson for children. This is the seventh report detailing actions undertaken and activities carried out over the year. … Read more

Media Coverage

November has been rich as far as media coverage for the Mauritius Satellite Office. Gender Links received five pages of media coverage about the GMPS report in Impact magazine. … Read more

My son told me this one:
Pupil: Teacher would you punish someone if they have not done something?
Teacher: No
Pupil: I have not done my homework

The GL choir is practicing Christmas Carols for the end of year party. We will blow you away – watch this space! We hear that field staff has the most beautiful voices so we are looking forward to the choir practise sessions with them when they come around next week…. Read more

Mona Hakimi has joined the Communications unit. Mona is a young enthusiastic woman with fresh ideas and excellent IT skills. Mona, welcome to the GL family!We have another young sweet lady, Asithandile Mbelu, who is working as a volunteer until the holidays in December. Asithandile, or Asi, as she is fondly called, is a student at Wits Universitys studying a BCom in Economics. She is helping out on the 16 Days and at the front desk. We like having young blood around the office. Asi, you are welcome! We have many young men and women in our field offices assisting our Country Facilitators to do their work, especially this hectic period 16 Days of gender activism. You are all welcome and we hope we will get to meet you!… Read more

Mona Hakimi

South Africa

16 December – Day of Reconciliation.

25 December Christmas Day.

26 December Boxing Day.

1 January New Years Day.

16th December – Gender Links End of year party