Category: Publications

AWDF’s 5th CEO Forum on Leadership and Communications for Women Leaders of Women’s Rights Organisations in Africa took place in Nairobi, Kenya between 10 -12 August 2015. The three-day convening brought together 21 vibrant women executives from 8 organisations across Africa, including Botswana, Zambia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana. The program featured two main facilitators, Hope Chigudu and Paula Fray, who will serve as coaches leading the participants through a 10-month coaching program following the forum. Over the years, the focus of the CEO Forum has deepened and expanded. The forum and coaching program are also growing just as the participants are also developing their leadership and communications portfolio.

With each forum, the experience shared by the organisers and participants pushes the Capacity Building Program to take risks and try new and different processes. So, the forum and coaching program are interactive and responsive, shifting and changing over time like the women leaders who take part. Through this process, the Capacity Building Program is creating a unique framework that promotes African feminist leadership and coaching as a model for implementation for women’s rights organisations throughout Africa and, potentially, around the world. The idea is to mobilise more resources to support African women and organisations to build a compelling leadership practice that infuses the whole organisation. This can provide routes for the democratisation of leadership among staff and board members, so that human resource talents and skills can be adequately tapped and utilised for greater viability of the organisation. This can provide much needed support to the CEO and senior management team. With feminist leadership, leaders are built to carry the vision of the organisation into the future.

5th CEO Report Final

Introduction

Attempts to address the gender dimensions of governance, peace and security in Africa are often
plagued by several undermining tendencies. One tendency is that gender and, derived from this,
women’s concerns are presented as a standalone issue by an active women’s movement. This is done
without thorough engagement with the entire peace, security and governance environment. Mainstream
peace and security processes generally deal with gender and the women’s agenda as a peripheral
issue. They relegate it to the shadows of the governance and security debate. Policy interventions
aimed at achieving gender related transformation in peace and security have not delivered meaningful
change on the ground.
This policy paper discusses this disconnect between policy, scholarship and activism and the reality
on the ground; and its underlying causes. It makes proposals for relocating gender considerations in
mainstream governance, peace and security discourse and practice. Ultimately, the hope is that this
might begin to bring a systematic shift in the way all parties address gender issues. As such, this paper
brings several interrelated issues into focus:

● The relationship between governance, peace and security.
● The value of examining processes through which state and society forge a common understanding
around the protection of their citizens – and the place of gender in this. A key question is: why does
gender inequality remain relegated to the background while other issues occupy the foreground
of national conversation?
● The opportunities peace and security processes provide for reform of security governance in favour
of excluded citizens, particularly women, who are often at the receiving end of gender inequality.
The paper highlights the role of policy frameworks such as UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
● The constituency of actors who can help elevate the gender equality agenda as articulated in
Resolution 1325 in the policy and decision making arena.
● Despite efforts, the failure to achieve transformation in society and change for women toward
gender equality.

The summary section of this paper above includes three sets of recommendations for analysts, policy
practitioners and women’s organisations and activists.

Policy paper by: Dr Fumni Olonisakin

Bringing Gender Dimensions back from Obscurity (web version)17_12_15

Introduction

There have been some significant gains for women in Africa over the past 15 to 20 years. Women are taking positions of leadership in increasing numbers in political, economic, legal and social fields. In Rwanda, women constitute 64% in parliament, ranking it as the leading nation globally for representation by women in a legislature. In 2005, Africa witnessed the first woman president with the election of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia. In 2011, we had the second woman president, President Joyce Banda. There is legislation in countries such as Ghana, Kenya and South Africa against domestic and other forms of gender based violence. In 2010, the African Union (AU), launched the Decade for Women.

While these achievements are welcome, there is still a big deficit in implementation of key international and national policies and laws. Thirty years after the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), many girls and women still do not have equal opportunities to realise their rights as recognised in law.

The report below examines this in depth.

Policy Paper by: Everjoice Win

Feminist Organizing for Women’s Human Rights in Africa (final web version)

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]The African Women’s Development Fund’s (AWDF) Women’s Economic Empowerment Policy Brief is an outcomes document of our economic empowerment and livelihoods convening in Cape Town in 2013, where participants raised critical issues and contributions around the theme, and how they affect women’s economic participation, empowerment and livelihoods in Africa. This document also serves as an important reference point for a deeper understanding of the AWDF thematic area and the work our organisation does in promoting African women’s economic and livelihood development.

Download the Policy Brief here: AWDF EEL Policy Brief[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]La note de synthèse sur l’autonomisation économique des femmes du Fonds Africain de Développement de la Femme documente sur le rassemblement de 2013 au Cap, qui portait sur les résultats de notre émancipation économique et de nos moyens de subsistance. A cette occasion les participants ont soulevé des questions critiques et apporté des contributions à ce thème, et sur comment ils affectent la participation économique des femmes, l’autonomisation et les moyens de subsistance en Afrique. Ce document sert également de point de référence important pour une compréhension plus profonde de la zone thématique d’AWDF et le travail de notre organisation qui fait la promotion du développement économique et des moyens de subsistance des femmes africaines.

Télécharger le dossier de synthèse ici: AWDF EEL Policy Brief[/tp]

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]Ahead of the United Nations’ Third Financing for Development conference in July 2015, The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), in partnership with the Post 2015 Women’s Coalition and African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), organised a regional strategic meeting for African feminist organisations. Held in Nairobi, Kenya from 6th-8th May, the main aim of the regional meeting was to facilitate collective action and create a space for organizing in anticipation of the upcoming July conference in Addis Ababa.

Read the outcomes and policy recommendations document from the Nairobi meeting here:

Policy Recommendations – FfD[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]En amont de la troisième conférence de l’Organisation des Nations Unies sur le “financement pour le développement” en Juillet 2015, le Fonds Africain de Développement de la Femme (AWDF), en partenariat avec Post 2015 Women’s Coalition et le Réseau de Développement et de Communication des femmes africaines (FEMNET), a organisé une réunion stratégique régionale pour les organisations féministes africaines. Tenue à Nairobi, au Kenya, du 6 au 8 mai, l’objectif principal de cette réunion régionale était de faciliter l’action collective et créer un espace pour l’organisation en prévision de la prochaine conférence de Juillet à Addis-Abeba.

Lire les résultats et le document de recommandations stratégiques de la réunion de Nairobi ici:

Recommandations stratégiques – du financement du développement[/tp]

 

 

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]A further shout out to AWDF Women Writers Workshop participant Comfort Mussa. Comfort, who was selected one of Women Deliver’s top 15 journalists earlier this month, was voted one of the five overall best and will receive a scholarship to attend Women Deliver’s 2016 conference, to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

We are so proud of you.

You can learn more about Women Deliver and the award on Twitter using #15Voices4Women.[/tp]

 

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]Nous faisons honneur à l’une des participantes du Women Writers Workshop Comfort Mussa. Confort, a été nommée par le Women Deliver’s dans le Top 15 des journalistes, plus tôt ce mois-ci, elle a été élue comme l’une des cinq meilleurs et recevra une bourse pour participer à la conférence du Women Deliver 2016 , qui se tiendra à Copenhague, au Danemark.

Nous sommes très fières de vous.

Vous pouvez en apprendre plus sur le Women Deliver’s et le prix sur Twitter en utilisant # 15Voices4Women.[/tp]

 

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]The Capacity Building Unit of the AWDF has recently developed a series of technical support programmes in response to the various organisational development needs of grantees and women’s rights organisations in Africa.

The first in the series was a ‘Financial Management Training for Finance Managers and Officers,’ held in February 2014 in Nairobi, Kenya. In collaboration with Orwa & Company Associates, an accounting firm in Nairobi who currently provide pro-bono financial support services to selected AWDF’s grantees in Kenya, AWDF co-designed a programme seeking to enhance the financial management capacity of grantee organizations.

The 3 day training event brought together 17 finance managers and officers from 17 grantee organisations in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Issues highlighted included budget and cash flow projections, financial management in context, grant management, internal controls and internal checks, compliance to statutory requirements, and financial reporting among others.

Read the full report: FINANCIAL_MANAGEMENT_TRAINING_REPORT_FINAL_190215[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]L’Unité de renforcement des capacités d’AWDF a récemment développé une série de programmes d’assistance technique en réponse aux différents besoins de développement organisationnel des bénéficiaires et les organisations des droits des femmes en Afrique.

Le premier de la série était une «formation en gestion financière pour les gestionnaires et agents des finances,” tenues en Février 2014 à Nairobi, au Kenya. En collaboration avec ORWA & Company Associates, un cabinet comptable à Nairobi qui fournissent actuellement des services bénévoles de soutien financier pour certains bénéficiaires d’AWDF au Kenya, AWDF a co-conçu un programme visant à renforcer la capacité de gestion financière des organisations bénéficiaires.

L’événement de formation de 3 jours a réuni 17 gestionnaires et les agents financiers de 17 organismes bénéficiaires en Éthiopie, au Kenya, au Rwanda et en Ouganda. Les questions soulignées incluaient le budget et la projection en matière de flux de trésorerie, la gestion financière dans le contexte, la gestion des subventions, les contrôles internes et les vérifications internes, la conformité aux exigences réglementaires, et des rapports financiers entre autres.

Lire le rapport complet: FINANCIAL_MANAGEMENT_TRAINING_REPORT_FINAL_190215[/tp]

CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE LIVELIHOODS OF WOMEN: THE AWDF AND GRANTEES APPROACH

Climate change is the global or regional shift in climate patterns due to the high emissions of greenhouse gases produced by human activities. Rising levels of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases) in the atmosphere have warmed the earth and are causing wide-ranging impacts including rising sea levels, melting snow and ice; extreme heat events, fires and drought, extreme storms, rainfall and floods.

These climatic events impacts negatively on areas such as agriculture and food security, biodiversity and ecosystems, water resources, human health, settlements and migration patterns. Women are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change because they constitute majority of the world’s poor and are more dependent on natural resources that are threatened by climate change for their livelihoods. More specifically in the field of agricultural and food security, women constitute about 90% of the labour force in Africa.

Notwithstanding their vulnerability, women’s strong knowledge and expertise in managing natural and household resources make them effective actors of change in relation to both mitigation and adaptation.However, grassroots women whose activities are negatively impacted by the adverse effects of climate change are not part of policy discourses and have no access to climate information, technology and the requisite resources to strengthen their coping capacity.

In the light of the above, AWDF supports women to respond to these challenges by supporting women to adapt and mitigate the impact of climate change through its grant making and technical support activities. AWDF works with smallholder women farmers to improved food security through the preservation of indigenous seeds; to undertake land conservation practices that will help to improve crop yields; provides alternative sources of income such as bee keeping to maintain and improve livelihood; use of solar energy; water harvesting and irrigation technology for dry season agriculture among others. AWDF has also been supporting small-scale industries and agro processing activities to diversify and strengthen women’s income earning opportunities. It also strengthens women’s advocacy on land and food sovereignty.

In 2013, AWDF committed an amount of $623,200 which is 27% of its annual grant making budget ($2,232,250) to 46 women’s groups and organizations within 21 countries in Africa to undertake innovative projects which improve women’s livelihoods and also support them to adapt and mitigate the impact of climate change. The various interventions reached over 18,700 African women.

 

Examples of Climate Change and Adaptation Initiatives by AWDF Grantees

– Restoration of forest cover and regeneration of soils through Agroforestry systems (CAEPA-Cameroon)

The Community Agriculture and Environmental Protection Association (CAEPA Cameroon) is an education and a research body set up in 2007 and legally registered in 2009 with the mission to enhance health, agriculture and environmental protection within Cameroonian communities and beyond.

CAEPA Cameroon through the support of AWDF trained 200 rural women farmers in techniques of nursery creation, seed collection, storage and pretreatment as well as the development of agroforestry systems. CAEPA also provided the women with indigenous tree seedlings. As a result of the project, 50 small holder women farmers from 5 communities in Bamumkumbit Subdivision have incorporated agroforestry into their farming systems. The women also now have the skills to check soil erosion using sustainable cropping systems in addition to wind and fire outbreaks.

CAEPA Cameroon through the support of AWDF has organized series of educational activities in schools. The educational activities were to make students more sensitive to environmental issues.

 

 

– Use of environmentally friendly agricultural production systems (organic agriculture: Children With Future in Zambia-Lumwana project)

Children with Future in Zambia (CwFiZ) is a local NGO established in 2006 to promote the welfare of the vulnerable in society with emphasis on women and orphans. CwFiZ works in the Copperbelt, Northern Province and North-western Province of Zambia.

With AWDF’s support CwFiZ has been able to train 225 women as smallholder groundnut farmers in improved peanut farming and processing. The training covered topics such as climate and soil requirement, varieties of peanut, crop rotation, land preparation, planting, spacing, weeding, diseases and crop protection. In addition, they were also trained in quality processing and packaging of peanuts. The project has enabled the trained women farmers to adopt organic farming methods and to cultivate 9 hectares of peanuts. They have acquired and installed a processing machine to process the harvested peanuts to enhance the crop’s market value and increase income.

 

 

 

– Water harvesting and irrigation for dry season agriculture (Uluntu Community Foundation-Zimbabwe)

Uluntu Community Foundation (UCF) was registered in 2008 by a group of development professionals in Zimbabwe’s second city, Bulawayo, to spearhead development in Zimbabwe using the Matabeleland region as an entry point. UCF was set up to provide a people-centered mechanism for community development and empowerment.

Food insecurity is a major issue in the Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe. The Foundation as a result of AWDF’s support has provided two women’s groups with water harvesting systems for watering 2 community gardens in Njabulo, Qedudubo in Sinkukwe and Zhokwe and Gwanda North and South. This has facilitated dry season gardening for the women who now produce vegetables throughout the year for household consumption and sale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

– Advocacy by traditional women leaders to protect Sacred sites (Mupo Foundation-South Africa)

The Mupo Foundation was established in 2007 by Mphatheleni Makaulule, a woman from Venda who was inspired to empower women in her community to protect their environment and livelihoods. The purpose of the organization is to empower women and girls to secure their livelihoods and participate in decision making processes that affect their lives. The organization operates mostly in Vhembe, a district of Limpopo Province of South Africa. The Mupo Foundation plays an active role in the activities of the African Biodiversity Network (ABN), a regional network into environmental activities.

Through AWDF’s support, Mupo has empowered 109 Makhadzi (women elders young and old), 6 chiefs in Vhembe district (Tshidzivhe, Vhutanda, Mphaila, Tshiendeulu, Tshivale, Ramunangi and Khwevha) to become the voices of their communities, asserting their territorial, environmental and human rights. Traditionally, women in Venda had very specific roles that gave them status and recognized their leadership role in communities and they were respectfully called Makhadzi. The Makhadzi (women elders and community leaders), the custodians of the sacred natural sites (SNS) that play a central role in maintaining the health and cohesion of the community governance system. These sacred forests, lakes, waterfalls and other sites are now critically threatened by the push for tourism development, plantations and mining.

The unravelling of these threads that held communities together and gave them autonomy and resilience, is something that must be urgently addressed as environmental and economic pressures escalate. One of The Mupo Foundation’s (Mupo) priorities is to support the Makhadzi, empowering them to become effective community leaders. MUPO Foundation want to deepen the women local leaders’ empowerment to a point where they can consolidate their constitutional rights to all areas of ecological, spiritual and cultural importance. This will enable them to secure and diversify their livelihood systems.

 

– Women into agro processing activities (Manchie Women Cassava Processing and Marketing Group-Ghana)

Manchie Women’s Cassava/Food Processing Group is a cassava farming and food processing group in the Ga West District of the Greater Accra region of Ghana. The group was formed in 2002 by Hon. Comfort Zormelo the Assembly woman of the area to economically empower the rural poor women. The group is made up of 20 women involved in the gari processing business. The group in addition, supported the construction and setting up of a school where women could leave their young ones while they make an income.

The group as a result of AWDF’s support has been able to purchase cassava processing equipment to support their processing activities; they have been able to rent a 50 acres farm land which they have cultivated. The produce from their farm feeds the processing facility. This has greatly enhanced their processing and marketing activities and has also improved income levels of women, many of whom are single mothers and widows.

Madam Comfort Zormelo, the leader of the group as a result of all the work the group is doing with AWDF’s support, was nominated from the Greater Accra region of Ghana with other nine women from the rest of the country and given an award of excellence for their work on the economic empowerment of women by development partners.

 

– Food storage using traditional silos and integrated pest management (KOWA Farms-Ghana)

The Kobo No. 3 Awoma Co-operative Food Farming & Marketing Society (KOWAFARMS) was formed in 2005 to empower women and the youth in crop production using organic methods to ensure food security in its operational areas. The group operates in the Volta Region of Ghana and its beneficiaries are women and the youth. KOWAFARMS has in the past trained women and youth in its targeted communities in integrated pest management, land conservation, grass-cutter, rabbit and snail farming and has also undertaken anti-bush fire campaigns in some traditional areas within the Volta Region of Ghana.

AWDF’s support enabled the group to empower women small-holder farmers to find and disseminate solutions that will reduce waste from postharvest losses of grain and tuber crops and turn typically discarded by-products into something of increased value. By addressing food security, creating demand for grain and tuber crops and improving efficiency at all stages along the value chain. The project has introduced new locally made silos that are designed to keep harvest in a low-oxygen atmosphere at all times in order to prevent the onset of mud and decay. This unique and innovative project has greatly improve the livelihoods of women farmers with low incomes. KOWAFARMS is piloting traditional granary and metal silo technology in the four district of Volta region of Ghana and expected to be rolled out by 2015 countrywide to help farmers to cut the 30 per cent post-harvest losses (PHL).

 

– Environmental sanitation activities (Women’s Leadership and Training Program (WLTP-South Africa; SOS Addis-Ethiopia, collects plastic waste, recycle to generate income and ameliorate environment)

Women’s Leadership and Training Programme (WLTP), was initiated in 1985 by the Grail, an international women’s movement active in South Africa since 1950. WLTP is an integrated leadership and development programme for girls and young women that analyses gender and cultural practices that demean women and make them subordinate to men, it also empowers women and girls to be more conscious of the threat pose by environmental degradation.

WLTP through AWDF’s support was able to educate over 200 women and young women on environmental sanitation and waste management. WLTP’s waste management activities are in four local Municipalities, Kwa Sani, Ingwe, Umzumbe and Ubuhlebezwe.Hlokozi falls into 2 local Municipalities, Umzumbe with 19 Wards stretching inland from the South Coast of KZN, and Ubuhlebezwe, in the Highflats/Ixopo areas, with 12 Wards.

WLTP in a bid to reduce the threat posed by indiscriminate dumping of waste and to ameliorate the environment, embarked on a community sensitization drive on the negative impact of environmental degradation. Community members were also educated on how to use waste to create livelihood opportunities for community members.

SOS ADDIS, is another organisation based in Ethiopia that is supported by AWDF. It mobilizes women to protect the environment from pollution through the collection of plastic waste; the women collectors of the plastic waste sell them to recycling companies to generate income to meet their social needs. AWDF over the years has supported SOS ADDIS to train some of the women collectors to use the waste SOS ADDIS was supported by AWDF to advocate for better practices of plastic bag use. Their advocacy for recycling reform turned into a real policy, Proclamation 513, which bans the manufacture or import of plastic bags less than 0.33mm in thickness.

 

– Research: African Biodiversity Network (ABN)-Kenya

The African Biodiversity Network (ABN) was first conceived in 1996 in response to growing concerns over threats to biodiversity and community rights in Africa and the need to develop strong African positions and legal instruments at the national, regional and international level. The overall purpose of ABN is to ignite and nurture a growing African network of individuals, organizations and communities working, with capacity to resist harmful developments and to influence and implement policies and practices that promote recognition and respect for people and for Nature. The ABN has developed into a regional network which now consists of 36 partners in twelve African countries: Benin, Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Though AWDF’s support, ABN researched, produced and launched a report on women’s knowledge systems and their critical role in seed selection, household food and nutritional sovereignty as well as climate change resilience. This is an evidence based document to be used for advocacy.

 

 

– Environmental Film Festival of Accra-Creative Storm- Ghana

As part of the advocacy efforts, AWDF supported the Creative Storm to organize the 2012 (second edition) State of the Environment Forum. The forum brought together over 200 participants from across Ghana to deliberate and report on progress towards environmental sustainability in Ghana. The 2012 forum highlighted issues that inform the role of women in the environment. AWDF support enabled Creative Storm to bring more women participants and presenters to the forum. This enriched the sessions and turned out to be a much welcomed initiative. Presentations were made in three thematic areas: climate change, degraded environment & flooding; water and sanitation; natural resources.

Environmental Film Festival of Accra (EFFA) was founded in 2005 as a non profit project to raise awareness of environmental issues through the powerful medium of film and related platforms. EFFA has been described by Times Europe in its March 2006 edition as “the stellar festival of Africa.”

 

– AWDF’s EEL Convening in South Africa

To strengthen women’s role in advocacy, AWDF in 2013 organized an Economic Empowerment and Livelihood (EEL )convening in South Africa that created the platform for women experts and practitioners in the EEL to brainstorm and discuss current and emerging trends in women’s livelihood and environmental issues. At the end of the workshop a statement was issued which was used to further highlight the impact of climate change on women’s livelihoods during the World Economic Forum in South Africa.

 

– Sustainable Livelihoods and Natural Environment Conservation through Beekeeping and agroforestry (Kawuku Women’s Group-Uganda)

The Kawuku Women’s Group is a local women’s group that was formed in 1998 by some women in the local church parish of the district. The purpose of the group is to improve the standard of living of women in terms of increased incomes, improved general health and improved nutrition in the communities. The group operates in Kawuku village, Gaba Parish, Makindye Division of Kampala District. The group was supported by AWDF to undertake beekeeping activities to provide income to women and also to cultivate trees to restore degraded farm land. The group members as a result of the project have experienced increase in incomes. This is because among the 40 beehives, they have been able to harvest honey from 36 hives. Each hive produces a minimum of 1 litre, meaning that from the 36 hives we are able to get 36 litres every 3 months. The income generated has been used to acquire an office at Lubaga and purchase of office equipment. The next money earned will be given to women as revolving credit. The group was able to heat and make 8 packets of 15 candles every week. The degraded land used for the apiary is now vegetated.

 

 

 

– Movement of Women Farmers/Farm Workers Participating in a Food Sovereignty Campaign: Surplus Peoples Project-South Africa

Surplus People Project (SPP) was formed in 1985 by researchers who documented forced removal during apartheid in an effort to address lack of land and housing for black people. The purpose of SPP is to build and support social movements in its struggles for food sovereignty and agrarian transformation. To achieve this, SPP facilitates pro-poor agrarian transformation and food sovereignty. It supports and promotes the implementation of agro-ecological practices as an alternative to the dominant forms of production. The organization currently works in two provinces in South Africa (Northern and Western Cape). SPP’s programs are targeted at small-scale farmers, farm workers & dwellers (women and youth in particular).

The Rural Women’s Assembly is a space where women from the Food Sovereignty Campaign share their struggles for land, water and development resources. Through AWDF’s support, SPP was able to provide spaces where women can strategically engage on issues of natural resource rights. SPP also developed the skills of rural women to build solidarity and to effectively participate in political spaces such as the Food Sovereignty Campaign.

African Grantmakers Network Call for Nominations 2014

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]The African Grantmakers Network (AGN) celebrates individuals and organisations who demonstrate excellence and innovation in philanthropic practice in Africa. The AGN African Philanthropy awards recognize African philanthropists who show a tangible commitment to lasting and institutional change, are committed to genuine partnership with local, national or international communities, and who advance a vision and voice of African agency and self determination.

The AGN invites the public to nominate individuals and organisations to be considered as recipients of the 2014 African Philanthropy Awards at the AGN Assembly in Accra, Ghana in November 2014.

DOWNLOAD the guidelines and fill out the nomination form by clicking that link.

 

Link to their website posting and online nomination form: here.[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Le Réseau des subventionneurs africains (AGN) célèbre les individus et les organisations qui font preuve d’excellence et d’innovation dans la pratique philanthropique en Afrique. Les prix AGN de philanthropie africaine reconnaissent les philanthropes africains qui montrent un engagement tangible et durable et le changement institutionnel, ils se sont engagés à un véritable partenariat avec les communautés locales, nationales ou internationales, et ils avancent une vision et la voix de l’agence de l’Afrique et de l’autodétermination.

L’AGN invite le public à la candidature de personnes et les organisations à être considérés comme des bénéficiaires de African Philanthropy Awards 2014 à l’Assemblée AGN à Accra, au Ghana en Novembre ici 2014.

Téléchargez les directives et remplir le formulaire de candidature en cliquant sur ce lien.

Lien vers leur site web et affichage formulaire de candidature en ligne: ici.[tp]

 

Grantee Highlight: T.O.M Pictures

In 2003, Akin Omotoso, Robbie Thorpe and Kgomotso Matsunyane came together to found a production company in Johannesburg called T.O.M Pictures. They have been able to produce several feature films since then and are continually pushing the boundaries of filmmaking and bringing amazing work to African audiences. As a result of all of their efforts, they have built a reputation for themselves as one of the most progressive, creative and professional production companies in South Africa. T.O.M Pictures says that it runs on one simple philosophy: “To make content that reflects the true nature of our African identity, and also to contribute to and participate in the growth and understanding of South Africa and the African Continent.”

 

In order to produce a feature film, there has to be a tremendous amount of passion and commitment, indefinitely. Over the past four years, the team at T.O.M has been working tirelessly on a film project called Tell Me Sweet Something. This film follows the love story of two people leading very different lives. Moratiwa (Nomzamo Mbatha) is the owner of a small bookstore, and hopes one day to be a writer. However, her store is not as successful as she would like it to be and her love life is faring even worse. That is until she meets a male model, Nat (Maps Maponyane), who in his entire life has never read one book. Opposites attract, it appears. Both want to find love and to be desired for who they really are, rather than just how they appear on the outside. However, as the story unfolds, a woman from Nat’s past comes back into his life, pregnant with his child. Of course, this leads to complications and confusion, and the love between Moratiwa and Nat is tested.

 

 

Stories about love, relationships, and the complex nature of human relations are universal stories that people all over the world can relate to. T.O.M. pictures in particular also believe in portraying strong women as lead characters, and as complex human beings. The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) recognizes the potential that the Arts (including film) hold for shaping the way people perceive African women and it is for this reason that AWDF supported the funding of intensive rehearsal and workshop for actresses working on the film. In addition to Nomzamo Mbatha, the film stars other actresses including: Thembi Seete, Mandisa Bardill and Thishiwe Zigubu. The workshop rehearsals was used to help prepare the actresses along with director, Omotoso, for the shooting of the film. This was a month long process, during which actresses could get a grasp for how Omotoso worked and thus exactly how he wanted them to act in the film. It was important because the team was able to work together and develop chemistry prior to shooting. In order for everything in a film to be believable, it has to come from a very real place. Also, the most impressive outcome of the process was the development of an organic script by everyone involved. Each actress and actor contributed to the writing of the script. Therefore, they all own the script and this ownership has been important to the success of the film, according to T.O.M. Pictures.

 

 

AWDF cares about the successes of women artists around the continent, because these creative minds are ones that have the capability to reach thousands and millions of people! We believe in encouraging women to follow their dreams, and many dream of becoming artists, writers, singers, actresses, etc. There is always a space for people with a talent and a drive to be seen and heard.

 

 

AWDF could not be more proud to have been a part of this project. T.O.M Pictures was able to finally begin the shooting of the film during the month of May after waiting for three and a half years! All of the hard work of the cast and crew is paying off, and we cannot wait to see the completed film!