UPDATE: GENDER FESTIVAL 2001

Ref: TGNP/GF/1/00 Date: 31 January 2001

Dear Friends, Colleagues & other Development Partners:

Re: GENDER FESTIVAL 2001
10th – 13th September 2001
TGNP Gender Resource Centre, Dar es Salaam

On behalf of the Feminist Activist Coalition (FemAct), we are pleased to announce the 2001 Gender Festival, formerly popularly known as the Annual Gender Studies Conference (AGSC). The four-day event will take place on the 10th to the 13th of September.

This event, which now takes place once every two years, is an open space for bringing together members of organizations, institutions and all development actors at various levels. It provides a major opportunity for gender and development activists to convene, share, take stock of achievements and constraints and foster joint action plans to further the civil society development agenda. At the conference, individuals and groups share outputs of their work, sharpen their skills and capacities, network and establish further linkages with other different actors.

The theme of this year’s Gender Festival will be focused on:

Gender, Democracy, and Development:

Transformative Approaches for
Challenging Impoverishment

Proposed Sub-themes:

§ Role of Civil Society and Gender Groups in Advocacy for Social, Political and Economic Transformation to Eliminate Impoverishment;

§ Gender and Resource Mobilization, Allocation and Utilisation to Eliminate Impoverishment;

§ Transforming Governance to promote People-Centred Development and Gender Equality;

§ HIV/AIDS and the Future of the Nation;

§ Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for Sustainable Livelihoods;

§ The Challenge of and for Youth and other Dis-empowered Groups: Building a Better Tomorrow;

§ Challenging Macro-Economic Frameworks With a Gender Perspective: The Struggle for Social Justice; and

§ Moving Towards Gender Transformative Approaches for Eradication of Impoverishment.

We encourage the active participation of all civil society organizations, gender groups and all other organizations and individuals working in policy, programme, technical, service delivery, and other areas at local, national, and international levels. This conference is an open space for sharing skills, ideas, strategies and celebrating achievements on various development initiatives. Your participation can include:
Þ Preparing papers for presentation related to the various sub-themes outlined above;
Þ Coordinating a workshop or skills building session;
Þ Mobilising a large group from your area or constituency to attend and contribute at the conference;
Þ Creating an interactive exhibition that may include publications, photographs, appropriate technology materials, handicrafts and others;
Þ Preparing Artistic Performances related to conference themes;
Þ Active attendance and contributions during the conference;
Þ Financial contributions and fundraising to support specific events; and
Þ Other forms of contribution to enhance the conference and festival.

The Gender Festival is a collective capacity building, skills building, and networking fora for civil society and development actors in and outside the country. Therefore, individuals and organisations are expected to sponsor their participation and contribution in order to create a quality festival. We encourage organisations to begin fundraising early to support their envisaged role in the event. Costs could include registration costs, travel, and up-keep of up-country participants, as well as planning and preparation, acquisition of relevant materials and other associated costs.

Please communicate to us early your organisation’s expected contribution to the festival, so that we can include you in the plan and the programme. To present a paper, prepare a case study, or facilitate a workshop, please refer to the Guidelines for Papers, Case Studies and Workshops. We also welcome suggestions and innovative ideas for ways to organise, coordinate, and conduct this year’s festival and have fun.

Please also note that the official languages of the conference will be English and Kiswahili.

We look forward to your communication with the Gender Festival organising team, based in the Activism, Lobbying, and Advocacy (ALA) programme at TGNP.

Sincerely,

Demere Kitunga
TGNP Chairperson