As an organization that promotes young women’s integration and mentoring within the women’s movement, AAWORD is interested in the mechanisms that would bridge the gap between the older and younger generation of researchers and leaders.
AAWORD’s new approach is illustrated by the recent Youth Leadership Program that addresses young African women from different socio-economic, geo-political, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds. Apart from initiation in research and capacity building, the program aims at the cooperation between African participants. At the end of each session, a publication of the research reports is programmed; which gives these young researchers a chance to have their work published.
Short Term Objectives
The short term objectives of this program are:
to initiate or promote research and knowledge generation among young African women
to participate in building youth knowledge of gender analysis, leadership, governance, basic economics, socio-economic and political rights
to enable a selected number of young African women to meet, exchange ideas, learn to work together on crucial issues for African youth, and plan for the future
Long Term Objectives
In the long run, AAWORD seeks to:
create an enabling environment for young African women to actively participate in social and political life at the local and regional level
to sharpen young women’s understanding of and critical analytical skills on issues related to youth and development;
to make them aware of their responsibility with regards to their political obligations and their contribution to the strengthening of the feminist movement in Africa and the nation;
to support them to build strong self-esteem and self help values
Programme
Specific research themes are proposed for each Program session. For example, the following are the research themes that were developed the first year of the program:
- Youth and poverty: Which way out?
- African youth and AIDS: A gender perspective
- The state of education in Africa: Perspectives and strategies for gender equality
- Youth and employment in Africa
- Youth and environmental management: Costs and benefits for the next generation
- Globalization and the African integration: A youth perspective
- Political leadership and governance: A youth perspective
The skills building sessions integrate the necessary research methods, gender analysis, leadership, governance, socio- economic and political rights. For cooperation purposes, each Senegalese participant hosts one foreign counterpart.
At the end of this training period, participants return to their countries and undertake research on the themes developed during the training. For three months they work on the research theme chosen and prepare a report that will be reviewed by the Secretariat. Once the reports are corrected they are to be published.
Publication
This publication will be presented to policy makers, women’s associations and other civil society organizations. It will enable them to improve the integration of relative issues concerning the youth. The book will be used in private and public school systems with the support of national and international education agencies.
Financial Assistance
AAWORD covers the travel costs of non-Senegalese participants as well as a stipend for incidentals during their stay in Dakar. The Senegalese hosts receive a stipend for the living expenses of their guests and their personal needs. All the participants are provided with a small grant to cover their research activities including data collection, fieldwork, and secretarial work.
The results of the first workshop:
The programme led to the establishment and/or consolidation of relations between the older AAWORD members and the youth, through the emergence of young female researchers, the foundations for change;
Once the young participants returned to their respective countries they brought new life with them by either joining the local national chapter or by creating one;
Thanks to their strengthening of their skills, notably in methodology, they were able to carry out research on a diverse number of themes. The summaries of their reports were published in the No 4 Serial of the Echo Newsletter and will also appear in a special publication in AAWORD's Book Series.
It improved the integration of youth issues during international meetings
Participation during International meetings
2000: Sixth Regional Conference on Women (22-27 November), organized by the African Centre for Women of the ECA (Economic Commission for Africa)
2001: 12th International Conference on AIDS and STDs in Africa - 9-13 december
2002: 15th International AIDS Conférence 2002 - Barcelone, July 2002
2004: Second International Youth Parliament organised by Oxfam, Sidney (Australia)5-12 july 2004
