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Webinar

Celebrating Africa day, reflecting on WPS from the local to the global

14 March 2013. Al Koma: Women and men dance traditional songs performed by a local singer in Al Koma village, North Darfur. Nearly 500 men and women in Al Koma village, some 80 kilometers west of El Fasher, celebrated International Women's Day in an event facilitated by UNAMID's Gender Advisory Unit and the Government of Sudan. Women leaders from North Darfur attended the event, which featured traditional nomadic songs and dances.

Photo by Albert González Farran, UNAMID.

Time • 17 May 2022 15:00 - 16:30
Place • Zoom Webinar

Watch full recorded event here below.

Rooted in a long line of feminist activism in pursuit of independence and freedom, the history of Africa’s peace and development could not be written without its women. The Nordic Africa Institute and the group of African ambassadors accredited to Sweden and/or the Nordic region, welcome you to this special event on women, peace and security (WPS) as the continent celebrates its fifty-ninth Africa Day in 2022.

Photo of Mme Bineta Diop

Mme Bineta Diop

The keynote will be given by Mme Bineta Diop, Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Women, Peace and Security.

This webinar offers a unique opportunity for systematic learning about the progress made on the WPS agenda and the challenges ahead, from the global to the local. Speakers will address questions about inclusivity in peace processes, political participation, protection from sexual and gender-based violence and the lessons in implementation.


The African Union (AU) has a long-established Parity Policy, ensuring equal representation of women and men in most elected official positions of the Organisation. Its member states have promoted United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution 1325 and the global WPS agenda through a normative framework, and it is enshrined in Aspiration 6 of its Agenda 2063. The protection of women’s rights and the importance of their participation and leadership in conflict prevention, resolution, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction are core aspects of this normative framework. Through the Office of the Special Envoy for Peace and Security of the AU, governments put in place a Continental Results Framework: Monitoring and Reporting on the Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Africa (2018-2028).

Still, WPS and Aspiration 6 of the AU’s Agenda 2063 need greater support, in order to be reflected in the everyday lives of African peoples. This Africa Day commemoration celebrates progress and achievements, while considering how the AU-WPS aspirations at the continental level can make a difference at the national and local levels.

 

Mme Bineta Diop, is since 2014, the Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Women, Peace and Security. She is the Founder and Chair of the Board of Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), an international NGO created in 1996, that seeks to foster, strengthen and promote the leadership role of women in conflict prevention and peacebuilding in Africa, Ms. Diop has led numerous programmes to enhance women’s participation in peace processes. She played an instrumental role in achieving gender parity within the African Union Commission, the adoption of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (2003) and the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (2004). She led the setting up of the Gender is My Agenda Campaign Network (GIMAC). Ms. Diop received numerous honours and awards. In 2011, Time Magazine declared her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. Ms.Diop studied Management in France and Public Relations and Communication in Switzerland. She received an Honorary Doctorate from the United Nations-mandated University for Peace in 2012 and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Middlesex in London, UK, in 2014.

Welcoming remarks

  • Dr. Therése Sjömander Magnusson,
    Director, The Nordic Africa Institute
  • H.E. Ambassador of Zambia, Rose Salukatula,
    Dean of the African Ambassadors to Sweden
  • Ms. Sofia Calltorp,
    Ambassador for Gender Equality & Coordinator of the Feminist Foreign Policy, Global Agenda Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Keynote

  • Mme Bineta Diop,
    Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Women, Peace and Security

Roundtable

  • Dr. Yaliwe Clark,
    Deputy (interim) Director, the Africa Gender Institute, University of Cape Town
  • Dr. Diana Höjlund Madsen,
    Senior Researcher, The Nordic Africa Institute
  • Dr. Viola Nilah Nyakato,
    Senior Lecturer, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda and The Nordic Africa Institute African Scholar
  • Ms. Harriette Bright Williams,
    Coordinator of the Compact on Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action, UN Women


Discussion

  • Facilitated by Dr. Angela Muvumba Sellström,
    Senior Researcher, The Nordic Africa Institute


Closing remarks

  • H.E. Ambassador of Zambia, Rose Salukatula,
    Dean of the African Ambassadors to Sweden


Moderator; Dr. Angela Muvumba Sellström,
Senior Researcher, The Nordic Africa Institute

GDPR and our Integrity Policy

This event may be photographed and/or filmed, due to our public service mission. Please inform us if you object to this.