Year: 2015
North Africa
North Africa
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]ISIS Centre for Women and Development
The ISIS Centre for Women and Development (ICWAD), founded by a group of Moroccan academics and researchers, undertakes a range of activities supporting women, including research on gender and empowerment, promoting Moroccan women in scientific research positions, and sparking intercultural dialogue inside and outside Morocco.
The AWDF has supported IWAD to organise a roundtable on the anthology Women Writing Africa – The Northern Region. Over the past decade, the project has compiled women’s testimonies in song, letters and texts to demonstrate how African women negotiate agency and control over their own lives.
Join us in supporting work like this by making a contribution to AWDF today! [/tp]
[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Centre ISIS pour les Femmes et le Développement
Le Centre ISIS pour les Femmes et le Développement (ICWAD), fondé par un groupe d’universitaires et de chercheurs marocains, entreprend une série d’activités de soutien aux femmes, dont la recherche sur le genre et l’autonomisation, la promotion des femmes marocaines dans des postes de recherche scientifique, et en suscitant le dialogue interculturel à l’intérieur et en dehors du Maroc.
AWDF a soutenu IWAD pour l’organisation d’²une table ronde sur l’anthologie Women Writing Africa – La région du Nord. Au cours de la dernière décennie, le projet a compilé les témoignages des femmes dans la chanson, des lettres et des textes pour démontrer comment les femmes d’Afrique négocier agence et le contrôle de leurs propres vies.
Rejoignez-nous pour soutenir le travail de ce type en faisant une contribution à AWDF aujourd’hui![/tp]
Southern Africa
Southern Africa
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]In a context of stigma, financial challenges and poor access to healthcare, Swaziland Positive Living (SWAPOL) is a 4,500 membership organisation that runs community healthcare projects that offer critical support for women and children infected with HIV and AIDS. SWAPOL establishes and strengthens community support groups and promotes good nutrition through communal gardens, kitchen gardens, and backyard gardens for terminally ill people.
Funding from the AWDF enabled SWAPOL to scale up an existing healthcare project in 20 rural communities. This included training for 40 community caregivers, mobile clinics for home-based healthcare projects, and a system that tracks and refers treatment defaulters for anti-retroviral drugs.[/tp]
[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Dans un contexte de stigmatisation, de difficultés financières et de manque d’accès aux soins de santé, le Swaziland Positive Living (SWAPOL) – une organisation de 4500 membres – exécute des projets de santé communautaires qui offrent un soutien essentiel pour les femmes et les enfants infectés par le VIH et le sida. SWAPOL établit et renforce les groupes de soutien communautaires et favorise une bonne nutrition par le biais des jardins communautaires, des jardins potagers et les jardins potagers pour les personnes en phase terminale.
Le financement d’AWDF a permis à SWAPOL de faire croitre un projet de soins de santé existant dans 20 communautés rurales. Cela comprenait une formation pour les 40 aidants communautaires, des cliniques mobiles pour des projets de soins de santé à domicile, et un dispositif qui permet de dépister et proposer des traitements anti-rétroviraux aux malades.[/tp]
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]Join us in supporting work like this by making a contribution to AWDF today! [/tp]
[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Rejoignez-nous pour soutenir ces actions en faisant une contribution à AWDF dès aujourd’hui! [/tp]
East Africa
East Africa
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA) is an international, pan-African, non-governmental development organisation for African women that creates space for African women to organise and network. As part of its programmes, AMwA established the African Leadership Institute in 1996, a network for African women for professional support, advice, information and expertise. It also convenes an annual intensive leadership training programme to build working partnerships amongst young African women activists. Today, the institute has trained over 6,000 young African women.[/tp]
[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA) est une organisation internationale de développement, panafricaine et non-gouvernementale pour les femmes africaines qui leur crée un espace afin de s’organiser et créer un réseau. Dans le cadre de ses programmes AMwA a créé l’Institut de leadership africain (African Leadership Institute) en 1996, un réseau pour les femmes africaines, afin de les soutenir professionnellement, leur fournir des conseils, des informations et de l’expertise. Il organise également un programme de formation intensive et annuelle sur le leadership et la création de partenariats de travail parmi les jeunes militantes africaines. Aujourd’hui, l’institut a formé plus de 6000 jeunes femmes africaines.[/tp]
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]Join us in supporting work like this by making a contribution to AWDF today! [/tp]
[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Rejoignez-nous pour soutenir ces actions en faisant une contribution à AWDF dès aujourd’hui! [/tp]
West Africa
West Africa
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Market Women’s Fund (SMWF) – Liberia
The AWDF supports Liberian women through the Sirleaf Market Women’s Fund (SMWF), an organisation dedicated to rebuilding and further developing Liberia. Created in 2006, the fund acknowledges the support that market women provided in electing Africa’s first female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Now, the fund seeks to improve existing markets and construct new markets, including crèches, storage, sanitary facilities, credit facilities and training programmes.
Join us in supporting work like this by making a contribution to AWDF today! [/tp]
[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Market Women’s Fund (SMWF) – Liberia
AWDF soutient les femmes libériennes à travers le Sirleaf market women’s fund (SMWF), un organisme voué à la reconstruction et au développement du Libéria. Créé en 2006, le fonds reconnaît le soutien que les femmes commerçantes ont fourni en élisant la première femme présidente d’Afrique, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Maintenant, le fonds vise à améliorer les marchés existants et à en construire de nouveaux, mais aussi des crèches, espaces de stockage, installations sanitaires, des facilités de crédit et des programmes de formation.
Rejoignez-nous pour soutenir ces actions en faisant une contribution à AWDF dès aujourd’hui![/tp]
Call for Applications for AWDF’s 2015 African Women Writers Workshop (Now Closed)
Call for Applications for AWDF’s 2015 African Women Writers Workshop (Now Closed)
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]PRESS RELEASE
The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) in collaboration with FEMRITE – Uganda Women Writers Association, invites African women writers and journalists to apply for the Writing for Social Change Workshop 2015. This 10-day writing workshop, will be taking place in Uganda from July 27 to August 5, 2015.
The workshop will be facilitated by veteran BBC journalist and media expert Elizabeth Ohene from Ghana and award-winning writer Yewande Omotoso, from Nigeria/South Africa/Barbados.
This workshop is targeted at women writers, journalists and activists who wish to step-up their involvement in highlighting issues around women’s rights and social justice. Participants will be expected to read widely from assigned selected texts, and to complete daily writing exercises. After the workshop, the participants are expected to use the knowledge acquired to write widely about social justice issues in and beyond their communities.
Priority will be given to interested women journalists who wish to actively engage in women’s activism – we are expecting at least 50% of the writers selected for this workshop to be full-time journalists. We will also include women from AWDF’s existing grantee organisations, and within our partner networks.
Full accommodation, meals and a partial travel grant will be provided to all successful applicants. All applicants will be expected to be present for the ten-day duration of the workshop. A Memorandum of Understanding will be signed by successful applicants to enable smooth running of the workshop.
Application Guidelines
Deadline for submission is May 31 2015. Only those accepted to the workshop will be notified by June 5, 2015.
To apply send an e-mail to; communications@africlub.net/awdf.
E-mail subject should read ‘Application for Social Justice Workshop 2015’
The body of the e-mail should contain the following:
a) Your Name
b). Your Email Address
c). A short bio (maximum 200 words)
d). A sample article about women’s rights or social justice -between 500 and 1000 words. The sample maybe unpublished or published on any media. This can be sent as an attachment or as part of the email body especially if it has images. AWDF will not be responsible in case of any plagiarism.
Bios of Lead Facilitators
Elizabeth Ohene, from Ghana, is a veteran journalist, writer and broadcaster, and a former government minister.
Her career began at Ghana’s leading newspaper group the Daily Graphic, (owned by Graphic Corporation), where for over a decade she served as a reporter, staff writer, columnist and Editor.
In London in 1983, she founded the Talking Drums, a weekly news magazine on West African affairs and served as the Publisher/Editor for the three years of the magazine’s existence. Elizabeth joined the BBC World Service in London, UK, in 1986, first as a Producer of Radio Programmes, then served in various positions in the World Service and British Domestic Radio, and as a columnist on the Focus on African Magazine. She also served as Deputy Editor for the award winning Focus on Africa Programme. She reported regularly for the BBC from various parts of Africa and was the resident correspondent in South Africa from 1992 to 1994 during the transition from apartheid to the first democratic elections.
Miss Ohene conducted several training programmes for journalists for the BBC in South Africa, Nigeria, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. She also ran a network of more than 150 stringers located in all parts of Africa for the BBC Africa Service, supervising their editorial work.
Where courses are run for African women in the Media according to their needs, Miss Ohene’s professional activities include being a member of the International Women Media Foundation which actively promotes women’s competency and leadership in the media. The foundation has established an Africa Women’s Media Centre in Dakar, Senegal, She served as a board member of the International Commission of Investigative Journalists and a member of the panel of judges for the CNN Africa Journalist of the Year Competition.
She served in government as a Minister of State from 2001 to 2009.
She currently writes a weekly column in the Daily Graphic, Ghana’s largest circulating daily and a monthly Letter from Africa for the BBC.
Yewande Omotoso, born in Barbados, grew up in Nigeria and currently lives in Johannesburg.
Yewande trained as an architect at the University of Cape Town, to which she returned after working as an architect for several years, to complete a Masters in Creative Writing. The product of her degree is her debut novel ‘Bomboy’ published in 2011 by Cape Town publisher Modjaji Books.
mes Literary Awards, the MNet Film Award and the 2013 Etisalat Prize for Literature. It won the South African Literary Award First Time Author Prize.‘Bomboy’ was shortlisted for the 2012 Sunday Ti
Her other works include short stories ‘Two Old People’ in the anthology ‘Speaking for the Generation: Contemporary Stories from Africa’, ‘How About The Children’ published in The Kalahari Review, ‘Things Are Hard’ in the 2012 Caine Prize Anthology and ‘Fish’ published in The Moth Literary Journal.