Latest news with #UNWomenSouthAfricaMulti-CountryOffice
Zawya
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Young leaders' voices amplified at a Youth & G20 capacity-building workshop in South Africa
In 2025, South Africa holds the G20 presidency, with world leaders scheduled to convene later in the year to discuss priorities under the theme: 'Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability.' On 27-28 February 2025, UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office and the South African Institute of International Affairs youth division (Youth@SAIIA) organized the Youth and G20 workshop titled 'Bridging the Gap for Global Impact' in Johannesburg. Bringing together 150 passionate young leaders from high schools and universities, the workshop, supported by the Irish government, targeted 18–25-year-olds, providing them with tools for effectively engaging decision-makers on shaping a more inclusive future. On the first day of the workshop, the focus was on unpacking gender equality in the context of the G20 and its application to Y20. A panel discussion on gender advocacy enabled participants to identify key gender issues and develop advocacy strategies and actions for promoting gender equality. UN Women South Africa-Multi Country Office Representative Aleta Miller delivered the keynote address, emphasizing the importance of discussing issues affecting the future. "There is a critical need for conversations around the global events that affect the future—conversations that can change the status quo and promote the inclusion of women, girls, and youth," Miller stated, highlighting the significance of platforms like the workshop. The workshop participants received capacity-building training during the second day. Strategic communication and digital engagement combined with drafting and presenting national action plans on policy made up the training agenda. "A significant number of Africa's population is youth, which means they're going to take on how policy is developed, what the political landscape looks like, what the economic landscape looks like, and even social policies. It's very important that when youth are in those spaces they are sufficiently capacitated to engage with such issues and not just come in sort of blindsided. Youth are not just the leaders of tomorrow, they are the leaders of today,' said Neo Mofokeng, Programme Analyst for Generation Equality, at UN Women South Africa Multi-Country office. The Young Leaders' Declaration emerged from this workshop as a final product which featured five fundamental recommendations. These include increased youth employment, universal healthcare access, standardized education, gender-inclusive governance, and climate justice measures. The document, delivered to the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) during the closing ceremony at the South African Institute of International Affairs, represents young leaders' commitment to driving transformative change through concrete policy proposals. The conference resonated deeply with attendees like Seipone Soteti (18) and Dimpho Mudika (18), first-year students at Wits University. 'For a long time, I felt like I couldn't fill the shoes of the opportunities given to me,' Seipone shared. 'But sometimes, you have to do things even when you're scared.' Dimpho echoed this sentiment, recognizing the value of exposure: 'You can't work towards something if you don't understand the world you live in.' Both highlighted the importance of youth voices in shaping decisions, especially in education. 'Older generations shouldn't decide our future. 'We should be shaping it ourselves,' Seipone said. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN Women - Africa.
Zawya
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
South Africa - Men as allies: Youth dialogue tackles patriarchal masculinities for gender equality
On 27 March 2025, UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office, in partnership with the Tshwane University of Technology, and the Departments of Women, Youth, and People with Disabilities, hosted a dialogue on 'Transforming Patriarchal Masculinities for a Gender-Equal World' for 150 young people. The dialogue, which took place in Pretoria, brought together students from universities, Technical and Vocational Education and Training Institutions (TVETs), and high schools from South Africa's Gauteng Province. The dialogue, supported by the Embassy of Ireland in South Africa, was convened to compile youth recommendations for the upcoming Women Empowerment Ministerial Working Group (W20) meeting to be held later this year as part of the support to South Africa's G20 Presidency in 2025. One of the pillars of South Africa's National Strategic Plan (NSP) on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) served as the basis for the dialogue. Pillar 2 of the NSP on GBVF focuses on unlearning toxic masculinities and embracing alternative positive forms of masculinity. This was seen as a key strategy in a country where more than one-third of women have been subjected to violence at least once in their lifetime. "Engaging young men and boys as allies in gender equality is critical for addressing the root causes of gender-based violence and patriarchy in our society," said Aleta Miller, UN Women Representative for the South Africa Multi-Country Office. "The dialogue creates a valuable platform to amplify the voices of young people to influence global policy discussions on gender equality through South Africa's G20 Presidency." Civil society organizations, government stakeholders, youth representatives, women's movements, academic institutions, and the private sector discussed how positive, respectful, and inclusive behaviors that promote accountability can help to transform harmful social norms and prevent violence. The dialogue began with reflections UN South Africa Resident Coordinator Nelson Muffuh and Advocate Joyce Maluleke who provided opening remarks before the keynote presentations. Two impactful presentations were delivered by Professor Langa Malose from Wits University and Rahul Gandhi from the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies. Both shared their experiences to explain how their views about masculinity and its effects on society were shaped. These were followed by two engaging panel discussions that explored ways for men and boys to serve as successful allies in gender equality promotion and gender-based violence prevention. Sibulele Poswayo from W20 South Africa and Nkere Skosana from the Department of Social Development, along with Precious Banda from Young Women of Africa, Kabelo Chabala of Primestars, Thabo Limema from Absa, and Andiswa Mthembu ofYoung Women for Life, participated in direct discussions with youth participants to create open dialogue about these essential matters. For Gomolemo Mokemane, a TUT student, the workshop was 'very enlightening' because it allowed him to hear different opinions from different stakeholders on gender-based violence. 'From attending this dialogue, I walk away with the firm belief that women should be treated as equals and not as competitors or subordinates, that we are all human beings first and foremost and not men and women, and that if we embraced Ubuntu (our shared humanity and interconnectedness), many of our problems would be solved,' Nhlanhla Ditire also gave his view on gender equality: 'To make the world gender equal, men must learn that they have to respect and protect women from a young age. I was nine years old when I lost both my parents, but I told myself that I would never raise my hand on a woman.' Nhlanhla also emphasized the importance of emotional health and saying, 'When men get angry, it's good to cry it out; crying does not mean that you are weak. Get help, get therapy. Don't break the law." The discussions concluded with selected representative reading out commitments to gender equality that they believe leaders should consider and adopt in their policies for action towards a gender-equal world. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN Women - Africa.
