South Africa stands ready for the hosting of the Gender, Water and Development Conference
The inaugural Gender, Water & Development Conference around the theme: “The Untapped Connection”, will take place in East London, South Africa from 3-7 November 2014. This conference will be hosted by the Water Research Commission of South Africa, in partnership with the Department of Water and Sanitation of South Africa, African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Women for Water Partnership.
The AMCOW strategy on gender and water, with seven key themes, is one of the issues to be addressed at the conference; this is planned to happen in a meaningful and practical way that must make a real difference to the lives of poor women and men on the African continent. These identified and practical themes are:
- Mobilising strategic human and financial resources
- Implementing project interventions through economic empowerment and other gendered approaches
- Undertaking, sharing and implementing strategic research and operational knowledge
- Mainstreaming gender through human and institutional capacity development
- Mechanisms to promote cooperation and coordination for mainstreaming gender in the water sector
- Monitoring and evaluation systems to support gender equality in the water sector
The preparations have been underway under the keen leadership of the DWS Deputy Minister, Mrs. Pamela Tshwete, ably assisted by the Local Organising Committee (LOC) headed by the Chairperson of the WRC who will be the President of the conference, Ms. Barbara Schreiner.
As matters stand, close on 400 delegates from 30 countries have registered to attend. The success of the conference is dependent on the diverse participation of stakeholders across cultures, sectors and traditional boundaries to ensure that the conference delivers outcomes that are truly representative and participatory.
A Ministerial segment of the conference over 4 and 5 November gives an indication of the seriousness with which these matters are taken on the continent. A Ministerial conference declaration will drive the implementation of the conference outcomes beyond the conference and ensure the roll out of such implementation. The Declaration will be announced during a Ministerial media briefing on Wednesday the 5th, followed by a Ministerial excursion to some women water projects identified in Buffalo City.
Dates for the conference remain: 3 – 7 November 2014
Venue: East London International Convention Centre, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Secretariat: Glaudin Kruger, Tel: 00 27 28 316 2905, Email: kruger@krugerassociate.com
Web address: www.global-water-conference1.com
All media are invited.
Enquiries:
Sputnik Ratau
Cell: 0828742942
E-mail: rataus@dwa.gov.za
Phakamani Hobongwana
Cell: 0764602909
E-mail: hobongwanap@dwa.gov.za
Adriaan Taljaard
Cell: 0823883276
E-mail: adriaant@wrc.org.za
RSVP:
Thandile Ngcume
Cell: 0826591422
E-mail: ngcumet@dwa.gov.za
