Initiative Africa supported Training has Begun

The first round of the training organized for experts and supervisors of the One Stop Service Centers (OSSCs) of Afar and Sidam region were successfully conducted in Adama during 16 – 20 Nov 2020. This training is part of the training sessions to be organized for the four regional states (Afar, Gambella, Sidama and Somali) by the Federal Job Creation Commission (JCC) in partnership with Initiative Africa began. The next round of training for the experts of Gambella and Somali OSSCs begins on 26 November 2020.
The training is supported by Initiative Africa following the partnership agreement signed with JCC that signifies the commitment of both organizations to contribute towards the development of a labor market information system database that has a significant contribution towards addressing the job and employment issues in Ethiopia. This intervention specifically focuses on facilitating the training of experts and supervisors of OSSCs of the country.

Happy International day for the elimination of violence against women 2020

The Shadow Pandemic

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, emerging data and reports from those on the front lines, have shown that all types of violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence, has intensified.

This is the Shadow Pandemic growing amidst the COVID-19 crisis and we need a global collective effort to stop it. As COVID-19 cases continue to strain health services, essential services, such as domestic violence shelters and helplines, have reached capacity. More needs to be done to prioritize addressing violence against women in COVID-19 response and recovery efforts.

UN Women provides up-to-date information and support to vital programmes to fight the Shadow Pandemic of violence against women during COVID-19.

Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!

As countries implemented lockdown measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus, violence against women, especially domestic violence, intensified – in some countries,

Why we must eliminate violence against women

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations in our world today remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma and shame surrounding it.

In general terms, it manifests itself in physical, sexual and psychological forms, encompassing:

  • intimate partner violence (battering, psychological abuse, marital rape, femicide);
  • sexual violence and harassment (rape, forced sexual acts, unwanted sexual advances, child sexual abuse, forced marriage, street harassment, stalking, cyber- harassment);
  • human trafficking (slavery, sexual exploitation);
  • female genital mutilation; and
  • child marriage.

To further clarify, the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women issued by the UN General Assembly in 1993, defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”

The adverse psychological, sexual and reproductive health consequences of VAWG affect women at all stages of their life. For example, early-set educational disadvantages not only represent the primary obstacle to universal schooling and the right to education for girls; down the line they are also to blame for restricting access to higher education and even translate into limited opportunities for women in the labour market.

While gender-based violence can happen to anyone, anywhere, some women and girls are particularly vulnerable – for instance, young girls and older women, women who identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex, migrants and refugees, indigenous women and ethnic minorities, or women and girls living with HIV and disabilities, and those living through humanitarian crises.

Violence against women continues to be an obstacle to achieving equality, development, peace as well as to the fulfillment of women and girls’ human rights. All in all, the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – to leave no one behind – cannot be fulfilled without putting an end to violence against women and girls.

Source United Nations

 

 

Innovative Grants Fund (IGF) award workshop

Initiative Africa successfully conducted a workshop today for the Innovative Grants Fund (IGF) which is one of the components of the Empowering Marginal Economic Actors through Policy Reform from the Bottom-Up project that is supported by the Swedish Embassy in Addis Ababa.

Through this project Initiative Africa aims to support Business Membership Organizations[BMOs] and Chambers of Commerce through the Innovative Grants Fund (IGF); build the capacity of Business Membership Organizations[BMOs] and Chambers of Commerce to promote Trade and the Private Sector and also assist Business Membership Organizations[BMOs] and Chambers of Commerce in organizing regional level Public Private Dialogues.

IA had announced the call for proposals for the first-round application of the IGF on June 10th, 2020 with the deadline on the 31st of July 2020, and had received 57 proposals from organizations with varying sizes, types, and geographical locations. Today, at Harmony Hotel, Initiative Africa has announced that it reached at the stage of signing contracts with 32 applicants to be beneficiaries of this round of the Innovative Grants Fund (IGF).

Some of the major issues to be addressed with the 32 signed projects will be

  • Mitigating the effects of COVID 19 on chambers of commerce and business membership associations and prepare as the crisis recede to support economic activity that is coherent with a green and just transition and leaving no one behind.
  • Strengthen chambers of commerce and business membership associations’ engagement to influence the policy-making process and enhance the role of women in business leadership.
  • Strengthen chambers of commerce and business membership associations to improve services to provide value to existing and potential members.
  • Support chambers of commerce and business membership associations create a stronger business information services to improve trade, employment, economic development, and quality of life.

More than 40 people representing different Business Associations joined the workshop today. Participants from the workshop included different local, regional, and national Business Membership Organizations [BMOs], Chambers of Commerce, Women Entrepreneurship Associations, and representatives from consortium partners Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PACCI) AND Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE).

Happy World Science Day for Peace and Development

Celebrated every 10 November, World Science Day for Peace and Development highlights the significant role of science in society and the need to engage the wider public in debates on emerging scientific issues. It also underlines the importance and relevance of science in our daily lives.

By linking science more closely with society, World Science Day for Peace and Development aims to ensure that citizens are kept informed of developments in science. It also underscores the role scientists play in broadening our understanding of the remarkable, fragile planet we call home and in making our societies more sustainable.

The purpose of the Day is to:

  • Strengthen public awareness of the role of science for peaceful and sustainable societies;
  • Promote national and international solidarity for shared science between countries;
  • Renew national and international commitment for the use of science for the benefit of societies;
  • Draw attention to the challenges faced by science in raising support for the scientific endeavour.

The Day offers the opportunity to mobilize all actors around the topic of science for peace and development – from government officials to the media to school pupils. UNESCO strongly encourages all to join in celebrating World Science Day for Peace and Development by organizing your own event or activity on the day.

 

2020 Theme: Science for and with Society

This year, at a time when the world is struggling with the global COVID-19 pandemic, the focus of World Science Day is on “Science for and with Society in dealing with the global pandemic.”

Throughout this unprecedented health crisis, UNESCO, as the UN Agency with the field of science in its mandate, has endeavoured to bring science closer to society and to bolster the critically needed international scientific collaborations. From the science perspective, UNESCO’s response to COVID-19 is structured around three major pillars: promoting international scientific cooperation, ensuring access to wate,r and supporting ecological reconstruction.

To celebrate the 2020 World Science Day, UNESCO is organizing an online roundtable on the theme of “Science for and with Society in dealing with COVID-19.”

Source United Nation