News Listings

The Slovak Forestry Chamber and the Club of Women at the Slovak Forestry Chamber invite you to the 10th International Meeting of Women Working in the Field of Forestry. The meeting will be held May 25-31, 2008 in Slovakia.  

On behalf of the IUFRO units Gender research in forestry and Education, gender and forestry the Forest Research Institute (F.R.I.), Dehradun, India, will host a conference on Gender and Forestry – after a number of successful conferences in Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe since the establishment of the Gender and Forestry group of IUFRO in Kuala Lumpur in 2000. The Conference will be held 16-19 November 2008. http://www.iufrogenderindia.info/  

There is a one year online course on gender and social inclusion, focusing on rural livelihoods. Those who complete the course will have obtained competency in gender analysis, gender mainstreaming, assessment of policy impacts on men and women, strategy development, and gender training development. For more information go to: www.larenstein.com  

The FAO Forestry Department advertises the position of a Chief Technical Advisor for the GEF-funded project entitled "Fouta Djallon Highlands Integrated Natural Resources Management" (West Africa). http://www.fao.org/VA/projva_en.htm  

Wikigender, an information sharing platform on gender equity, was officially launched on 7 March 2008 on the occasion of International Women's Day. The site is now open and freely accessible to the public. Wikigender invites everybody to actively use and participate in this new online resource. www.wikigender.org  

As you know, ODGS is compiling your comments and imputs for the report on the Civil Society Consultation held at FAO in February 2008. Please remember to send them by April 10 at 12.00, Rome time.  

On April 12, WOCAN members will be attending the Women, Faith, and Development Alliance (WFDA) in Washington D.C. On April 13th the Breakthrough Summit is open to the public. http://www.wfd-alliance.org  

The eighth volume of Gender, Poverty and Environmental Indicators on African Countries published by the Statistics Department of the African Development Bank Group has been released. http://www.afdb.org/portal/page?_pageid=473,18884240&_dad= portal&_schema=PORTAL  

WOCAN is pleased to announce our Regional Meeting of Members of Eastern and Southern Africa from April 29 – May 2 2008 in Kampala, Uganda.  

The King Baudouin Prize rewards the work of persons or organizations which have made a substantial contribution to the development of countries in the southern hemisphere. The Prize is worth 150,000 Euros. To submit a candidate's profile visit: www.kbprize.org.  

The WomenÂ’s Leadership Scholarship (WLS) (formerly the Native Leadership Scholarship) program creates educational opportunities for women who are grassroots leaders, organizers and activists from the Global South and/or from indigenous groups. WLS invests in women's leadership by supporting non-doctoral graduate education in human rights, sustainable development, and public health. Apply by March 14, 2008. For more info: www.nativeleaders.org  

The 2008 Global Development Marketplace (DM2008) competition began its search for early-stage, innovative ideas with potential for high impact in promoting Sustainable Agriculture for Development. Proposals must be written in English and submitted through the DM website, www.developmentmarketplace.org. Competition guidelines and step-by-step instructions are available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Visit: wwww.developmentmarketplace.org  

The WWSF is now taking nominations for their 15th annual Prize for Women's Creativity in Rural Life. The deadline for submitting is 31 March 2008. The award is to honor creative and courageous women and women’s organizations working to improve the quality of life in rural communities around the world. http://www.woman.ch/home.php  

Now posted in the "Publications" portion of our website you can find a document published by CARE on women in NRM and development in Africa. The publication includes case studies from Burundi, Ethiopia, Ghana, Niger, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. To access the publication via the web, visit: http://care.ca/downloads/publ/Reclaimin-Rights-07.pdf  

This year marks the 17th anniversary of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence. In honor of the 16 Days, UNIFEM has launched a new global internet advocacy campaign to end violence against women globally. Launched on November 26, 2007 UNIFEM's Say No To Violence Campaign, www.saynotoviolence.org, will continue until March 8, 2008, International Women's Day. Learn more and show your support at www.saynotoviolence.org  

The Mountain Forum Online Library is soliciting contributions on women and gender roles with regard to mountain issues both in English and in other languages. e-mail titles and abstracts (in English) to: library@mtnforum.org  

The UN Economic and Social Commission has prepared a report with the active partnership of specialists in areas relating to science, technology and gender from numerous institutions worldwide, under the technical coordination of UNESCO’s Division for Science Policy and Sustainable Development. The report can be found at: http://www.unesco.org/science/psd/focus/focus07/gender_rep.shtml  

From November 14-17, 2008, up to 1,500 women's rights activists from around the world will gather in Cape Town, South Africa to debate and strategize about how to build stronger women's movements globally. We invite you to contribute to this urgent discussion by submitting a proposal to organize a session  

The International Fund for Agricultural Development is hosting a luncheon on Friday, December 14, 2007 featuring our own Dr. Jeannette D. Gurung. The presentation is entitled " Empowered Women andt he Men Behind Them: Creating Gender Equality in Forestry in Nepal." Friday, 14 December 2007 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm 1775 K Street, NW 4th Floor Conference Room Please RSVP by Monday, 3 December to Bonnie Harris @ 202-331-9099 or b.harris@ifad.org  

October 12-13, 2007, in Accra, Ghana, a workshop was held to present the findings of a study done but the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The report is entitled "Gender Mainstreaming in Forestry in Africa." The report summarizes the findings of studies done in 10 sub-Saharan African countries. The report will be on the FAO Web site soon.  

The Side Event was organised during the 5th Meeting of the Africa Committee on Sustainable Development/Regional Implementation Meeting(RIM) for CSD-16 in Addis Ababa, 22-25 October 2007. The theme of the meeting, organized by the UN Economic Commission for Africa, was- ‘Tansforming African Agriculture and Rural Economy for Sustainable Development’’. The organisers include the three organising partners of the Women Major Group of CSD-16 & 17, WOCAN,African Women Leaders in Agriculture and the Environment (AWLAE), and the GRATIS Foundation (Ghana).  

A Consultation - 1 October - 30 November 07 The World Bank is proposing a new Global Forest Partnership to bring together many organisations for greatly accelerating progress in managing forests, in ways that better meet social, environmental and economic needs. Its focus would be on joint action with developing countries.  

The Fair is an innovative and unique global opportunity, to make visible the economic, social and environmental inputs that women entrepreneurs bring to their countries and the world through their ³green enterprises² (i.e., environmentally friendly).  

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is organizing a "Women in Science" conference to take place 23-24 October 2007 in Alexandria, Egypt. Topics covered: Education of Women, Teaching and Research, Women in Executive and Managerial Positions, Social Context,and Applications of Science to benefit Women.  

£160,000 ($320,000) of prize money on offer Closing date for entries 13 November 2007 The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy are seeking entries from inspirational and innovative local sustainable energy projects from Asia, Africa and Latin America to compete for a share of £160,000 in prize money.  

The Research Training Group (Graduiertenkolleg) “Gender as a category of knowledge” at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin offers 7 PhD fellowships starting 1st of January 2008 Duration: 1,5 years (with the chance to extend for further 18 months  

We invite you to participate in this preliminary survey on the African media’s coverage of agriculture, rural development and women in Africa, which should take about 10-15 minutes to complete. Closing date is 8 December 2007.  

Japanese Award for Outstanding Research on Development For proposals to improve understanding on development... Deadline: September 17 2007  

Mountain Research and Development (MRD), the international journal that features key development-related research on mountains, is planning an issue on “Rural Development Challenges in the Face of Globalization” in conjunction with the 2008/9 Cycle of the Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD).  

WOCAN has recently been selected as an official co-facilitator for CSD-16 and CSD-17 and will be interacting directly with the CSD Secretariat and key partners. Click to read more about this exciting news!  

The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (www.sdpi.org ) is holding its Tenth Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) from 12-14 December 2007 in Islamabad, Pakistan. The overarching theme of the SDC is Sustainable Solutions: A Spotlight on South Asian Research. We are organizing a panel on "Poverty-environment nexus". The Abstracts should be submitted (400 words) until 25th of July. Travel grants may be available for South Asian participants.  

Log-on as a member to view new job postings. Job vacancies can be found in the "Members News" section. Applications must be received by 20 July 2007.  

A new, two page WOCAN brochure is now available in the "Publications" section under "Prepared by WOCAN." Please share this brochure with friends and colleagues!  

UNEP seeks your input in revising the draft document, “Guidelines for Enhancing Major Groups Participation at UNEP’s Governance Level”. Comments are due by 15 August 2007.  

Applications due 16 July 2007. For more information, log-on as a WOCAN Member and visit the Job Vacancies section under WOCAN Members: News Listings.  

Applications for awards due 30 June 2007. Click for more award information including qualifications and how to apply.  

 

Under the EDULINK programme, the International Project Management Office at the University of Alicante, Spain seeks at least two university partners from different African countries working on natural resources management and social economics. They would like to support your work in any of the listed topics...  

Deadline for applications extended until 31 July 2007!  

Following a recommendation made at the Global Symposium on Gender and Fisheries held in Penang in November 2004, WorldFish agreed to provide a webpage outlining the activities of the GAF Network. To view the webpage, visit www.worldfishcenter.org and click Networks.  

On April 23 and 24 2007 a European workshop on gender and biodiversity was held in the Netherlands. The workshop was arranged by a research group of ALTER-Net, which is a so-called Network of Excellence on biodiversity and consists of research institutes in several European countries.  

Women hold the key to breaking the vicious cycle of ill health, reduced productivity and deepening poverty in Africa. This discussion paper lays out some of the key issues in modern food crises and explores some opportunities for engaging women more actively in the quest for more effective answers. The paper finds that rural women are not only among those most vulnerable to food shortages, but more importantly, they are the driving force behind African agriculture. Find it in the WOCAN 'Publications' section.  

You are welcome to join the E conference session being moderated by WOCAN Director Jeannette Gurung on "Proposals for concrete follow-up activities, including possible follow-up for the SARD-M Project and for the Adelboden Group" from 14 - 20 May 2007, http://tinyurl.com/36welw  

WOCAN's Board of Directors has approved the Strategic Plan for the organization. Please read the English, Spanish or French versions under the Publications section.  

www.ediindia.org  

Important! Send us your message by May 16, 2007, to women-climate@genanet.de  

Deadline extended until June 15, 2007. Applications and info at http://www.fs.fed.us/global/is/welcome.htm.  

Authors of the chapters of the IAASTD Global Report have reported to us that they need inputs by readers in order to get a stronger gender focus into this important document for decision makers. Please visit www.agassessment.org to read chapters and submit comments.  

WEDO presents a new factsheet and advocacy tool.  

 

Deadline: 15 July 2007  

http://www.atree.org/phd_desc.html  

The African Union Commission is working to create a database of African women scientists that will be used by the Commission and partners to invite and encourage African women to participate in upcoming science and technology events. For further information, contact masheleni@africa-union.org.  

'Development' is seeking papers that address specific themes related to the current debates on water. The focus of this edition is on how human communities shape the ecologies, histories, cultures and the politics of water resource development and planning at global, regional, national and local scales. Read on for more details...  

WOCAN and CIFOR (the Center for International Forestry Research) have signed a Memorandrum of Understanding (MOU). Read on for more...  

This is an important opportunity for our members to influence the World Bank's policies on gender and agriculture. Please contribute your perspectives.  

 

Reminder: Check out current job vacancies, funding opportunities and conferences in the members section.  

Read the report of WOCAN's first regional meeting of members, held in Yaounde, Cameroon, in December 2006 in the Regional Meetings of the Publications section. Also available here are presentations by members from African Women Leaders in Agriculture and the Environment, IUCN, IUFRO Gender and Forestry Group, Heifer International and a presentation on skills needed for gender change agents.  

Jeannette Gurung will be participating in a CIIFAD Forum at Cornell University, presenting on the topic of Gender and Organizational Change.  

Use our 'Make a Donation' button to financially support WOCAN.  

Use our new member database to access other WOCAN members and network.  

All WOCAN members are asked to please update their personal information in the Members Only area.  

WOCAN membership fees now payable online by clicking on the 'Make a donation' button.  

Read about our new website features!  

16 - 18 October 2007 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. FIRST CALL FOR ABSTRACTS FOR VOLUNTARY PAPERS (deadline May 15 2007)!  

South Africa will host the 4th World Congress of Rural Women at the International Convention Centre in Durban from 23 to 26 April, 2007.  

New Jan. 30, 2007 deadline for submitting an Abstract for "Women of the Mountains" An International Conference - Participants from Mountainous Nations (March 07 - 10, 2007)  

Call for Papers: "Women of the Mountains"; An International Conference - Participants from Mountainous Nations (March 07 — 10, 2007); Opening Sessions on International Women's Day — March 08.  

Participants at the 29 May - June 1 conference in Beijing have adopted a statement addressing priorities for action and other issues relating to women and desertification.  

ICARRD in Porte Alegre, Brazil March 8, 2006  

We would like to congratulate Angela Cropper, a friend of WOCAN, for being appointed as the Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive General for the United Nations Environment Programme. Below is the letter from the Executive Director, Achim Steiner announcing her appointment. Congratulations Angela!  

Great opportunity for women who presently have a job and want to improve their skills while still employed, or who are raising kids and choose not to (or are unable to) attend a university onsite.  

Read on about the two-day strategy meeting in Nairobi held by the International Gender and Trade Network (IGTN) in cooperation with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP).  

March 26 - May 13 2007.  

The African Union Commission is requesting CV's to establish a database of African women scientists.  

WDR 2008 will hold consultations from April 9 through April 21 to engage with civil society, private sector, academia, government representatives, and other stakeholders. To register for consultations send an email to wdr2008@worldbank.org with your name, designation and country.  

In this year of Equal Opportunities for All, there is still a long way to go before women have equal opportunities in the EU institutions, writes Stephen Mulvey.  

 

Read on for brief articles.  

Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth Announces his Retirement  

The Development Cafe  

Read on for information about the work of Energia.  

The Institute of Development Studies(IDS) is pleased to announce the launching of a new Masters in Science, Society and Development in 2007.  

www.sangonet.org.za/dimitra  

To celebrate World Rural Women’s Day – 15 October 2006, Women's World Summit Foundation (WWSF) has published an Open Letter to rural women of the world, on the theme "Claim your fundamental, inalienable right to adequate housing".