the World Congress of Rural Women (WCRW) in Durban
16 April 2007
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sibusiso Ndebele has declared the province ready to
host a successful 4th World Congress of Rural Women, which will be held in
Durban from 23 to 25 April. Premier Ndebele said KwaZulu-Natal was honoured to
host about 2 000 delegates to the WCRW, which is the first of its kind to be
held in Africa. "As the province of KwaZulu-Natal we have identified the
Agrarian Revolution as a key part of our strategy to grow the economy of our
province. Central to that strategy is the development of the entire rural
economy, with a view to increasing its contribution to our Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) per region over the next three to five years," Ndebele said.
"Given the structure of the rural economies of South Africa and the rest of
Africa, it was important that women played a leading role in the formulation
and implementation of lasting solutions to poverty and unemployment in the
world. We have no doubt that the WCRW will take us all closer to the
realisation of our collective Millennium Development Goals and in particular
the objective of easing the pressures of unemployment and poverty. The WCRW
will bring South Africa and the world a step closer to our goal of halving
poverty and unemployment by 2015," Ndebele said.
Founded in Australia in 1994 and held in the United States of America in
1998, the WCRW is held every four years under various themes. In 2002 it was
held in Spain. South Africa was chosen to host the 4th World Congress due to
its history of women's struggles against apartheid and the continued efforts to
place rural women at the centre of developing the rural economy. The WCRW is a
cross-sector global initiative aimed at discussing issues pertaining to rural
women and finding practical solutions to challenges they face in the 21st
century.
Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and First Lady Zanele Mbeki are
among local and international speakers expected to address the congress.
Organisers said days before the WCRW was due to start, pre-event registration
had already been closed as all the delegates had already made the necessary
arrangements. This means that there are no longer any places available for new
registration. Those who have already registered are being asked to ensure they
bring their Identity Documents/Passports or any other acceptable form of
identification to the venue.
Enquiries:
Logan Maistry
Spokesperson to Premier Ndebele
Cell: 083 644 4050
Stoncy Lebethe
National Department of Land Affairs
Cell: 082 827 0624
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
16 April 2007
