Quarterly Newsletter from iCON – Academy i – April

Highlights

Theme: Empowering Rural Women Around the World

• Key Facts About Rural Women Globally
• Leaders Reveal Their Recipe for the Empowerment of Rural Women for Development
• Interviews With Inspiring Young Women
• The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) Process in Uganda
• Events you cannot afford to miss in 2012

And so much more!

Please find attached.

To have your stories published in the iCON newsletter that comes out at the end of May 2012, please send your stories, pictures and comments to nasikye@gmail.com

Quarterly Newsletter from iCON – Academy i – April

NB. Please note that the application forms should be submitted to the

iCON Gulu Office,
Onono Road
Tel0701375130, 0782926719

or
iCON Kampala Office
Nakasenda House, Kansanga
Tel 0701361190,031261190, 0701059191 or 0782059191.

Email:info@iconwypla.org

All the information provided will be treated as confidential. Please submit this application form by 21st May, 2012.

The reality of the changing climate and its threat on life and sustainable development of communities has become more apparent in Uganda and around the world. There is an increase in extreme weather conditions including droughts, floods, storms that needs the special attention of all people.

iCON recognizes the need to prevent further damage but also address effects of climate change on people and communities because it limits their potential to grow into visionary leaders as their entrepreneurial capacity is greatly affected.  Under one of its core thematic areas of Gender, Environmental Sustainability and Leadership, iCON aims to build leadership capacities to address challenges and harness opportunities associated with the environment including finding lasting solutions to the climate change problem.

iCON is a member of a working group of CSOs in Uganda led by the Development Network of Indigenous Voluntary Associations (DENIVA) that are combining efforts to address the challenges of climate change in the country. This working group aims to increase government’s accountability and commitment to address the climate change conundrum through formulation and implementation of policies that speak to the needs of Ugandans; increased documentation on risks and response measures; and knowledge sharing among organizations working on addressing climate change in the country.

iCON warmly invites its members, Fellows and partners to participate by giving their views on climate change by filling in the attached questionnaire. Feedback from the questionnaire will be synthesized into a report that will be shared will all stakeholders. For details about the working group and their efforts to address climate change issues see concept note attached

Please send the completed questionnaires to Esther Nasikye – nasikye@gmail.com or Emmanuel Sanya -sanyamango@gmail.com or you can hand deliver to the iCON offices at the address below  by Wednesday 28^th March 2012

Download concept note here  Concept note Climate Change policy (49) and find the questionnaire here Climate Change questionnaire (29)

Address in Kampala
Icon Women and Young People’s Leadership Academy
No 3 Nakasenda House, Plot 337,
Block 254 Kansanga Nabutiti Zone
P.O Box 5388, Kampala, Uganda.
Tel: +256-3120261190/414348780

Address in Northern Uganda
Northern Uganda Office: Plot No 7 Onona Road
Gulu Town, Gulu District
Tel:  +256 (0)372-275130

On Monday the 27th of February the members of the Uganda delegation to the Fifty- Six Session on the United Nations Commission on the Status

UN Headquarters in New York. The African Shadow report was launched at one of the Pararell events during the 54th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York

of Women (UNCSW 56th Session) met together with representatives of civil society organisations and women’s rights activists at Uganda House (Uganda UN Mission Building in New York) to plan and strategize on how best to participate and influence the outcomes of the CSW 56th Session. These meetings have been held every morning since then. They are attended by Government delegation which is composed 20 members (including several civil society representatives). In addition over 20 civil society representatives including some of those representing international and regional/sub-regional organizations based in Uganda were invited to the morning planning and debriefing meetings and this has provided a unique space for the non-state actors to interact with the delegation.

In the first meeting the delegates harmonized expectations and agreed on the ways of working in order to make the long journey to New York a worthwhile investment. The morning meetings have been interactive and very instructive on how to make strategic interventions within the CSW Session both in the official sessions as well as selected side events hosted by various member states, UN agencies, international organizations and regional and national civil society organizations. As a civil society representative on the official delegation holding the morning meetings has been a very good practice which has provided unique opportunities to dialogue and exchange ideas with our government colleagues on various issues and concerns and harmonize views on what we should focus on in the statements delivered by the Minister of State during the official sessions and the areas where follow up actions will take place after the team returns home after the CSW session. On a lighter note we have been able to support each other with tips on managing the tough weather conditions (the cold), and celebrate the many achievements of the yesteryears.

The Official Opening of the UNCSW 56th Session

The CSW annual session is an opportunity for the global gender equality community to come together to review progress, rally around key issues and re-commit to bring real change in the lives of women and girls globally. The 2012 Session was officially opened on the morning of the 27th of February 2012 chaired by H.E. Ms. Marjon V. Kamara of Liberia, of the African States Group focusing on rural women and development and the implementation of the Agreed Conclusions of the 52nd session on Financing for Gender Equality. It was clear from the presentations that Africa has the largest population of people living in rural communities in the world. In particular African women continue to be the main providers of labour for the agricultural sector which is the mainstay of most African countries. However, since the Beijing Conference held in 1995 the realities of African women living and working in rural areas have changed very slowly and unevenly. Gender relations in society and in governance institutions have also not changed. The reasons highlighted are numerous. Those repeatedly highlighted include the lack of consistent political commitment at the highest levels to promote gender equality, and the persistent socio-economic and political obstacles that hinder women’s full participation and representation in decision making structures. By the close of the Opening session it was clear that rural development need to be prioritized and development plans and programmes must be gender – responsive so that they can address the real concerns of rural women and men. It was evident that the rhetoric has not translated in real results.

It is therefore important that at this CSW member states in Africa fully re- commit to take actions that can transform rural economies. The outcome document from the 56th Session therefore must provide clear pointers on what needs to be done so that gender equality and women’s empowerment are at the centre of the rural development agenda.

Norah Matovu Winyi

Legal, Gender, Governance and Human Rights Expert

(International Consultant)

P. O. Box 21756

Kampala, Uganda

(256 772 825 829 (Uganda)

(254 729 571 544 (Kenya)

(            + 44 77 677 450 13       (UK)

nomir2002@yahoo.com

peace.matovu@gmail.com

“Wisdom comes from the fear of the Lord”

UN Headquarters in New York. The African Shadow report was launched at one of the Pararell events during the 54th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2/24/2012

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK – The Global Network for Global Peacebuilders (GNWP), a program partner of the International Civil society Action Network announces upcoming events – organized in conjunction with the Commission of the Status of Women (CSW) – that highlight some of the important issues we strive to make a difference on! GNWP bridges the gap between policy discussions and implementation and action on the ground on women and peace and security issues.

February 28, 2:30-4pm at the UN Church Center, 2nd floor (1st Avenue and 44th street) Investing in Peace, Investing in Women, a panel discussion that will examine the impact of current financing for UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and women and peace and security programming at the national level. Co-sponsored by GNWP, Cordaid, the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations and the United Nations Development Program

March 1, 4:30-6pm at the UN Church Center Chapel (1st Avenue and 44th street) Violence against Women, Economic Empowerment and Rural Women in Conflict-Affected Situations, an event which will analyze women’s economic empowerment opportunities (or lack thereof) and their effect on preventing or aggravating rural women’s vulnerability to various forms of violence. Co-sponsored by GNWP, Women’s Division – General Board of Global Ministries United Methodist Church and Project Girl

February 27, 2:30-4:00 PM at the UN Church Center, 2nd Floor (1st Avenue and 44th street); and on March 6, 4:45-6:00 PM at the UN North Lawn Building, Room B Conversation

Circles on the thematic area Women, Peace and Security/Violence Against Women will serve as spaces for networking, sharing information and future strategies on issues relating to women and peace and security, and violence against women (WPS/VAW). Co-hosted by GNWP and Eng Aja Eze Foundation

The panel discussion on February 28th will present the multi-stakeholders’ financing mechanism for Resolution 1325 in Burundi as a model of financial cooperation to promote peace and gender-equality in conflict-affected countries. We are also excited about the March 1st event as we will be working with United Methodist Women and Project Girl, a ground-breaking girl-led, arts-based initiative created to enable girls to become better informed critical consumers of mass media advertising and entertainment – in other words, to become more media literate. The Conversation Circles will present concrete recommendations to government delegates to the CSW and propose how these could be integrated into the Agreed Conclusions (the outcome document) of the CSW.

It’s important to share the stories of the women we work with around the globe on local peacebuilding initiatives. These events will help us amplify their voices, boldly bringing them to the forefront of global action to combat violence against women and empower women economically. Hope to see you there!

Shared by

Harriet Nabukeera Musoke,
Exchange Programme Coordinator,
Isis-Women’s International Cross-Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE)
Plot 23 Bukoto Street, Kamwokya
P.O Box 4934, Kampala, Uganda
Tel:  +256 41 454-3954 Fax:  +256 41 454-3954

Cellphone:  +256 702 421 426
Email: mharriet@isis.or.ug isis@starcom.co.ug, program@isis.or.ug,

Websites: http://www.isis.or.ug http://library.isis.or.ug

• Gender inequality is a major cause and effect of hunger and poverty: it is estimated that 60 percent of chronically hungry people are women and girls. (Source: WFP Gender Policy and Strategy.)
• On average, women make up about 43 percent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries. Evidence indicates that if these women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20 to 30 percent, raising total agricultural output in these countries by 2.5 to 4 percent. This would reduce the number of hungry people in the world by around 12 to 17 percent.
• Almost 70 percent of employed women in South Asia work in agriculture, as do more than 60 percent of employed women in sub-Saharan Africa. This highlights the importance of developing policies and programmes that address their needs, interests and constraints.
• Less than 20 percent of the world’s landholders are women. Women represent fewer than 5 percent of all agricultural landholders in North Africa and West Asia, while in sub-Saharan Africa they make up an average of 15 percent.
• Women in sub-Saharan Africa collectively spend about 40 billion hours a year collecting water. Per week, women in Guinea collect water for 5.7 hours, compared to 2.3 hours for men; in Sierra Leone women spend 7.3 compared to 4.5 hours for men; and in Malawi this figure is 9.1 compared to 1.1 hours. This significantly impacts women’s employment opportunities.
• Research indicates that when more income is put into the hands of women, child nutrition, health and education improves. In South and Central America, rural children are about 1.8 times more likely to be underweight than their urban counterparts. Other regions do not fare much better.

Education

• Women make up more than two-thirds of the world’s 796 million illiterate people.
• According to global statistics, just 39 percent of rural girls attend secondary school. This is far fewer than rural boys (45 percent), urban girls (59 percent) and urban boys (60 percent).
• Every additional year of primary school increases girls’ eventual wages by 10–20 percent. It also encourages them to marry later and have fewer children, and leaves them less vulnerable to violence.
• While progress has been made in reducing the gender gap in urban primary school enrolment, data from 42 countries shows that rural girls are twice as likely as urban girls to be out of school.
• In Pakistan a half-kilometre increase in the distance to school will decrease girls’ enrolment by 20 percent. In Egypt, Indonesia and several African countries, building local schools in rural communities increased girls’ enrolment.
• In Cambodia, 48 percent of rural women are illiterate compared to 14 percent of rural men.
• Rural women’s deficits in education have long-term implications for family well-being and poverty reduction. Vast improvements have been seen in the mortality rates of children less than 5 years old since 1990, but rural rates are usually much higher than urban ones.
• Data from 68 countries indicates that a woman’s education is a key factor in determining a child’s survival.
• Children of mothers with no education in the Latin American and Caribbean region are 3.1 times more likely to die than those with mothers who have secondary or tertiary education, and 1.6 more likely to die that those whose mothers have primary-level education.

Employment

• In most countries, women in rural areas who work for wages are more likely than men to hold seasonal, part-time and low-wage jobs. Women also receive lower wages for the same work. (Source: FAO, 2011. “The State of Food and Agriculture: Women in Agriculture, Closing the Gender Gap for Development.”)
• Men’s average wages are higher than women’s in both rural and urban areas. Rural women typically work longer hours than men, due to additional reproductive, domestic and care responsibilities.
• In Benin and Tanzania, women work 17.4 and 14 hours more than men per week, respectively.

Decision-Making

• A large gender gap remains in women’s access to decision-making and leadership.
• Women make up fewer elected representatives in most rural councils. In Asia, this ranges between 1.6 percent in Sri Lanka and 31 percent in Pakistan.
• Women’s participation as chairs or heads in rural councils is also much lower than men’s, as seen in Bangladesh (0.2 percent) and Cambodia (7 percent).
• Educated women are more likely to have greater decision-making power within their households.

Maternal Health

• Between 1990 and 2008, the proportion of rural women receiving prenatal care at least once during pregnancy grew from 55 to 66 percent.
• However, only one-third of rural women receive prenatal care compared to 50 percent in developing regions as a whole. (Source: United Nations, The Millennium Development Goals Report 2010 and 2011, available from www.un.org/millenniumgoals/reports.shtml.)

Violence against Women

• More rural women experience domestic violence, and yet few seek services, according to a multi-country study by the World Health Organization (WHO). In Peru, less than 5 percent of the total amount of rural domestic violence survivors (60 percent) sought help, compared to approximately 16 percent of urban women (out of 49 percent).

HIV and AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases

• Rural women understand less about how HIV spreads compared to urban women; WHO figures from 25 countries indicate the margins of understanding between the two to be between 20 and 50 percent. Bolivia, Egypt, Indonesia and India are among the countries with the wider of such gaps.
• HIV exacerbates property insecurity, especially for widows whose husbands have died from AIDS-related causes, but who may not have rights to inherit or own their land.
• The burden of care is also carried by women. Women and girls account for 66 to 90 percent of all AIDS care givers; conditions are most difficult for women and girls in rural areas, and this can increase their own vulnerability to infection.

Environmental Sustainability

• There is still far less access to clean or improved water sources in rural areas than in urban areas. In 2008, an estimated 743 million people living in rural areas relied on unimproved sources for drinking water, compared to 141 million in urban areas.
• People in the least developed countries rely on open fires and traditional cooking stoves (for example, wood, crop waste and charcoal) to earn a living and feed their families. It is usually women who walk the long distances every day to collect fuel (and water). (Source: UNIDO, 2011. Contribution to the LDC IV Conference on Energy Access.)
• Environmental degradation has an impact on natural resources and can affect rural women differently from men. For example, since rural women tend to have fewer occupational options and less mobility than men, many rely on natural resources from forests.
• Natural disasters, climate change and conflict can undermine the health, education and livelihoods of rural women, differently to men. For example, although women usually manage the small plots of agricultural land in each family for income or sustenance in developing countries, land titles are most likely to be held by the men. This means that following a disaster, many women cannot independently claim state-offered reconstruction funds. Women can also be more at risk of harm during flooding in countries where boys are taught to swim at an early age, but girls rarely are.
• Evidence from 25 developed and developing countries indicates that countries with higher female parliamentary representation are more likely to set aside protected land areas.

Note: Facts and figures are drawn from the forthcoming inter-agency report, “Rural Women and the Millennium Development Goals,” produced by the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Rural Women, unless other sources cited.

Source: http://www.unwomen.org/how-we-work/csw/csw-56/facts-and-figures/

The Commission will focus on the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges.

Why Is This Theme Important?

Rural women constitute one-fourth of the world’s population. They are leaders, decision-makers, producers, workers, entrepreneurs and service providers. Their contributions are vital to the well-being of families and communities, and of local and national economies.

Yet rural women’s rights, contributions and priorities have been largely overlooked. Rural women have also been hard hit by the economic and financial crisis, volatile food prices and export-driven agriculture. They need to be fully engaged in efforts to shape a response to these inter-connected crises and in decision-making at all levels.

Unleashing the potential of rural women will make a major contribution to ending poverty and hunger, and to accelerating the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and realizing sustainable development.

Now Is the Time to Act

Rural women are key agents of change. Their leadership and participation are needed to shape responses to development challenges and recent crises.

Women are central to the development of rural areas: they account for a great proportion of the agricultural labour force, produce the majority of food grown, especially in subsistence farming, and perform most of the unpaid care work in rural areas. It is critical that their contributions be recognized and that their voices be heard in decision-making processes at all levels of governments, and within rural organizations.

Participatory approaches, stakeholder consultations, and support for rural and women’s organizations can help ensure that rural women’s priorities are reflected in macroeconomic policies and rural development and agricultural programmes. Temporary special measures, such as quotas and benchmarks, can often quickly increase the number of rural women in national and local governance and help build capacity for their effective participation in relevant processes. A recent study covering 17 countries in Asia and the Pacific showed that the proportion of women among elected representatives in rural councils varied from 0.6 percent to 37 percent. The countries with the highest number of women in such councils tended to be the ones that had implemented affirmative action measures, such as quotas. However, the percentage of women elected as heads or chairs of these rural councils was consistently below 10 percent [1]. Bold measures are thus called for to ensure that rural women obtain leadership positions in rural governance institutions.

Rural women’s economic empowerment is key. If rural women had equal access to productive resources, agricultural yields would rise and there would be 100 million to 150 million fewer hungry people.

Women have equal property ownership rights in 115 countries and equal inheritance rights in 93 countries. However, gender disparities in land holdings are discernible in all regions, showing important gaps in implementing these laws. Rural women also have restricted access to other productive resources, such as agricultural inputs, extension services, and technology, which in turn limits agricultural output. Only 5 percent of agricultural extension services are provided for women farmers. In rural sub-Saharan Africa, women hold less than 10 percent of the credit available to smallholder agriculture. These disadvantages have detrimental impacts not only on women themselves, but also on families and communities in rural areas.

Rural women face more difficulty than men in gaining access to public services, social protection, employment opportunities, and local and national markets and institutions, due to cultural norms, security concerns and lack of identification documents. Recent UN Women research shows that the proportion of women without identification cards reaches as high as 80 percent in some villages in rural Egypt, which hampers their access to health, education, pensions, application for property title or deed, and other social services, in addition to their ability to vote.

Unpaid care work further limits rural women’s ability to take advantage of on- and off-farm employment and new market opportunities in the agricultural sector. For instance, eight out of ten people without access to an improved drinking water source live in rural areas, and it is most often women and girls who are tasked with fetching water. Poor rural women can work as many as 16 to 18 hours per day, doing fieldwork as well as handling all their domestic responsibilities. The burden of women’s and girls’ unpaid care work must urgently be reduced by providing improved infrastructure, labour-saving technologies and care services in rural areas.

Effective strategic, policy and programmatic responses are called for to build the asset base of women smallholder farmers, improve their access to resources and services, expand their opportunities to diversify their production, increase their productivity, and facilitate their access to high-value product markets.

Financing for rural development, agriculture and climate change should prioritize rural women and girls.

The international community contributed USD 7.5 billion in official development assistance to rural development and the agricultural sector in 2008–2009. However, only 3 percent of the amount was allocated to programmes in which gender equality was a principal objective, and only 32 percent to those in which gender equality was a secondary objective.

Greater financial resources are needed for rural development, and such investment must respond to the situation and priorities of women and girls. Governments should prioritize infrastructure projects, such as roads and transportation to local markets, community-based water schemes, and renewable energy sources, and invest in rural women’s initiatives that promote sustainable agriculture and biodiversity. It is crucial to ensure that rural women benefit equally from current and future financing to support rural development, agriculture and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

There is also a need to ensure that government officials and service providers have the capacity to use available tools, including gender-responsive budgeting, for the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of gender-responsive rural development and agricultural policies and programmes, infrastructure development and service delivery.

Ad-hoc interventions are not enough — the broader policy environment must be responsive to the rights and needs of rural women and girls.

Insufficient attention has been given to the situation of rural women, and policy responses have tended to be sporadic and limited in scope. The empowerment of rural women demands comprehensive strategies that address the many obstacles they face. Policy makers must therefore adopt a systematic approach for the empowerment of rural women. They must also ensure that rural women’s priorities are reflected in all international, national and local governance processes, including policy development, public administration, service delivery, financing and accountability mechanisms. Rural women and girls should be prioritized in rural development and agriculture policies and programmes, national development plans and poverty reduction strategies to achieve equal access for women to productive resources, essential services, employment opportunities, and labour-saving technologies. States must abolish laws and change policies that discriminate against rural women and girls, such as those that limit women’s rights to land, property and inheritance, or that restrict their legal capacity.

Strong action and accountability is needed to advance the rights, opportunities and participation of rural women.

Global partnerships should be scaled up to deliver on international commitments for advancing rural women’s livelihoods and rights. The 56th session of the Commission on the Status of Women is an occasion to solidify consensus among governments and civil society on urgent actions needed to make a real difference in the lives of millions of rural women. The policy recommendations to be adopted by the Commission need to be fully implemented at the national level. They should be carried forward into other key policy forums, such as the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).

Commitment at the international level must be followed by comprehensive action on the ground, and effective accountability mechanisms must be put into place — rural women and girls cannot wait and governments cannot fail them. Non-governmental and grass-roots women’s organizations are critical in raising awareness among rural women and girls of their rights, and the responsibilities and obligations of national and local governments in respecting, protecting and promoting these rights.

Global Data

• 70 percent of the developing world’s 1.4 billion extremely poor live in rural areas. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to nearly one-third of these, while South Asia is now home to about half.
• In 2010, 925 million people were chronically hungry, of whom 60 percent were women.
• Agriculture provides a livelihood for 86 percent of rural women and men, and employment for about 1.3 billion smallholder farmers and landless workers, 43 percent of whom are women.
• An estimated two-thirds of the 400 million poor livestock keepers worldwide are women.
• The burden of unpaid care work is substantial. Globally there are 884 million people without safe drinking water, 1.6 billion people without reliable sources of energy, 1 billion people who lack access to roads, 2.6 billion people without satisfactory sanitation facilities, and 2.7 billion people who rely on open fires and traditional cooking stoves. Rural women carry most of the unpaid work burden due to lack of infrastructure and services.
• In rural areas of the developing world, excluding China, 45 percent of women aged 20–24 were married or in union before the age of 18, compared to 22 percent of urban women.

For more analysis and policy recommendations on the empowerment of rural women, read the reports of the United Nations Secretary-General on the priority theme, “The empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges” (E/CN.6/2012/3) and “Empowerment of rural women: the role of gender-responsive governance and institutions” (E/CN.6/2012/4). These are available for download in the six official UN languages at:www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw56/documentation.htm. Unless indicated otherwise, all examples and data used in this note are extracted from these reports.

Source: http://www.unwomen.org/how-we-work/csw/csw-56/

iCON reminds you to confirm your attendance to the Uganda CSW working group meeting with the Director, Ministry of Gender, to be held on Friday February 3^rd 2012.

iCON will be taking the debate on the 56^th theme of the CSW live on air. So tune in to the talk show “Manya Eddembe Lyo” on CBS FM on Sunday, February 5^th 2012 from 9pm-10pm to be part of this advocacy platform.

iCON shall be convening the CSW Working group for a planning meeting for working group representatives to the 56^th CSW meeting.

iCON shall be bringing daily updates from the 56^th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meeting from 27^th February to 7^th March 2012 to the mailing lists.

Join the Metro NY Chapter of the US National Committee for UN Women at their Annual Luncheon at the United Nations March 2, 2012, noon to 2:30 PM Delegates’ Dining Room at United Nations Headquarters United Nations Plaza, New York City on the theme: “Peace and Equality”

Keynote Speaker: Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury

Honorary Speaker: Jeni Klugman, World Bank

Early Bird Ticket Prices $130 (Members), $150 (General Admission), $300 (VIP). ) Early bird discount expires 1/31/12).

RSVP http://unluncheon.eventbrite.com.
Please note you can pay by credit card or check

Sessions

“Women’s Role in Advancing the Culture of Peace” by Anwarul K. Chowdhury: Ambassador at Large for Women, Peace and Development.

In a long and distinguished diplomatic career, Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury of Bangladesh has been a tireless advocate for the culture of peace, women, children, and the most vulnerable countries of the world. His initiative in March 2000 as the President of the Security Council achieved the political and conceptual breakthrough that led to the adoption of the ground breaking *UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women and peace and security. From 2002 to 2007, he served as Under-Secretary-General and High representative of the UN.

“Getting Equal” by Jeni Klugman Director, Gender and Development for the World Bank.

Worldwide, women make up the majority of unpaid workers. Only 15% of landowners and one in five lawmakers n the world are women. One out of every 10 births are by mothers ages 15-19, almost all of them in developing countries. Violence against women is still widespread. Jeni Klugman will discuss the World Bank’s “Think Equal” initiative to increase
women’s economic opportunity and their voice in decision making. It’s time to think EQUAL.

RSVP http://unluncheon.eventbrite.com. Please note you can pay by credit card or check .

Over 500 children from three schools in Gulu ( Gulu Police Primary School, Alliance High School and Comprehensive College Gulu) were oriented on the Day of the African child. Under the theme “Together for Urgent Action in Favour of Street Children”, over 100 primary and secondary school children drew pictures depicting the causes of  the issue of street kids and giving recommendations to address the problem. Over 100 children participated in the drawing competition and 6 children (two from every school) were awarded with scholastic material for having the best paintings.

Streamlining iCON Clubs into a Children’s Fellowship Program

In 2011 iCON set out to streamline all iCON clubs in schools into the Fellowship Program, which is the key product of iCON. The Child Leadership Program ran two children’s fellowship programs in November and December at Katuuso Community S.S.S and Gloryland Christian college in Jinja where 50 children were taken through Leadership Enhancement Seminars on the theme “Building a cadre of children and young people who are passionate and committed in advancing environmental sustainability in Uganda.”

20 SHELA Groups Created, Women’s Leadership, Entrepreneurial and Peace Building Capacity Strengthened

iCON through the Women Leaders Network created 20 SHELA groups in northern Uganda. 10 groups were started in Ongako subcounty, with5 groups in Abwoch Parish and 5 others in Kal Parish. 10 more SHELA groups launched operations in Alero subcounty, where 06 groups opened operations in Panok rac Parish and 04 more, in Bwobonam Parish, Nwoya district. 16 Community Based Facilitators were also identified to monitor the SHELA groups.

25 Male Leaders to Fight GBV in Northern Uganda

25 men from northern Uganda were part of a Leadership Enhancement Seminar as iCON launched the Northern Uganda Masculinity and Transformational Leadership Fellowship in November. This Fellowship was formed to equip male leaders with skills to engage both men and women in transforming masculinities to end gender inequity and violence against women.

Creativity for Peace Building in Gulu

The Creative Youth Entrepreneurial Development Group was developed by Claudia Kakanyero, an iCON Fellow, at the end of 2011. The group aims to eradicate poverty among the youth in Gulu through the creation of projects that engage idle youth in capacity building activities for the positive use of their youthful energy.

The 30-strong team, which is in the early stages of its development, focuses on promotion of creative activities such as crafts, bakery and bee keeping in communities, in order to ensure that the youth spend their hours making peace, and fighting war.

Night Ayo: Inspiration in Plight

Night Ayo is an iCON Fellow. She attended an iCON Leadership Enhancement Seminar where she was inspired through a self discovery session to pursue her dream of starting up a poultry project. As a volunteer with Red Cross in Gulu, Night’s small allowance seemed insufficient to begin her business.

However, after the SWOT analysis, Night was able to use her allowance to purchase 50 chicks at 1500/- each. Although Night was left without any money to fund the construction of a poultry house, she kept the chicks in her bedroom while she literally built a brick poultry house by herself for the birds.

Although society and circumstances were against Night, she persevered and by end of 2011, her poultry project was flourishing with each of her hens being sold for more than twice the initial cost of purchase.

Night is an inspiration to her community, where she is known as a hard working, successful woman entrepreneur. She runs regular free training sessions for individuals interested in poultry farming. By the end of 2011, under Night’s mentorship, two people in her community had started up poultry projects of their own.

The 30-strong team, which is in the early stages of its development, focuses on promotion of creative activities such as crafts, bakery and bee keeping in communities, in order to ensure that the youth spend their hours making peace, and fighting war.