. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from Abidjan News (translation by CPNN)

Delegations of women from several African countries have been participating, since Tuesday, June 29, 2021, in Yamoussoukro, in a training workshop in peace education and socioeconomic empowerment. The workshop is organized by the Houphouët-Boigny foundation for the search for peace, the conference of ministers of youth and sports of the Francophonie (CONFEJES) and the organization of the Islamic world for education, science and culture (ICESCO).

Dr Diénéba Doumbia at the microphone

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Can the women of Africa lead the continent to peace?

The Houghouët-Boigny Foundation of Yamoussoukro: what is its contribution to the culture of peace?

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“This workshop is an opportunity for training, and also a space for sharing experiences and actions carried out in our countries”, noted the secretary general of the Houphouët-Boigny Foundation, Prof. Jean-Noël Loucou. He affirmed the determination of his institution to follow it up “to increase efficiency on the ground.”

The training is provided by the regional center for education and the culture of peace (CRECP), a structure housed at the Houphouët-Boigny foundation with the vocation of strengthening the capacities of educational executives and others in the political, administrative and economic spheres of French-speaking African states that are members of ICESCO.

CRECP has thus already trained educational executives, communication professionals, human rights advocates and youth associations, it was recalled.

“Women cannot remain on the sidelines of our priorities. For this, we need to take into account the issue of gender and education for a culture of peace as a new and promising theme allowing everyone to truly play the role of mediators, educators, actors. of peace and reconcilers,” underlined the director of CRECP, Dr Diénéba Doumbia.

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article by Abdoulaye Barry in RTG Koloma (translation by CPNN)

In order to allow women to further develop the culture of peace, the Wanep-Guinea network through its project called “Mentoring of Young Women” under funding from USAID, opened a training workshop on Tuesday, June 29, 2021with the participation of about fifty women. The training enables a sharing of experiences between women with strong experience in their professional career and young women at the start of their careers.

According to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Wanep-Guinea, Joseph Togna Doré, “the development of a mentoring process for the promotion of young women in our country through meetings for exchange and sharing of experience is at the heart of the major concerns of the Wanep-Guinea network and its member organizations. It is for this reason that we initiated this project which was funded by USAID with our partners the CRS in order to allow the communities of Conakry and those of Upper Guinea to develop the culture of peace. The goal is to develop greater prosperity and coherent development for these young women, ”said the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Wanep-Guinea network.

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While inviting the participants to redouble their efforts for a Guinea of ​​peace and prosperity, the President of the Board of Directors of WANEP-GUINEE “hopes that this day of training” will lead to the commitment of each of the participants for the achievement of the expected results of this project ”.

Coming to share her experiences with these young women, Madame Fatou Souaré ANN Executive Director of the NGO Wafrica-Guinée (Femmes Afriques) finds this training very important. ”It will allow us the elders to make available to young women our experiences and knowledge. It’s a sharing of experience, because there are girls among you who have knowledge that our elders do not know being of the digital generation. This workshop will allow you to go through paths where you will not be faced with great difficulties like us. We are here to tell you to take advantage of this training. And you invite each of you to find a mentor who is a guide. People to whom you must go and who will guide you on the right path. We who share our experiences with you today are always looking for mentors to guide us and assist us in our various actions.”

For Batouly Kaba Deputy National Director of the Ministry of Women’s Rights and Empowerment, “The question of the protection and promotion of the rights of young women, in the management, prevention and consolidation of peace in professional bodies is one of the government’s priorities ”.

This is why, she adds. “It is undeniable that our country will continue to be sick if we do not change the paradigm of excluding women who make up 52% ​​of the population. The objectives of the project are noble and perfectly match those of the department of women’s rights issues.”

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. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti in The Sun


The First Ladies of Osun and Kaduna States, Mrs Kafayat Oyetola and Mrs Hadiza El-Rufai have been elected chairpersons of the Southern Governors’ Wives Forum and Northern Governors’ Wives Forum respectively.

Their election was contained in a Statement signed by the Wife of the Governor of Ekiti State and Chairperson of the Nigerian Governors’ Wives Forum (NGWF), Erelu Bisi Fayemi and made available to journalists on Thursday.

Erelu Fayemi congratulated the duo, stressing that she was optimistic that their emergence as new leaders will further help the Forum to work together “in solidarity across boundaries” in addressing issues of mutual concerns.

Mrs Fayemi who noted that the Wives of Governors have always played discreet but active roles in providing support for their husbands, stated that members of the Forum can contribute in their little ways towards the development needs of the country.

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She noted that the Forum had succeeded in ensuring increased participation of women in governance, building a culture of peace in communities across the country and advocating access to education for girls.

The Ekiti State First Lady identified other efforts of the Forum to include provision of women healthcare needs, economic empowerment, advocating against drug abuse and responding to curb sexual and gender-based violence.

She commended the First Lady, Dr Aisha Buhari for all her encouragement and support for the works handled by the Governors’ Wives.

“On behalf of the Nigerian Governors’ Wives Forum, I hereby congratulate Mrs Kafayat Oyetola, First Lady of Osun State, the newly elected Chair of the Southern Governors’ Wives Forum and Mrs Hadiza El-Rufai, First Lady of Kaduna State and new Chair of the Northern Governors’ Wives Forum. Wives of Nigerian Governors have always played a discreet, yet active role to support the efforts of their husbands. By working together in solidarity across boundaries, we can address issues of mutual concern to us.”

“Through our collective work in responding to sexual and gender-based violence, access to education for girls, women’s healthcare needs, economic empowerment of women, advocacy against drug abuse, increased numbers of women in public life and building a culture of peace in our communities, we can contribute in our own small way towards the development needs of our country. I also thank HE (Dr) Aisha Buhari, First Lady Federal Republic of Nigeria, for all her encouragement and support for the work that we do as Governors’ Wives”, she said.

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

A press release from APO reprinted by Africa Newsroom

The proposed Kinshasa Declaration, launched today at the Generation Equality Forum [Paris, July 2], outlines concrete actions for African Union member countries to advance gender equality in Africa by 2030; The proposed Kinshasa Declaration calls for doubling the number of women’s organizations that can access funds from national economic stimulus programs and external funding.

A delegation of African women led by Her Excellency Madame Gisèle Ndaya, Minister of Gender, Family and Children of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Madame Julienne Lusenge, gender expert on the Panel of Experts in charge of accompanying President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo during his presidency of the African Union for 2021/2022 shared the proposed Kinshasa Declaration on the sidelines of the Generation Equality Forum (bit.ly/3wdRHDZ)  being held in Paris from June 30 to July 2.

The proposed Kinshasa Declaration, drafted during the Conference on Gender Equality held in Kinshasa on June 10, is the result of a large mobilization of pan-African groups including youth, civil society, researchers, government officials, activists and international organizations. One of the main objectives of the conference was to show the collective capacity of the participants and organizers  to foster a more just world, where gender equality is no longer a struggle but a reality for future generations.

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The proposed Kinshasa Declaration builds on existing texts on gender equality in Africa and a series of new recommendations. Its goal is to encourage the member states of the African Union to expand their actions in favor of gender equality and to put in place strong systems to evaluate progress.

For the Minister of Gender, Family and Children of the DRC, Ms. Gisèle Ndaya, this declaration offers concrete proposals for the member countries of the African Union. She highlighted that “one of the key recommendations of the declaration is to campaign for a quota system of at least 40% of women, including 10% of young women under 35 years of age in national government bodies, and in elective and nominative positions, by 2030, in order to increase the rate of women’s participation in decision-making bodies on the African continent. ”

Julienne Lusenge, member of the Panel of Experts in charge of accompanying the DRC during its chairmanship of the African Union for the year 2021/2022 said: “This proposed declaration makes a crucial contribution to the AU Strategy for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment by proposing concrete actions and tools for measuring success towards gender equality in Africa by 2030. Through this proposed Declaration, we call for, among other measures, the development and strengthening of human rights and culture of peace curricula in at least 50% of primary and secondary schools, including the integration of age-appropriate information on existing laws, conventions, and action plans with a focus on gender equality and positive masculinity by 2030. ”

According to the delegation, the proposed Kinshasa Declaration will be shared with African Union stakeholders, member states, civil society, international organizations and relevant bodies within African governments after the Generation Equality Forum. The objective is to the adoption of this Declaration at the next meeting of the African Union in 2022.

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from Mali Web

The national restitution conference “Palabre trees of Timbuktu and Gao” was held on June 15 in the banquet hall of the Bamako International Conference Center in the presence of eminent personalities like the former Prime Minister Modibo Sidibé. The participants made several recommendations such as the redeployment of the army in all regions of the North, breaking with the feeling of abandonment of the population of the North, the re-reading of the Algiers accord and national reconciliation. They were more than a hundred women from the north, some of whom are on their first trip to the capital.

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The National Restitution conference is an initiative of the Africa, Caribbean, Europe Council Mali Cabinet (ACE Conseil-Mali) with the technical and financial support of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Mission for the Stabilization of Mali (MINUSMA). It is the pilot phase of ‘a project called “Palabre trees when the women of Mali take the floor”.

The concept “Arbres à Palabre” is an original idea based on a citizen and participatory action research approach by the women of Mali. The initiative, which now lays the groundwork for a return to lasting peace and cohesion, has a dual objective:

– to restore and make available to all participants the diagnosis of the Mali situation by women in the regions;

– and to give a voice to the representatives of women from the municipalities for the implementation of structuring projects for local community development.

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Can the women of Africa lead the continent to peace?

Can a culture of peace be achieved in Africa through local indigenous training and participation?

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Based on the function of social mediation of African palabre, the experimental device “Palabre Trees” aims to promote:

– the promotion of women’s political participation and the implementation of the National Action Plan of the Resolution 1325 (2000) and related from the United Nations Security Council on Women, Peace and Security;

– the effective participation of Malians in the process of prevention, mediation, conflict resolution, consolidation and promotion of the culture of peace at the national, regional and local level

– and finally support for the empowerment of women and their full participation to the management of the city as a citizen.

The initiative places women at the heart of crisis exit strategies

According to Mrs. Coumba Traoré, Director of ACE Conseil Mali, initiator of this National Restitution conference, this “Palabres trees” project is an action-research in favor of the effective participation of Malian women in the process of prevention, mediation, settlement of conflicts, consolidation and promotion of a culture of peace at national, regional and local level.

“Our country is sick and there are simple solutions today for the country to heal these wounds. We must go out to meet women, give them a voice so that they can make concrete proposals for exiting the crisis, “said Ms. Coumba Traoré.

For the head of the Gender Unit of the gender division of MINUSMA, Ms. Catherine Andela, the presence of all these women from various backgrounds symbolizes their dedication to the cause of the homeland and especially their commitment to peace and stability, pledge of development. “The positioning of women must first start from the base to influence the electoral process and the palaver tree is a formidable initiative which today participates in the consolidation of peace and living together”, she said. highlighted.

Ms. Diarra Fatoumata Touré, representative of the Minister of State Refoundation, in charge of relations with institutions, fully appreciated this initiative. She said “This initiative by ACE Conseil Mali and its partners places women at the heart of the various crisis exit strategies. Nowadays, it helps to pave the way for a way out of the crisis towards lasting peace.”

Ms. Bintou Djitteye is one of the participants at this conference. She came from Bourem to preach the word of peace. She thanked the director of ACE Conseil Mali for this initiative which allows women to talk about their concerns in the search for peace. She testifies that her children are Arabs even though she is of the Bambara ethnicity. The problem in the north, Ms. Bintou Djitteye explained, is not ethnic but rather economic with a lack of basic social services. According to her, there is a lack of water and above all a lack of support for local initiatives.

The participants made several recommendations for the redeployment of the army in all regions