WICO

The Women International Coalition Organisation (WICO) Africa

WICO Africa wishes to empower women in claiming the right to decision making at the legislative level so that their voices are heard both locally and in society at large. Until Afican women are fully represented at senior levels of public, professional and economic leadership, we shall neither enjoy equal rights nor have an equal voice. The undervaluing og African women’s contributions to development and the under representation in decision-making are the source of much of the maginalization. Our social and economic advancement has be promoted within the frameworks of our nationals plans. Rural development is primarily the responsiblity of each country’s government. Its civil society and peopledirectly involved and is predicted on an enabling national environment, which combines effective and coherent polmicies, good governance and accountable institutions.

At the 1995 United Nations Beijing Women’s Conference many African governments committed « to ensure our equal access to and full participation in structures and decision making and increase the capapcity to particpate in decision making and leadership.. With WICO our voice can promote accountability and combat neglect from our governments and donors. WICO encourages you to claim your rights to participate in implementing and evaluation development programs, patterns of international trade and the external investment are adjusted. Women play a very special role as users and managers of natural resources which derives from the primary responsibility women have for food security, water, fuel, and family welfare. In our households women therefore have the right to co-create with men the space in which we live and decide for the future of society to which we give birth.

With the vast majority of the poor living in rural areas (three-quaters of Africa’s poor), we are key to ensuring that our governments listens to our call to put in place the right policies and services without which no farmer, no entrepreneur or donor for that matter will be willing to invest. WICO therefore urges women to claim their rights to be part of the designing their development process and evaluate themselves, what women need and what they can contribute. Women must therefore be accorded the right to own and inherit land, and the system of land distribution must be transparent, protecting the rights of the poor and the weak in our societies.

WHAT CAN WE DO !    HOW CAN WE GET INVOLVED !

Join WICO in demanding and working in partnerships with our governments to 

*Empower women by giving them a large voice in decision making process on resource allocation and in design, development and implementation of development strategies 

*Keep its commitments in giving women an enhanced role in all aspects of development including agriculture, nutrition, food security and in ensuring that women’s work is recognised and valued 

*Provide women equal access to education, skill training, health care, property, credit and inheritance and that local, national and international institutions advance women status and mainstram gender,

*Establish and strengthen financial institutions including microfinance, saving and insurance facilities and cooperative ventures for women’s development and the development of micro, small and medium sized enterprises 

*Expand women’s access to safe drinking water nd to basic sanitation 

*Accelerate the process and facilitate implementation of information and communication technologies to help women be informed of vital issues concerning 

*Give priority attention to policies and legislation to achieve well defined and enforceable land and water use rights and the promotion of legal security of tenure and garantee women’s enhanced access to social services 

*Strengthen health systems especially in the rural areas with particularattention to reducing maternal and infant mortality, infectious diseases and provision of family planning and

*Mainstream HIV/AIDS concern into development planning, including poverty eradication and food security strategies.

 

Hello sisters remember, women represent about two-thirds of Africa’s population. We produce an average more than half of all the food that is grown, up to 80 per cent in Africa therefore in Empwering the African Women we are accelerating the Engine for Africa’s development.

 

Updates from Africa

 

 

 

Environmental Journalism Key to Sustainable Development in Africa

Rosemary Olive Mbone Enie

WICO'S Africa CEO and President  (between 2004-2008)

 

RAP 21

 

The African Press Network for the 21st Century

 

Newsletter No 27/2008

 

17.09.08

 

 

Contents: This week's newsletter discusses the importance of environmental reporting in Africa, highlights key points that surfaced during the Highway Africa 2008 conference and addresses repressive laws hindering the private press in Senegal. 

 

NEWS FROM THE MEDIA SCENE

- Environmental Journalism Key to Sustainable Development in Africa

- Newspapers Bridge Old and New Media: A Snapshot from Highway Africa 2008

- World's Press Opposes Yahoo-Google Advertising Deal

- Zambian Newspaper Goes Online

 

PRESS FREEDOM

- Private Press in Senegal Clouded By Repressive Laws

- Resolutions on Defamation of Religion Challenged

- Alerts from the Continent

 

AWARDS

- Journalists Invited to Submit Reports on the Future of Congo

 

 

------------

NEWS FROM THE MEDIA SCENE

- Environmental Journalism Key to Sustainable Development in Africa

- Newspapers Bridge Old and New Media: A Snapshot from Highway Africa 2008

- World's Press Opposes Yahoo-Google Advertising Deal

- Zambian Newspaper Goes Online

------------

 

- Environmental Journalism Key to Sustainable Development in Africa

Catching the big scoop of the day has been the longstanding pinnacle of journalism – from war to financial crises the media has covered it.  Now, as people and governments grapple with balancing urban growth, sustainability and preservation, the story of the day is shown again to be much more than an ephemeral headline. Environmental degradation and the depletion of vital resources are examples of the kind of complex topics that need to be incorporated in both the agenda's of politicians and the media.  

Around the world, people are suffering and dying from lack of safe water and inadequate sanitation. In Africa, the situation is particularly grim: there are over 300 million people who do not have access to clean water, 313 million who lack adequate sanitation, and an average of 1.6 million African children who die each year as a result. 

With this harrowing picture, the African media is faced with the pressing responsibility of being a watchdog for environmental issues. Unsafe water and poor sanitation standards are the results of a complex web of factors – from corrupt local politics to discordant geopolitics and from the affects of industrialization to the exponential increase in the continent's population – and the media should play a prominent role in telling this story.  The media can indeed influence the direction environmental policy and growth will take in Africa. However, since these problems emerged coverage on water and sanitation in the African media has been insufficient. 

In an attempt to highlight its importance, RAP 21 spoke to water and gender rights advocate Rosemary Enie.  As President/CEO of Women International Coalition Organization (WICO) Africa, Gender Ambassador of Gender and Water Alliance (GWA) in the Netherlands and the founder of the Pan Africa Centre for the Environment (PACE), Enie is part of a movement to better water and sanitation conditions across Africa through utilising the power of the media.

"Visiting countries across the continent, I've had the opportunity to read through daily newspapers, magazines or watch major national channels.  From a water professional point of view, water and sanitation issues have very low coverage when compared to other issues such as politics, sports be it through television, radio or print media," said Enie.  

"South Africa is one of the countries that has done considerably well, though there is still room for improvement. The Kenyan media also publishes water and sanitation issues but I believe there is still much to be done generally in the continent," she continued.  In Zambia, The Post can also be an example for such reporting where articles on water frequent the pages on a weekly basis.  Still, a recent article in the paper said, "These issues often make some of our people uncomfortable. Even the media's coverage of these issues is relatively low."

In an attempt to improve the situation Enie said, "Every development issue such as agriculture, industrial development, maternal health, infant health, education, combating diseases such as HIV/AIDS, maleria etc, empowering women, eradicating poverty and hunger and ensuring environmental sustainability have a direct/indirect relation with the provision of water and sanitation within the households and communities across Africa."

"Over 60 shared river basins dominate the African landscape but weak regional cooperation has limited the benefits to the continent and reduced the effectiveness of water governance necessary for development," Enie explained. 

Further, all of this, Enie continued is "compounded by steady environmental degradation, depletion, and contamination of water resources as well as related factors such as climate change, desertification, flooding and erosion." It is these phenomena that have resulted with new phrases such as 'Water wars' to enter our lexicon.

In response, two international targets commonly referred to as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for water and sanitation, have been set along with continental accords such as the African Water Vision.  The goal is to halve the proportion of people without access to safe water and proper sanitation by 2015 and further improvements to be reached by 2025 with the latter. 

In the case of Africa this is an especially arduous task to achieve. According to Enie, "Preliminary assessment has revealed that an investment of US $ 20 billion is required over 25 years (2000-2025) to attain the MDGs and African Water Vision targets."  However, Enie said, "The pervasive poverty condition coupled with slow economic growth and high level of indebtedness in the continent inhibits investment in water resources development."

Consequently, Enie said: "It is necessary to bring water and sanitation issues in Africa into the media scene with more vigour.  The media has a very important role in terms of public awareness raising and education on water and sanitation issues. It can also provide an enabling environment for public forum debates leading to Africa's water and food security and sustainable development."  And at the crux, Enie said, "the challenge is to manage the people that depend on and make decisions about water resources management in the continent at all levels."

Across Africa, as people scramble for water, governments and the private sector often carry out poorly designed water and sanitation delivery projects to under-served people.  "The problem of corruption within the water and sanitation sector in Africa is one of the major challenges.  Coverage of these issues needs to be brought to the public debate to fight this evil and promote water security," said Enie.

Insufficient coverage results from a number factors including lack of scientific and environmental knowledge, little journalistic training on the subject, and pressures from powerful local interests and advertisers who support media outlets.  To combat these barriers it is necessary to creat multilateral partnerships that extend from the local grassroots level to top policy makers. "The media should establish a strong partnership with other stakeholders such as Members of Parliaments (MPs), Government Agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Community Based Organisations (CBOs), for water and sanitation information dissemination, public awareness raising and education," said Enie.

In line with this, Enie is spearheading a movement across Africa to bring water and sanitation into the media's agenda.  To begin, WICO Africa, Enie's organization, conducted a study on "how to enable the media to build upon the growing interest of the public in information dissemination, public awareness raising and education on water and sanitation issues."

Coined the "Blue Revolution African Campaign (BRAC)," WICO Africa, PACE and the African Water Information Desk (AFRICAWIDE) in collaboration with organisations based in Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Senegal, and Benin started a campaign in September 2008 to give impetus to change environmental policy.  The goal is to establish relations between the media, MPs and other stakeholders to increase dialogue and awareness on water and sanitation issues. 

AFRICAWIDE also set up the Water Education and Training (WET) Africa Fund, which includes financing for the media, to ensure that journalists acquire the skills, knowledge and experience necessary to treat water and sanitation issues appropriately in the public forum. "It is quite evident that nature cannot speak like humans. 

There is therefore a need for journalists and the media to effectively understand this and play an important role to enable the society to think and speak for nature," said Enie.

- Newspapers Bridge Old and New Media: A Snapshot from Highway Africa 2008

Across the world the media landscape is widening to include voices from outside the newsroom by dint of evolving information and communication technologies, from blogs to mobile phones. 

At the 12th annual Highway Africa conference, held in Grahamstown, South Africa, from 8 to 10 September under the banner of 'Citizen Journalism, Journalism for Citizens,' more than 700 media professionals from 42 African countries gathered to discuss these changes through a democratic and sustainable lens.

"Ordinary people doing journalism.  Journalism actually serving its citizens.  That is the crux of the debates and discussions at Highway Africa 2008…how information and communication technologies can be deployed in African development and democracy projects," said Chris Kabwato, director of Highway Africa, in his welcoming address.

Guy Berger, a leading figure during the conference and head of Rhode's University's School of Journalism and Media Studies discussed with RAP 21 of what is ahead for the African media.

"The conference not only sensitised African journalists to the changing information universe and competition from amateur content producers, but that they also need to compete on the field of "citizenship," said Berger. He continued to speak about the positive potential this shift has for the entirety of the African media: "A great deal of African journalism is politically controlled, and will be sidelined if it does not become more citizen-oriented in terms of who it serves." 

In the case of the African media, Berger said to RAP 21, "Much of the African media is state- or donor-sponsored, and in the case of print – financed by cover price. Except for the major players, advertising has not been the predominant basis of paying for news in many media operations. In turn, that reflects weak African economies and the lack of reliable market-research information into audiences and media consumption."

Burgeoning online content could also have benefits for the African media, albeit manifesting at a slower pace than in other parts of the world with higher internet access.  Berger agreed: "Audiences shifting to online is slow in African conditions, but it does make for more measurable traffic and could assist media houses.  New Vision in Uganda told me at the conference that their website is now a significant contributor to the paper's revenues. That's without factoring in citizen journalism in the sense of reportage that adds to the news – such a development in Africa could increase web content and also web traffic." This is especially relevant in light of this week's announcement of Google's ambitious plans to bring internet access to three billion people in Africa. 

Currently, cell phones carry the most potential in connecting Africans to the media scene. Over the past five years cell phone use has skyrocketed. There are now 282 million cell phone users with an annual growth rate of 33 percent. "The cell phone model is the way to go.  It can combine subscription and ad revenues, and it can be used for interactive journalism in a way that provides access and a platform for the African citizenry," Berger said. 

"In a few years, there will be more consumption of internet news content by Africans through cell phones, than by other internet access or by the press. Broadcast will still reach more people, but it will need to converge a lot more with web and cellular platforms for maximum effect (including audio and video contributions and disseminations)," Berger continued.

With this pot-pourri of media sources and outlets Berger sees a potential for the traditional media to exploit new media. To smoothly segue into this new age Berger concluded: "Newspapers can lead the way in terms of new media via cell phone in Africa."

 

- World's Press Opposes Yahoo-Google Advertising Deal

 

The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) called on competition authorities, on 15 September, in Europe and North America to bar an advertising agreement between Google and Yahoo that would diminish competition. WAN has taken this stand on the grounds that the deal would adversely affect advertising revenues that the two search giants provide to newspapers and other websites and cut costs on paid search ads. 

 

To find out more about WAN's position please follow this link: http://www.wan-

 

 

Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development and Aid Effectiveness, Kenya, Nairobi, 26-28 August 2008

Engaging parliamentarians in the debate surrounding the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) is essential to the betterment of the current aid delivery system.  As the overseers of the public purse, and as representatives of the people for whom this aid is intended to reach, parliamentarians have an integral mandate to fulfill in this regard. 

Not only an important end in and of itself, the effective delivery of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) is a prerequisite for the attainment of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The "Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development and Aid Effectiveness" each of these topics and explored this link with a focus on MDG 7, "ensure environmental sustainability" and 1, "eradicate extreme poverty and hunger."

Global warming currently constitutes one of the biggest challenges for humanity. The developed countries of the world are the main contributors to the problem while developing regions, not least of which, those in Africa, seem destined to suffer most.  Additionally, food scarcity and security, an issue with complex links to climate related issues, needs to be addressed as a very serious issue of concern for the world community.

In response to these complex issues, AWEPA launched the African-European Parliamentary Dialogue on Sustainable Development and Climate Change. Partners in the dialogue have and will continue to include African parliamentarians, UN agencies, and global and regional parliamentary networks.

This new initiative was launched at the "Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development and Aid Effectiveness" in Nairobi from 26-28 August 2008. The dialogue will continue through sub-regional seminars and national workshops throughout Africa and Europe, leading up to the Copenhagen Summit at the end of 2009.

The overall objective of the Forum was to reinforce dialogue between parliamentarians and increase parliamentary action related to the global responsibilities of sustainable development, poverty reduction and aid effectiveness.

 The seminar focussed on four key areas of parliamentary responsibility:

• Climate Change
• Economic Development and Food Security
• Human Livelihood - Perspective of the Poor in Rural and Urban Environments
• Parliamentary oversight of ODA in line with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the AAA.  

During the seminar, parliamentarians evaluated progress and measures taken in relation to the above-mentioned themes. Parliamentarians from 14 African countries, joined by colleagues from 14 European countries and Japan, concluded the seminar by launching the African-European Parliamentary Action Plan on Climate Change. 

Additionally, the Parliamentarians drafted a final Parliamentary Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, which was presented in the name of parliamentarians across the world at the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, Ghana from 2-4 September 2008. 

Please click here for speeches, presentations and extra resources.

Key seminar documents:

 Press Release: Parliamentary Action for Climate Change 2008 

 Final Parliamentary Recommendations on Aid Effectiveness

 Recommandations parlementaires sur l'efficacité de l'aide

 Final Action Plan on Climate Change and Food Security

 Plan d'action parlementaire africain-européen sur le changement climatique 

Final Programme: Parliamentary Forum on Climate Change and Aid Effectiveness

Programmme finale: Forum parlementaire sur le Développement durable et l'Efficacité de l'aide

Press Coverage:

The Daily Nation, Kenya, August 27 2008

The Daily Nation, Kenya, August 28 2008

The Daily Nation, Kenya, August 29 2008

Catching the big scoop of the day has been the longstanding pinnacle of journalism – from war to financial crises the media has covered it.  Now, as people and governments grapple with balancing urban growth, sustainability and preservation, the story of the day is shown again to be much more than an ephemeral headline. Environmental degradation and the depletion of vital resources are examples of the kind of complex topics that need to be incorporated in both the agenda's of politicians and the media.  

Around the world, people are suffering and dying from lack of safe water and inadequate sanitation. In Africa, the situation is particularly grim: there are over 300 million people who do not have access to clean water, 313 million who lack adequate sanitation, and an average of 1.6 million African children who die each year as a result. 

With this harrowing picture, the African media is faced with the pressing responsibility of being a watchdog for environmental issues. Unsafe water and poor sanitation standards are the results of a complex web of factors – from corrupt local politics to discordant geopolitics and from the affects of industrialization to the exponential increase in the continent's population – and the media should play a prominent role in telling this story.  The media can indeed influence the direction environmental policy and growth will take in Africa. However, since these problems emerged coverage on water and sanitation in the African media has been insufficient. 

In an attempt to highlight its importance, RAP 21 spoke to water and gender rights advocate Rosemary Enie.  As President/CEO of Women International Coalition Organization (WICO) Africa, Gender Ambassador of Gender and Water Alliance (GWA) in the Netherlands and the founder of the Pan Africa Centre for the Environment (PACE), Enie is part of a movement to better water and sanitation conditions across Africa through utilising the power of the media.

"Visiting countries across the continent, I've had the opportunity to read through daily newspapers, magazines or watch major national channels.  From a water professional point of view, water and sanitation issues have very low coverage when compared to other issues such as politics, sports be it through television, radio or print media," said Enie.  

"South Africa is one of the countries that has done considerably well, though there is still room for improvement. The Kenyan media also publishes water and sanitation issues but I believe there is still much to be done generally in the continent," she continued.  In Zambia, The Post can also be an example for such reporting where articles on water frequent the pages on a weekly basis.  Still, a recent article in the paper said, "These issues often make some of our people uncomfortable. Even the media's coverage of these issues is relatively low."

In an attempt to improve the situation Enie said, "Every development issue such as agriculture, industrial development, maternal health, infant health, education, combating diseases such as HIV/AIDS, maleria etc, empowering women, eradicating poverty and hunger and ensuring environmental sustainability have a direct/indirect relation with the provision of water and sanitation within the households and communities across Africa."

"Over 60 shared river basins dominate the African landscape but weak regional cooperation has limited the benefits to the continent and reduced the effectiveness of water governance necessary for development," Enie explained. 

Further, all of this, Enie continued is "compounded by steady environmental degradation, depletion, and contamination of water resources as well as related factors such as climate change, desertification, flooding and erosion." It is these phenomena that have resulted with new phrases such as 'Water wars' to enter our lexicon.

In response, two international targets commonly referred to as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for water and sanitation, have been set along with continental accords such as the African Water Vision.  The goal is to halve the proportion of people without access to safe water and proper sanitation by 2015 and further improvements to be reached by 2025 with the latter. 

In the case of Africa this is an especially arduous task to achieve. According to Enie, "Preliminary assessment has revealed that an investment of US $ 20 billion is required over 25 years (2000-2025) to attain the MDGs and African Water Vision targets."  However, Enie said, "The pervasive poverty condition coupled with slow economic growth and high level of indebtedness in the continent inhibits investment in water resources development."

Consequently, Enie said: "It is necessary to bring water and sanitation issues in Africa into the media scene with more vigour.  The media has a very important role in terms of public awareness raising and education on water and sanitation issues. It can also provide an enabling environment for public forum debates leading to Africa's water and food security and sustainable development."  And at the crux, Enie said, "the challenge is to manage the people that depend on and make decisions about water resources management in the continent at all levels."

Across Africa, as people scramble for water, governments and the private sector often carry out poorly designed water and sanitation delivery projects to under-served people.  "The problem of corruption within the water and sanitation sector in Africa is one of the major challenges.  Coverage of these issues needs to be brought to the public debate to fight this evil and promote water security," said Enie.

Insufficient coverage results from a number factors including lack of scientific and environmental knowledge, little journalistic training on the subject, and pressures from powerful local interests and advertisers who support media outlets.  To combat these barriers it is necessary to creat multilateral partnerships that extend from the local grassroots level to top policy makers. "The media should establish a strong partnership with other stakeholders such as Members of Parliaments (MPs), Government Agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Community Based Organisations (CBOs), for water and sanitation information dissemination, public awareness raising and education," said Enie.

In line with this, Enie is spearheading a movement across Africa to bring water and sanitation into the media's agenda.  To begin, WICO Africa, Enie's organization, conducted a study on "how to enable the media to build upon the growing interest of the public in information dissemination, public awareness raising and education on water and sanitation issues."

Coined the "Blue Revolution African Campaign (BRAC)," WICO Africa, PACE and the African Water Information Desk (AFRICAWIDE) in collaboration with organisations based in Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Senegal, and Benin started a campaign in September 2008 to give impetus to change environmental policy.  The goal is to establish relations between the media, MPs and other stakeholders to increase dialogue and a