Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE)
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'Facing the Challenges to Girls' Education for tile 21" Century'
"Facing the Challenges to Girls' Education for the 21- Cen tu ry'
Introduction 1999 has been a year of many challenges for FAWE. Following the 1998 External Evaluation, FAWE was grappling with how to chart ou t a course for the future which would build on its past achievements and the strategically position the organization is in, in order to face the challenges of the future. A major challenge was how to ensure the smooth transi tion from the first phase of creating a movement to the second stage of establishi ng a sus tainable Africa-wide organization . A large pa rt of 1999 was devoted to th e for mulation of the FAWE Five Year Stra tegic Plan. The Stra tegic Plan was driven by the realizati on that whereas there is much evidence that FAWE has influ enced the policy environmen t in favour of girls' ed ucation, there is need now for hard evide nce th at FAWE's programmes have led to more girls having access to school, performing we ll and achievi ng thei r maxim um poten tial. I.
Activi ties during 1999 constitu ted the bridging phase to the commencement of the Strategic Plan for the period 2000 - 2004. II. Objectives of the 1999 Work Programme The 1999 Work Programme was designed on the basis of the following six objectives: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)
To influ ence ed uca tional policies relevant to female education so as to increase access an d retention, and improve pe rformance of girls and wom en in ed uca tion; To build publi c awareness and consensus on the social and economic ad vantages of femal e ed uca tion through adv ocacy; To ga ther and analyse existing d ata to facilitate the design of interventions in fav our of girls' educ ation, and to monitor progress; To su pport, document and di sseminate information on inn ovati ve strategies for im prov ing and accele rating female participation in ed ucation; To increase and sustain partnerships with gove rnments, donors, NGOs and other stakeholders in ed uca tion to increase their inv estment in girls' ed uca tion; and To assis t in the development of ca pacity to accelera te an d monitor female participation in ed ucation bo th at the regio nal and at the nati onal level.
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III . Acti vity Rep ort 1. To influence education policies relevant to female edu cation so as to increa se access and retention, and im prove pe r¡ fonnance.
In the cou rse of 1999, FAWE streamlined and strengthened its core membership. FA\VE members contin ued to playa lead role in promoting girls' education in their countries. usin g their senior poli cy-making position to influence ed uca tion policy.
Specifi c Activities 1.1 Expansion ofmembership: FAWE streamlined and updated its membership list and invited new ministers of ed ucation and vice chancellors to the membershi p. 1.2 Dialogue and networking/or Girls ' fducation:Th e 4TH FAWE General Assembly which took place from the 21st-23rd of July 1999 in Nairobi, Kenya, brought together the core membership, the National Cha pters and the girls themselves, donor partner s and other stakeholders in ed ucation. This pro vided an opportunity for FAWE to highlight the ma jor issues in girls' education, acknowledge and h ighlight efforts in addressing these issues and cha rt out a wa y forward in the ne xt millennium. This was d one throu gh thematic keynote address by the Kenyan Ministers of Ed ucation, wo rkshops, a girls' forum, presentations by National Chapters, donors' round tab le, exh ibitions, awa rds ceremonies. The Report of the 4 th FAWE General Assembly is available. 1.3 Participation of Members at the N atio nal Level: FAWE National Chapter members continued to meet regu lar ly to seek ways of influencing educa tion policy and interve ntions in favou r of girls' ed uca tion . The members had an opportunity to consult and debate extensively over how effectively the Cha pte rs were fu lfilling the FAWE manda te. They also had an op portunity to discuss the FA\VE Strategic Plan and amendments to the FAWE Constitution . 1.4 Policy Guidance of the Forum: The Executive Com mittee met from 7-9 May, 1999 in Ad dis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 20th July and on 23 nJ Ju I)' in Nairobi and on 2 - 3 Decembe r; 1999 in j ohannesburg. During these meetin gs, the Co mmittee received a p rogft.>ss refX1 rt from the Secreta riat on the im ple men tat ion of the \Vork Progr amme, app roved the 1998 Auditors' Repor t and discussed and approved the Five- 'h oa r St rategic Plan 2000¡2W. A nc \.... Executi ve Com mittee was elected nt tilt' -Ith General Asse mb ly m an dated to r a three yt.>ar term, as follows :
Professor Buuli Ali Diallo Hon. Clara Bohitile Hon. Evelyn Kand akai 1999 FAWE Annual Rep o rt
- Ch air, Niger - Vice Chair, N a mi bia - Secretary, Liber ia
Prof. Brenda Gourley Mrs. Elaine Mukuru Mrs. Beatrice Mukabaranga Mrs . Bisi Soboyejo Mrs. Sebtuu Nesser Hen. Anne Therese NdongJatta Mme. Marie Bwimana Dr. Jeanne Dina
- Treasurer, Sou th Africa - Member, Kenya - Rwanda · Nigeria · zanzibar - The Gambia - Burundi · Madagascar
1.5 Influ encing policy Strategic Resource Planning fo r Girls' Education: Through the Strateg ic Resou rce Planning(SRP) Project, FAWE h as encouraged the iden tification of the mos t pro mis ing policy choices in achieving Educa tion For All (EFA) in gene ral and girls' ed ucation in particular, in order to ass ist gove rnments in Identifying strategies to realloca te resources in ed ucation systems to the advantage of girls. In order to encourage mort.'active involvement of the FAWE National Chapters in the SRP p r~ss, and to forge closer links between the FAWE Nat ional Chapters and the SRP research teams, the FAWE Secretariat facilitated a three-day workshop from 17-19 February, 1999 in Nairobi. The \v orkshop brought together FAWENational Chapters and SRP National Researchers from the nine participating countries (Senegal, Ghana, Mali, Malawi, Uganda, zambia, Guinea, Tanzania and Ethiopia ). During the workshop the roles of the various parties in the implementation process were discussed. Phase II of the SRP Project was completed in October, 1999. The Reports are available but work is underway to translate the findings of the Research Studies into action. A bridging phase involving the development of country option papers in the 9 SRP countries started in November, 1999. At the international level, FAWE participated in the partnership meetings held at the World Bank, Washington DC in April 1999. Issues discussed du ring that mee ting incl uded the need for FAWE to facilita te a consultative process between the ministri es of ed uca tion, FAWE Na tiona l Cha pters and the SRI) researchers, in order to ensure tilt.' effective implementation of policy options arising out of the studies. 2. To build public awareness an d con sensu s o n th e social and eco no mic advantages o f female ed ucation throu gh advocacy While maintaining a focus on advocacy with high level policy makers, during 1999 FAWE widened the focus of its advocacy to middle level policy makers and grassroots opinion leaders through the implementation of a multi -media advocacy approach. The girls themselves were actively involved in expressing their views in issues related to their education. Production of targeted advocacy materials continued, aimed at creating gender awareness among education stakeholders.
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Specific Activities 2.1 Girls' Clubs: FAWE suppo rted the Tuseme "Let us Speak Ou t" Programme for Secondary school girls in Tanzania . A Tuseme Festival bringing together p arti cipating school s took place at the University of Dar es Salaam in Ma rch 1999. Using Theatre for Development techniques, the projec t uses an interactive and participatory process, whereby the girls themselves are involved in identifying problems and come up with strategies to resolve them. Girls clubs are established in the schools to run the programme and monitor the impact of the project on girl s' edu cation. In an effort to encourage replication o f this su ccessful model, FAWE facilitated the participation of Girls' D ub members from 5 FAWE National Cha pters in Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Namibia, Senegal and Gabon at the Tuseme Festival. This was followed by a one-day workshop where the club members developed project proposals for their own specifi c activities. Other Chapters that have launched girls' dubs include Ghana, The Gambia, Sierra Leone and Chad. Girls' clubs have been established at all levels of the education system, from primary to university level. Activities u ndertaken by clubs include discussion groups and debates, artistic performances, counselling desks, confidence building. role modelling and suppo rt to girls to improve their academic p erformance. The Girls' Foru m at the 4th Gen eral Assembly, wa s the highlight of thi s triennial meeting. The Forum dem onstrated th at the girls themselves are the most effective advocates for their own educati on . Through their performances they articulated the problems girls face including high cost o f ed ucation, sexual harassment, lack of safety and security of girl s especially in con flict situ ations, teenage pregnancy and other reproductive health issues, cu ltu ral atti tudes and practices such as ea rl)' marri age which their full participation in education. The impact of this forum wa s tremendous and led not only to greater awareness but provoked discussion and d emonstrated the need for immediate action to solve so me of these problems. In tl.'Spon se to the problem of the unaffordabiJi ty of fees, 21 scholarshi ps at the u ndergraduate level were offered to girls participating in the Forum at the universities of Cape Town and Natal in Sou th Africa. On the spo t cash donations were given to girls on refu gee situations. A Girls' Forum has been scheduled for December 1999 during the meeting of the ADEA Working Group on Female Education . Girls from 13 cou ntries Burkina Easo. Ethiopia, Sudan, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Conakry, Kenya, Mali, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leon e. Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, participated in the Forum. 2.2 Partnership 'lOW , the Media: Efforts have continued to strengthen partnership with the media experts in order to gamer their support for education issues in general and girls' ed ucation in particular, as well as to improve the negative image of women in the media. The FA\\r'ÂŁ National Chap ter in Chad held its workshop in Februa ry, 1999 while the Tanzania National Chapter held its wo rkshop in November, 1999. 2.3 The pilot phase for the FAWE Award for Media Excellence (FAME) for female journ alists wa s also completed in Kenya, Senegal , South Africa and Ghana. Through the award, the FAWE National Cha pters were able to identify and highlight women 1999 FAWE Annual Report
role models in the media d omain, and direct focus of the media in general on female education. Capacity building for National Cha pte rs to enha nce their ad vocacy role continued through the implementation of their commun ication stra tegies in G u inea, Za m bia and The Ga mb ia. Wh ile Guinea launched gender sensitization activities with pre-service tea chers, Zambia and The Gam bia e m barked on sens itiza tion activities with grass roots opimon leaders and the co mmunity.
2.4 Production of adt'ocaey materials: Production of ad vocacy materials con tinued during 1999. Four issues of the FAWE Newslette r FAWE :\'e\...-s were prod uced on the themes of FAWE National Chapters: planting Ole seed. Vol.? No.1 and on the theme of the 4 th General Assembly Omllengt'S to Girls' Education in the Next MillemrilOn Vol.? No.2., Corflta and its effects on the Education of Girls and Women ill Africa n'os the theme for Vol] NC'.J and Girls', their Hope'S, Drtoms and Plans for the Future Vol.? No.4 the res pectivel y Othe r publica tion s comple ted include the FAWE 1998 Annual Report, FAWE 1998 Eva lua tio n Report, Report on the 1997 Technical Workshop on the Implementation of the Beihng Platform for Action , the Report of th e 1997 Dakar Mini ste rial Co ns u ltatio n. In ad diti on six volu mes of the Ne ws letter fo r the Tuseme "Le t us Speak Out" progra mme in Tanzania we re prod uce d . The n'port of the 4lh Ccncral Assembly wa s also published. FAWE contributed towards the production and publi cation of a booklet ' Midnig ht Blossom 'by a yo ung Ken yan girl, Shila Neh mi, wh ich was la unched at the Zimba bwe Book Fair 19lJ9. 2.5 Gender Sensitization of target audiences: Gender Sens itiza tion of target a ud iences co ntinued th rough the use of the FAWE tools the ABC of Ge nd er Analysis and the Gender Analysis Module for Ed ucation Policy Makers. The French vers ion of the Module was also com ple ted. A draft training module in ge nde r planning was com p leted "Gender Took Kit for Edu cation al Planne rs". FAWE also provid ed technical assista nce to the Kiga li Institute for Science and Techn ology for the developmen t of thei r Gender Resou rce Cen tre. A ge nder sensitiza tion worksho p for teac hers and schoo l manageme nt of the FAWE Rw anda School For Girls took place in Sep tembe r, 1999. 2.6 Outreach-to tire Francophone region: Du ring 1999, FAWE has con tinued to usc its Fra ncophone Bu reau based in Cona kry, Guinea for increased outreach to the Francophone region . This has been accomp lished through the dissemina tion of FA\VE publications and information on female education in Africa in the region. Tlu- first volume of the Bulletin de Liaison to facili tate experience sharing among Francophone Chap ters was produced in July, 1999. 3. To gather and analyze exi sting data to fa cilitate the design of interventi on s in favour of girls' education, and to monitor progress. In 1999, FAWE contin ued tn play the role of "custodia n and analyst of continent-wide data on the stat us of girls' education in Africa" as recommend ed in the IlJ98 External Evaluation re port This was possible through the use of too ls developed by FA\'VE such as the FAWE Nationa l Score Card and the Un iversity Data Profile. The FAWE Resou rce Ce ntre has also continued its roll' <IS a depository for information and data on girls' ed uca tion. while develop ing: resou rce and docu men tation centres at the nationa l cha pters levels. 1999 FAWE Annual Report
Specific A cti vities 3.1 University Data Profile (UDP l Du ring the first quarter. parti cipating universities used a commo n fram ewor k to deve lop proposa ls for data collection usmg the VOl'. Proposals have no w been received from four Universlties : Cha ncellor College University of Malawi, l' Universite de Abdou Ga mmal Nasse r of Gu inea-Conakry, l'Universr te du Mali , and l'Universrte de Moumouni. Niger. 3.2 National Score Card. The FAWE National Scan' Card, originally design ed by FAWE in order to collect dat il on edu cat ion with focu s on gIrl'S' education was revised and made more user-friendly. During 1999, a simplified version was developed and sent out to all National Chapters to complete. National Chap ters that have comp leted the Score Card to-date include : Burkina Faso, Benin. Burundi The Gambia, Guinea, Ghana, Kenya, Mali. Malawi, Namibia. Nigl'r, Rwanda, Seychelles, Senegal, Swaziland, Tanzania, Chad, Togo, Uganda, and Zimbabwe 3.3 Database of Educational policies and pIlius. In the second quarter of 1999, FAWE undertook a major exercise of co llect ing and analyzin g da a { .' the status of girls' ed ucation at the regional level. Policy documents and plans from all 31 African cou ntnt'S With FAWE Nanonal vhapte ra were collected und are availab.e at the Secretariat. An analysis of the plans yielded a report on the trends acro ss the ; 01.. 1 -ub-reg icns. On the ba sis of this situa tional analysis, the Secretariat was able to develop proposals on the critica l issues affecting girls' educa tion III Africa. This dat abase 15 a valuable resource for programming and p lanning at the regiona l and national ievcls. ::'.4
FAWE Websih': FAWE has continued to maintain its website and several Na tiona l Cha pters haw' obtained access to em ail
during 1991J includin g Seychelle s, Tanzania, the Gambia, Sierra Lt'OI11', Cameroon and Senegal bringing the number of FAWE Cha p ters on line to 14. Sierra Leone, Ghana and Uganda have received fund s to assist in the development of their Resource Cen tres.
3.5 Non Formal Education Research: In the p rocess of gatheri ng and ana lyzing d ata an d informa tion on key issues on girls' ed ucation, FAWE collaborated with the International Developm ent Centre (IDRC) in initi ating d resea rch p roject on No n Formal Edu cation in Ethiopia and Tanzania. It was reali zed that the dawn of the next millcnium was alm ost here and Edu cat ion For All (EFA) wa s not being ach ieved through the formal system of ed uca tion, thereby making it necessa ry for alternati ve systems of delivery to be explored for imp rovi ng gi rls' parti cipati on . The aim o f the project enti tled : l\fol'Hlg bCyl1l1,J tilt' C/jlSSnlOl1l: [:J.pmuJi"g Lt'tlnti,IX O,'Jlt)ftllllitit.'s for Margi"ali~'d POlm1,ltiolls is to determine alternative app roaches to ed ucationa l deli very, for expa ndi ng learni ng opportu nities for gi rls and wom en in margm alised popu lations.
1999 FAWE Annual Repert
4. To su p po rt, document and disseminate in formation on in novative strategies for improving and accelera tin g female participation in edu ca tion . FAWE has always believed that it is important to demonstrate what works under what circumstances. In 1m. FAWEcontinued. to support innovative ideas and projects that sho w potential for im proving and promotmg girls' access, performance, and retention . This was achieved through the continuation of the Expe rime ntation and Demonstration Grants Programme and the Agathe Uw ilingiyimana Award.
Specific A ctivi ties 4,1 Experimentation ami Demon stration Grants: The Technical Commi ttee mee ting approved Hou t of 15 p roposals considered during its meeting held on 9 -11 June, 1999. The grants were awarded to the following projects: • Conder; Education and Development: An assessment of the Impact of the 1995 Hammer Mill Project on Girls' Education In Mongu District, Zambia • Gender Partnerships for the Advancement o ~ Women: Mobi lizing East African Students. Kenya • Star of HoIX' Girls Child and Adolescen t Reha bilita tion Project, Kenya Post Primary Education Centres for girls, Kenya • Support for Co ns tructio n of a Girls' Hostel a nd Laborato ry Blocks at Lu filyo Day Secon dary School, Tanz an ia • • Mobi lization for girls' an d women's ed ucation in Kwale, Kihfi a nd Ma lind i Dist ricts, Kenya • Ngong Young Girls Res tore Hope Training Cen tre, Kenya • Promotion of girls' and women's education in low-participation areas in Cote d'Ivoire At it" second meeting for 1999on 9 - 10of November, the Technical Committee approved for funding a total of 23 proposa ls out of 69. The gran ts we re awa rded to the followi ng projects:
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Leadership developmen t and mobilisation n e tning workshop for ULALA Wom e n leade rs and literacy mobilisers in Northe rn a nd West Nile Region s, Uga nd a La mesure des d rsparites filles / garcons en ma tiere d' edu cation de base d ans les PdYS Fran coph ones d "Afrique su b-sa ha rtcns. et leu r evolution depuis 1980, Cote d ' Ivoire Rehabilitation Training Programmes at FAWE Pregnant Girls /Girl Mother Skills Tra ining Centre a t Makeni, Sierra Leone Rcquete de souticn a I'ouverture d 'un cen tre de Resources et de Formation pour jeunes Ftlles Descolarisees, Burkina Faso Pro ject proposal for piloting Girls Remedial Learni ng Camps, Zambia Rehabili tation. Educa tion, Can.' and Traini ng of Street an d Destitute Girls, Kenya Girl Child Educa tio n Kenya Education of girls with d isabi lities in Ethiopia 1999 FAWE Annual Report
Promoting cond ucive and enabling learning environment for girls by alleviating domestic work and preventing sexual harassment from male tenants, Tanzania • Dealing with Diversity: Ens u ring Equal Opportun ity in Colleges of Education in Nigeria • Career Guidance for Educationa l Advancemen t of Women in Zimbabwe • Black Fema le Univers ity Students' Percepti ons of their p roblems, University of Na tal.Sout h Africa • Transfonning Un iversity Cu lture to enha nce Women 's Ed ucation in Uganda and Rwanda , Makerere Unive rsity,Uga nda and Kigali Ins titute of Technology and Management(KIST) Rwa nda • University Staff Gender Sensitization \Vorkshops, Cha ncellor College, Malawi • Sensitisaticn of Add is Ababa University Community on HIV I AIDS, Ethiopia • University Data Profile (UDP), Un iversity of Mala wi, Malawi • Base de Donnees su r les profils universitaires (DPU), L'Univcrsite Gamal Abder Nasser d e Conakry, Guinea • Base de Donnes sur les p rofits uni versitei res (DPU), L'Unversi te Abdo u Mou mo uni, FAWE Niger • Replicating Lugari Girl Chi ld Ed ucation Project in Mbeere District, FAWE Kenya • Towa rd an Integrational Educa tion for Women and Girls in Ijebu District of Nigeria • Gender differences in the educational achievement of boys and girls in Primary and Secondary School, Seychelles Assocra tion of Women Professionals (SA\VOP). Seychelles. 4.1 Documenlingand Rewarding s uccessfu l innovations. FAWE National Chapters administered the Agath e Uw ili ngiyimana Award in 10 cou ntries d u ring ]999. By July 8 1999, coun tries had completedthe process Zambia, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Uganda. Rwanda, Gha na, Kenya and Ethiop ia. Benin and Malawi are in ehc imtia l stages of the process. •
FAWE Centres of Excellenc e: A novel project for FAWE in 1999 was the creation of three "Centres of Excellence" aimed at demonst rating how to provide quality education for girls while improving thei r access, retention and performance. The idea of the centres of excellence was mooted as a result of the realization that there 1S r'K.''t.-d . to more effectively demonstrate, in a tangible manner, what steps need to be taken to address critical issues relating: 10 girls' education. Lessons learnt over the past few years of FAWE's experience show that the problems are inter-related and therefore require a holisti c rather than a piecemea l approach. The purpose of this programme is the refore to pu t togeth er an intervention package, which consolidates the most effective strateg ies to solve the p roblems in girls' ed uca tion. Activities included the development of the concept paper, the main regiona l project proposal and country specific proposals for rural girls in Rwanda (FAWE Rwanda Demonstration School for Girls), Tanzania (Mgugu Secondary School), and Kenya (Ale Girls Kajiado). THE FAWE Rwanda School for Girls w.asopened in October, 1'J9Y and gender sensitization of the teachers and management was held . Preparatory activities for the opening of the cen tres in Tanzania and Kenya WCIT' undertaken. 4.3 With support from UNESCO FAWE launched a bursary scheme programme with 10 National Chapters- Ethiopia, Chana. Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Tanza nia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Guidelines for developed for the scheme in order to ensure that the bursaries benefit the most needy girls. 1999 FAWE Annual Report
5. To increase and sustain partnerships with governments, donors, NGOs and other stakeholders in edu cation to in crea se their investment in Girls' education Due to the nature of the FAWE membership, FA\VE has the advantage of being able to forge partnerships with various players in education at all levels. FAWE has a unique opportunity to in fluence a wide range of educa tion po licy makers and implemen ters includi ng governments, uni versities and research instit u tions. donors, NGOs, com mu nities, and other ed uca tors. During 1999, FAWE has therefore so ught to define an d identify the most advantageous partnerships in implementing our ma ndate.
5.1 Partnerships m ith goocmments: Through the National Chapters, FAWE has contin ued to work closely with governments especially ministries of ed ucation in an effo rt to influence educationa l programmes and po licies in favour of girls ' ed uca tion. Under its Observer sta tus, FAWE has had a close relationship with OAU as a member of the Stet' ring Committee for the OA U Decade for Edu cation 1997- 2006. FAWE also participated in the COMEDAF 1 meeting organized. by the Organization for African Unity (OAU) in Harare, Zimbabwe from 15 -19 March, 1999. Governmen ts have displayed strong support for FAWE at the national level in the implementation of the SRP project and other activities carried ou t by the National Chapters. 5.2 Partn erships w it h Universities . FA\VE University-based members have continued to play their role in promoting fema le participation at the tertiary level. The partnership was reinforced through participation in the Conference of RL"CIOrs, ViceChancellors and Presidents of African Universities (COREVIP) held from 1-4 February, 1999 in Arusha. Tanzania. Contacts made during this meeting resulted in gender sensi tizat ion and project proposal writing activi ties wit h Universities in Zimbabwe and Rwan da . 5.3 Partners/lip s witl, Education Agencies: UNICEF has been a lead partners especially at the national level. Various Na tional Chap ters have received support from UNICEF in the implementation of their intervention programmes eg Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda.FAWE has also participa ted in the Ul\!ICEF-led African Girls' Education Initiative (AGEl) programme. PLAN Internation al have su p ported va rious Nationa l Chapters activities and the Francophone Bu reau, wh ile UN HC R has supported establishment of the FAWE Rwanda School for Girls. Through FAWE participati on in the newly- establishe d International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa. based in Ad d is Ababa, Ethio pia, FAW E has a new opportunity for contribu ting towards capacity building for wo men in ed ucation. FA\VE is membe r of the IICBA Board . FAWE part icipated in a World Bank Tou r in Bangladesh and Ind ia in Ap ril, 1999 which gave FAWE the o pportunity to study the Asian experience in promo ting girls' ed ucation. UNESCO
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â&#x20AC;˘ 5,.1 As part of its collaboration with NGOs in the education sect or; FA\VE com piled and disseminated the report on the Techn iea l Workshop on the im pleme ntation of the Beijing Platform for Acti on . In ad d ition, FAWE com piled a report of the O rganizatio n's activities to implement the Beijing Platform for Action . FAWE participated in the 6th Regional Meeting on Women held in Addi s Ababa, Novem ber 1999. FAWE also participated in the d ev elopment of th e Afr ican Beijing plus five websit e, and in a n Abanlu for Development Organi zed workshop on Policy Adocacy for the promotion o f women's acces s to Information and Commu nication Techn ologies. In add ition, FAWE was also represented at the ADEA-\Vorld Bank orga nized Sub-reg ional \Vorkshop on Communication for Ed ucation in Africa. Through its participation, FAWE was accorded an op portu nity to share its expe riences, and those of Journalists in Africa, on the issue of reporting on edu cation issu es in Africa.... 1999 ha s been a year of assessment for Education For All and FAWE will be pa rticipating in the EFA NGO and S5 Africa Con fere nce to be held in Johannesburg from 2 - 10 December, 1999.
Partnerships with Donors FAWE ha s conti nued to receive support from its Donor partners for its work programme. See Annex on list of donors. The moral su pport a nd co mm itmen t to girls' education by the d onors was d emonst rated by th e va nu us co ns ultations and di alogu e that FAWE had with its Donor partners. In pa rticular, the d onors gave an inpu t to the FAWE on the 1998 Evaluation Rep ort formul ati on of the five year stra teg ic plan. Donors' roundtable at the General Assembly provided useful information a nd strategies for fund raising to ens u re sus tainability of FAWE's programnws lIsing a fu nd raising package. FAWE's don ors ha ve dem onstrated their continuous interest a nd person al com mitmen t to the wel fare of the Forum and to girls' educa tion .
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5.6 Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA ). FAWE con tin ued to participate in the meetings and activities of ADEA an d its working grou ps. W ithin the framework llf the Association fo r til t' Ueueiopment of Education in Africa (ADEA ), FAWE participated in the ADEA Stocktaking exe rcise cove ring FAVVE activi ties in 8 cou ntries . In collabo ration with ADEA, FAW E was ab le to docu me nt and sha re exa mples of innovative projects fund ed in Western and Easte rn Africa includ ing Mali, Burkina F il SO, Sier ra Leone, Gh ana, Ethiopia, Uga nda, Tanzani a and Kenya. FA\VE also pa rticipa ted in the A()EA Stoc ktaking reporting meetings 11l'Id in Botswana from 16-18 June, and in Co tonou, Benin 28th JUJll' to 2nd July 1999, respectivel y. A major development was that FAWE were a ppoi n ted to lead the Working Croup on Fema le Participation (WCFP) in associa tion with :\IORA D. In this new role, FAWE organiz ed the WGFP m ee ting scheduled for Joh a nn esbu rg, Sou th Africa on 4 December; 1999 p rior to the ADEA Biennial . Du ring this mee ting. FAWE will take stock of the activ ities of the Wo rking Grou p since the last bie nnial held in Dakar in 1997. The meeting wi ll include the matic \... orkshop and a girls' forum to address iss ue s on girls' ed ucation . \Vithin the co ntex t of the AD EA Working Crou p on Fema le Pa rticipation in ed ucation (WG FP) FAWE partici pa ted in the Female Educa tion in Mathematics and Science in Africa (FEMSA) d onor s consortiu m in O slo (17-18 Janu aryI 9(9 ). As part of FEMSA Phase II activities fin' countries held their nati onal seminars - Mali, Malawi, Senegal. Za m bia. and Tanzani a. A FEMSA Techni cal Com mitt ee was instituted in 1Y9Y and mel in February, May and November. The agend a for th e meetings included the revi ew of th e country reports" 1999 FAWE Annual Report
Also under the ADEA WGFP activities, FAWE Na tiona l Chapters in Ghana. Uganda and Za mbia continued to host the NCO Alliance for Community Action for Girls' Education - the Alliance, The Alliance program mes provided several sma ll grants to community based organizations to sup port projects and progr ammes for girls' ed ucation in those cou ntries. FAWE also par ticipa ted in an Allian ce mee ting which was held in Lusaka, Zambia in October 1999 to map out future activities for the nex t mi llennium. As the newly appointed leader of the Working Group on Fema le parti cipation, FAWE invited Minis ters of Education. Directors of Planning of selected regionally rep resented countries, and prominent ed uca tionalists to the Steering Co mm ittee of the Working Grou p. The meeting was orga nized and held on the 4 th of December 1999 prior to the ADEA Bienni al and EFA assessment meetings. At thi s meeting FA\\'E took stock of its activities, those of the Stra tegic Resou rce Planning programme, the Fema le Ed ucation in Mathematics and Science in Africa (FEMSA) as well as the activities of the NGO Alliance, since the last Biennial in 1997. The debate and attem pts at see king solutions to the Safety and Security of Girls as well as issues on girls' reproductive health , were also taken a step fu rther during the course of th is meeting. Partnerships with communities At the national level, FAWE Nationa l Chapters have been involved in program mes in partnership with community-based organiza tions, parents, teachers and community lead ers. 6. To assist in the development of capacity to accelerate and monitor female participation in education both at the regional and at the nationalleveI. FAWE has sought to build the capacity of national networks that can act as nerve centres for girls' ed uca tion . In 1999, FA\VE has contin ued conso lidating its stra tegy for strengthening National Cha pters and the Regiona l Secretariat.
Specif ic Activities: 6.1 Strengthening National Chapters. As at end of June 1999, Nationa l Cha pters in Sierra Leone, Ghana and Zambia were fully opera tiona l and have also succeeded in mobilizing externa l resources for their annua l work program mes d uring the course of 1999. National Cha pters in Tanzania, Uganda, Chad, Kenya Mali, Bu rkina Paso, Senegal, and Guinea were operationa l with an office. full-time coordinator and wo rk p lan, whi ch they were duly implementing. National Chapters in Ethiopia, Namibia. Zimbabwe Moza mbique, Swaziland, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ben in, Liberia and The Ga mbia , had newly appointed Coord ina tors. natio nal secretariats wh ich were nut adeq ua tely equ ip ped and work plans. National Chapters in Madagascar Zanziba r, Malaw i, Burundi, Nigeria, Cote d'I voire, Togo and Cuinea -Bissau had not yet received seed money from FAWE to set u p a secretariat or still requ ired additiona l technical su pport to be fully operational.
1999 FAWE Annual Report
6.2 Na tio nal Chapter activities: In order to take account of the importance of the Nationa l Chapters, a National Chapters Un it was created within the Programme Section. A programme of sup port for capacity and strengthe ning o f National Chap ters was und ertaken. The following Chap ters received financial su pport to establish secretariats. These are: Burundi, Chad, Cameroon, Kenya. Swaziland, Namibia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Senegal, South Africa and Ethiopia. During 1999, various Chapters have undertaken various activities to promote girls' education. The following are some examp les of in tervention programmes un der taken by Chapters: In Th e Gambia, FAWE gi rls clubs have been set u p in 10 schools. Activities in the girls ' clubs include dis cussion and debates, fundraising activities to su pport needy girl s and sensitization. FAWE Eth iopi a Ch ap ter has conducted a Girls' Mentoring Programme to crea te awareness among young rural femal e stu dents in order 10 encou rage them to pursue further education. The girl s become a so urce of information to their friend s, neighbors and to the comm unity at earl y stage . In this programme, girls are contacted and paired with mentors across a range of profes sion s.
In Swazila nd , the FAWE Chap ter ha s organized a programme where girls are attached to workplaces to help girls increase their interest in the fields of science and technology. The workplaces include - Swaziland Posts and Telecommunication, Swaziland Electricity Board, The Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hosp ital and Horn Balyl and Par tners Firm of Architects- and 18 female students enroll for the project. FAWE Uganda has addressed the gap between rural and urban edu cat ion through a link programme. In this project the linking inv olves: • • • •
Twinning best performing schools (Gayaza High Schoo l and Kampala Parents' School ] with 2 primary and one seco ndary schools in Nebbi and Kalanga la (th e worst performing districts in PLE, 0 ' and A' levels). Exchange of test papers. Exchange visits between teachers, students & pupils. Run ning of seminars in relevant fields.
The project is supported by the World Bank - Uganda Office and more sup port is solicited ttl increa se the exchange. FAWE has launched a bursary scheme for needy girls in 10 National Chapters. As mentioned earlier this scheme was launched with assistance from UNESCO. The scheme wa s launched in Tan zania, Guinea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Mali, Senegal, Gha na and Ugand a.
1999 FAWE Annual Report
6.3 Capacity Building for Junior Female Academ icians: A Programme for training junior female academicians in gender sensitization and proposal writing was held. The workshop for Eastern and Southern African countries was held at the Africa Universi ty in Zimbabwe on 21·25 Jun e 1999 and while the workshop for western and Centra l Africa took place at the University of Abdo u Moumo uni Universi ty in Niamey, Nige r. A total of 48 participants from 25 coun tries pa rticipa ted . 6.4 Sus taitrability of FAlVE: FA\NE continued to grapple with the issue of creating a su stainable base for the Forum especially taking into account the fact that the organization has now grown to 31 National Chapters. This ha s implications both for the growth of the work programme, as well as the hum an and financial resource dema nd s to su stain the organization. In response to these issues, the major part of 1999 was spent in the formulation of the Five Year Strategic Plan . The Strateg ic Plan has been a useful instrument to: Streamline the current work programme • • Art iculating the organization's strategic objectives and vision • A realistic assessment of FAWE's capabilities and focussing its programmes to fulfil its mandate • Determine the financia l and hu man resource requirements The FAWE Strategic Plan received input from the Na tiona l Chapters, the FAWE members, the FAWE Executive Committee members, the Donors and partners. In add ition, a Fundraising Committee was appointed to assist the organization to create a more sus tainable resource base. See annex. Constrain ls PAWE's achievements were not gained without encounter ing a variety o f constraints along the way. The most significant con straints at both secretariat level and partnerships level are : • Resource mobi lization at the national level and at the regional level to en sure the lon g-term sustainability of the FAWE's activities in Africa • Changing national political and economical environ men ts, which in some cases have deteriora ted to the level of wars and armed conflicts and thus hindered the effective work of FAWE national Chapters • Short term commitment of dono r funding which affects our ab ility to do long -term p lanning • Lack of adequate capacity at the regional and national levels • Untapped potential of the FAWE membership in influencing educational policy and programmt's in favour of girls' edu cation . III.
1999 FAWE Annual Report
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V Way Forward lnspite of the significant efforts and progress made to promote the education of girls in responSt." to the 1990 World Declaration on Education For All (EFA), gender disparities persist. The FA\VE Five- Year Strategic Plan has now been developed which charts out the strategic objectives of FAWE and related activities, whi ch will lead to the fulfillment of the FAWE mandate of increasing access and improving retention and performance of girls in Africa .
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1999 FAWE Annual Report
Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) Summary of Achievements January - December, 1999
Objective 1 To influence educational policies relevant to female education so as to increase access and retention, and improve performance of girls and women in education Specific Activity
Expected outcome
Indicators of success
Expansion of membership
Increased number of members who are in a position to influence policy Streamlining of membership categories
Membership list \..ras updated in line wi th membership categories The increase in the membership has been slow due to the tluidity of ministerial posts
Dialogue and Networking of Girls ' Education
Raised awareness amongst policy makers Sharing of experiences an d networking amongst members Good governa nce of the Forum
Awareness raised among FA\VE members and other policy makers High level of experience sharing and netwo rking amongst member s A pprova l of the revised Constitution Election of tlu..¡ tll'W Executive Committee
Participation of Members at the National Level
National Chapters actively intluencing educational policy and pmgrammes in favour of girls
Active FAWE National Chapters Goodwill between the FAWE National Chapters and Ministries of Edu cation
Policy Gu ida nce of the Forum
Policy guidance in the implementation of the work program me
Increased rate of implementation of the work progrilmmc M eeting of the Executive as schedu led
1999 FAWE Annual Report
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Influencing Policy th rough Strategic Resource Planning (SRP)
Strategic reallocation of resou rces for female education at the nationa l level
SRP Stud ies completed Policy options identified for stra tegic rea llocati on of resou rces
Increased invol vement of National Cha pters in the SRP Process
Clearly defined roles and responsibilities for FAWE Nat ional Cha p ters, SRP researchers and mi nistries of education
Objective 2 To build public awareness and consensus on the social and economic advantages of female education through ad vocacy Specific Activity
Expected ou tcome
Indicators
Girls' Clubs
Empowe rmen t of girls
Increased self estee m and self awareness of girls Girls clubs formed in 9 nine cou ntries Project proposal for specific activities in 5 coun tries
Girls' Forum
Raised awareness on girls' educati on Empowerment of girls
G irls aw aren ess raised Girls views expressed Awareness of policy makers raised on fem ale ed uca tion issues Increased com mitment to girls' edu cation Scholarships awarded to 21 participants in the Girls' Forum
1999 FAWE Annual Report
Partnership wit h the med ia
Increased and better cove rage of female ed uca tion issues in the med ia Im proved image of women in the media
Media p rize awarded in four cou ntries to female journalists Media workshop held in one cou ntry and preparatory activities completed in one country Fema le role models in the med ia iden tified
Implementation of Communication Strateg ies
Increased awareness of target aud iences on the importance of female edu cation
Sensitiza tion activities undertaken in three countries with target aud iences teachers, com mu nity and opinion leaders
Product ion of advocacy materials
Increased awareness on female education issues
Number and qua lity of publications produced
Conder sensitization of target audiences
Target aud iences sensitized
Publications disseminated to target audiences e.g. list' of ABC of gender analysis for pre-service teacher training in Guinea Development o f new tools for gender se ns itiza tion and analysis undertaken Technical assistance provided for the developmen t of a gender resource cen tre
Outreach to the francophone region
Wider outreach in the franco phone region Increased sharing among francophone Chapters e.g through the bulletin de liaison
Publications disseminated in the francophone region FA\VE represented in sub-regional fora Bu lletin de liaison produced
1999 FAWE Annual Report
,, Objective 3 To gather and analyze existing data to facilita te the design of interventions in favour of girls' education, and to monitor progress
Specific Activity
Expected ou tcome
Indicators
Un ive rsity dati.'! profile
Availability of gender disaggn-gan-d d ata to gu ide interventi on s at the tertiary level
Fram ework for project proposa l developed. and di sseminated to u n iversit ies Proposals received from four un iversities
National Score Ca rd
Docume nted trends a nd statistics o n fema le education in Africa
National Score Cud co llected fm m 13 countries
Databa se of Educational poli cies and plan s
Availa bilit y of up to dale information on education pol icy
Policies collected from 31 coun tries in sub-Saha ra n Africa Trends a nalyzed and docume nte d
FAW E website
Better communication and increased ou treach using new Technologies
FAWE website mai ntained and 6 add itional FAWE National Cha pters have access to ema il bri ngi n~ the to tal to
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No n Formal Education Research
1999 FAWE Annual Report
Information on key issu es a nd programml' in the non forma l ed ucation sector
Research project initia ted in Ethiop ia a nd Tanz ania
Objective 4 To su pport. do cument and disseminate informalion on innovati ve strategies for improving and accelera ting femal e participation in education Specific Activity
Expected ou tcome
Experimentation and Demo nstra tion Grants
Su ppor t and identi fication of innovations 30 d emon st ration projects suppo rted and best p ractice In increas ing fema le through the d emon strat ion gran ts programm e p articipation in ed uca tion
Agothc Uwi ling iyimana Award
Ident ification, and rewa rdin g of innov ators pro viding female ed uca tion effectively
8 innova tive pro jects ident ified throug h the Agathe Uwi llugiyi rnana Award
FA\VE Centres of Excellence
Demonstration of a hol istic approach to provid ing qua lity ed ucation for girls
2 Cent res of Excellence initiated Centre in Rwa nda nperationa!
In di cato rs
O bject ive 5 To increa se and sus tain partnerships with governments. donors, N GOs and other stakeholders in education to increase th eir investment in girl s' educahon Specific Acti vity
Expec ted outcome
Indicators
Partnership wit h governments
Im pro ved policy environment for girls' educa tion Commitment from governments
Dialogue, consultations and interaction wi th governments an d educa tion policy makers Par ticipa tion on International fora eg OAU meetings
1999 FAWE Annual Report
Partnership with un iver sities
Partnership with d onors
Collabo ration in university progra mmes that prom ote gend er equity
Increased fund ing for FAWE Co m m it men t of donors to in vesti ng in
Partne rsh ip with Educa tion agencies
Dialogu e and consulta tions held with donors Increased fina nc ial co mm itment to FAW E
Collabo rat ion in programme implemen tation
Dialogu e, cons ultation an d net worki ng wit h various agencies Collabo rative progr amme eg Co llabo ration with UNESCO in the Cul ture of Peace initia tive, an d with UN ICEF and the World Bank at the nati onal level
collabora tion in networking
, Partnership with ADEA an d
up a gender resource centre, Rwanda Collaborative efforts to train women acad emicians in proposa l writing, Zimbabwe
fem ale ed ucation
P articipa tion in In terna tional fora a nd.
A DEA WGFP
Technical assistance provided for sett ing
Increased d on or commi tment to female ed ucat ion
Leadersh ip role of the WGFP given to FAWE
Active participation in FEMSA and the Alliance and ADEA Stockta king exercise Partnership with NGOs
Increased commit ment of NGOs to suppo rt female ed ucatio n Colla bora tion in progra m ming
Prod uction and d issemination of re port on the implement ation of the Beijing Platfor m for Act ion, attendance at the Beijing plus 5 Africa con ference, Co llaboration in the development to the Beijing +¡5 website
Partnersh ip with comm un ities
Increased commu nity involved in the prov ision of girls' ed ucation
National Chapter activi ties carried o ut w ith com muni ties through mobilization and sensitization
1999 FAWE Annual Report
Objective 6 To assist in the d evelopment of capacity to accelerate and monitor female participation in education both at the regional a.nd at the national level. Specific Activities
Expected outcome
Indicators
Strengthening of Na tional Cha pters
Increased mobilization of resources for female education Influence on education policy in favour of girls
Nati ona l Chapters able to mobili ze extensive funding for their annual work
plans National Chap ters with annual work plans and implementing activities Chap ters with newly appointed full-time coord ina tors National Chap ters with fun ctional secret ariats
Capacity Building in Proposal Writing
Increased capacity for funds mobilization 20 women acad emicians trained for FAWE National Chap ters Ca pacity for proposal writing and de velop men t
Development of a Five Year Strategic Plan
More efficien t planning and management of FAWE Programmes
Five Year Strateg ic Plan produced with inputs from the FAWE Executive Co mmittee, Member ship, National Chapters, Don ors Disseminated and shared with Partners and Donors
Fundraising Committee
Increased financial base for FAWE Activities More effective fundraising
Fundraising Co mmittee appointed Fundraising project proposals development donor roundtable held for di alogu e and cons ultation 1999 FAWE Annual Report
Strengthening of the FAWE Secretariat
1999 FAWE Annual Report
Im proved efficiency and increased capacity to fulfil the work programme
FAWE National Chap ters' Unit created within the Pmgrammcs Department Financial management training undertaken for managers Editorial and publish ing cou rse Secretariat and Administrative skill s enhancement courses undertaken Proposal writing and development for managers
G.A Picfotial - Gitl!: ~otum
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1999 FAWE Annual Report
About FAWE
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The Forum for African Women Educationalists is a membership organization that brings together African women mini sters in charge of education systems. women vice chancellors o f African universities and other senio r women policy makers. Founded in 1992 and registered in Kenya in 1993 as a pan -African NGO. FAWE has 60 full members from 34 African count ries. 28 associate members comprising male ministers of ed ucation and petmanent secretaries, and 31 National Chapters. As an unprecedented group of influential African women policy makers. FAWE is well posit ioned to stimulate broad policy reform and create a conducive environment for increasing parental demand for girls education . FAWEs programme activities aim to help FAWE members to analyse. plan. guide and efficiently implement external and internal investment in the education sector to redress gender imbalances. T he work programme consists of three lines of work for tification of FAWE membership and Nation al Chapters. strategic resource planning and preventing wastage in education systems. and strengthening female leadership at the tertiary level. Three areas that cut across these lines of work are: experimentation and demonstration. advocacy. information and dissemination. and building and strengthening networks for change.
1999 FAWE Annual Report
Forum for African Women Educationalists (I-"A\\'E l 12th Fluor lntemauonal H"'h~ . ..dama Ngtna Street :nl(i~, Nairobi. Kenya Tel: (25-! 2l22h5t,1U. :nmu Fin: (254 2, 21010') Email: fawr@fllwe.org P.O. F1U\