A Gender Conference will be hosted by the Water Research Commission together with the Department of Water Affairs, the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), the Women for Water Partnership (WfWP) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Significant growth has occurred in the awareness of gender hierarchies in water development, management and utilisation over the past twenty years. In response, policy makers, governments and in particular the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) have translated this awareness into an unambiguous call for the intersect of class, race and gender equality within these water sectors. Nevertheless, gender gaps have widenedand the inclusion of women in decision making about water development and management at all levels is still lagging behind, while research on the different gendered uses of water remains limited and fragmented. Added to this, there has been an uninspiring pace of both policy and civil society advocacy for gender equality in the water sector; the outcome of this can be seen in the limited dialogue which still occurs between grassroots movements, civil society, policy makers, practitioners and researchers. A scarcity of funding has further exacerbated this dilemma, while an urgent need to increase the limited research skills capacity in this sector has also been identified.
To address these shortcomings to facilitate the progress of innovative solutions to the gender, class and race divides, the Water Research Commission of South Africa, in collaboration with the Department of Water Affairs, AMCOW and Women for Water Partnership (WfWP) has taken the initiative to organise a global conference on gender in water, which is scheduled for 19 - 21 February 2014 in East London, South Africa.
Aim
As the aim of this conference is to influence policy making and implementation strategies which promote gender mainstreaming in the water sector by enabling the roll-out of the AMCOW Policy and Strategy for Mainstreaming Gender in the Water Sector in Africa. It will be conveyed through informing vibrant, inter-sectoral debates on gender and water.
The theme of Gender, water & development – the untapped connection will therefore be structured around the AMCOW Gender Strategy, with its seven strategic objectives.
Sub-themes
1. Formulating and implementing gender in water policy
We aim to inform and strengthen the operationalisation of policies for gender equity in water management through improved policy formulation and the thoughtful implementation of these policies. Policies also need to entail practical empowerment mechanisms for poor women and men in water.
2. Mobilising strategic human and financial resources
Adequate human and financial resources need to be allocated and mobilised to promote gender mainstreaming. This sub-theme will therefore explore strategic activities and initiatives to mobilise both financial and human resources, including the sanctioning of the marginalised.
3. Implementing project interventions through economic empowerment and other gendered approaches
This sub-theme will investigate the development and adoption of gendered approaches to implementing project interventions at all levels within the water sector. It includes economic empowerment through providing equal access to water for productive purposes.
4. Undertaking, sharing and implementing strategic research and operational knowledge
With the dire need to mainstream gender in the water sector, this sub-theme aims to identify robust gender and water management strategies based upon action research. Methods and strategies to commission, undertake and share research and knowledge on gender in the water sector, will be explored.
5. Mainstreaming gender through human and institutional capacity development
This sub-theme will explore meaningful ways to improve the development of human and institutional capacity to support gender equality interventions at all levels.
6. Mechanisms to promote cooperation and coordination for mainstreaming gender in the water sector.
The focus of this sub-theme is to strengthen mechanisms promoting cooperation and coordination in mainstreaming gender in the water sector, including the establishment of strategic partnerships to implement gender strategies.
7. Monitoring and evaluation systems to support gender equality in the water sector
The successes of current implementation of Monitoring and Evaluation systems, tools and indicators to support gender equity interventions in the water sector will be deliberated in this sub-theme, as well as the development of new, relevant Monitoring and Evaluation systems.
Conference format and programme
This conference aims to encourage participation and interaction between diverse stakeholders and community representatives. The expected outcomes of formulating useable implementation strategies will best be served by a component of both formal paper presentations and an interactive, workshop-style engagement process. The conference will therefore include scheduled plenary sessions, formal papers and thereafter workshop-style discussions in topical workshops, termed Open Space Technology. This is intended to maximise participation and knowledge sharing and to facilitate the building of networks and bridges to enhance future collaboration.
The three-day conference will include an expected 400 participants from grassroots groups, civil society, development agencies, academia, water governance and management institutions from each of the five sub-regions of Africa - including government institutions at local, national and regional levels.
Call for submissions
We call for proposals for both paper presentations and other submissions and formats of engagement from researchers, policymakers, activists and practitioners who work in the arena of gender and water infrastructure, access, use, governance and management. With this spread we want to reflect the diverse roles that are played by community members and leaders, civil society, policy makers and practitioners in the intersect between gender, class, race and water. Participants should submit Abstracts and proposals in English by 15 September 2013, directly via the conference website, by clicking on the link below. The best papers, conference proceedings and key messages will be published internationally as a book.
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