I’m delighted to announce that Groupe de Reflexion et d’action, Femme Democratie et Developpment (GF2D), from Togo are the 2011 winners of the fourth annual ONE Africa Award.
The ONE Africa Award celebrates and bolsters innovative Africa-led, Africa-driven advocacy efforts to help advance one or more of the Millennium Development Goals, the world’s blueprint to fighting extreme poverty and disease. The goals specifically address critical issues to development, such as; halving extreme poverty; halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and malaria and providing universal primary education.
GF2D helps women in exercising their right to participate in decision making processes of their country.
One of GF2D’s tools is the use of paralegals who are trained in Togolese laws by GF2D and empowered to communicate messages to communities about women’s rights, engage in mediations related to marriage, inheritance and children, and offer referral assistance for issues that need to be handled in court. Many of their paralegals are everyday women – traders, seamstresses, mothers, whose lives have been changed because of their paralegal training and some of them have gone on to seek local political positions. These women and men have become well-respected members of their societies because of their knowledge of Togolese laws and their ability to convey the rights of women to their peers in simple messages. GF2D has been integral to the increase in the number of female political office holders in Togo today.
As winners of this year’s ONE Africa Award GF2D receive $100000 in prize money.
As the award was announcement here in Johansburg, Léontine, GF2D’s General Secretary said:
“We dedicate the 2011 ONE Award to all Togolese women whose bravery and dynamism are well known. We want to recognize the silent majority of those who suffer from violence, discrimination and low incomes gained from their hard efforts. The announcement of the award was greeted with a great joy at the “House of women” by all the members and staff of GF2D.
This award represents the recognition for over 20 years of efforts to realize a vision where: women know their rights and fully benefit from them:
Togolese women, freed from the constraints and socio-cultural burdens imosed on them, contribute to the development of their society
equal participation of men and women exists in the political, social and economic decision making processes
a genuine partnership exists between men and women in the management of their families, public and private institutions
We receive this award as an encouragement to persevere in defending the cause of women. We thank ONE whose mission is to recognize, reward and support the important work of African civil society organizations towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). “
Previous award winners include Nigeria’s Development Communications Network (Devcoms) and Kenya’s Slums Information Development and Resources Centres (SIDAREC) and SEND West Africa.
We are here today to celebrate Africa’s unsung heroes and to play our part on changing the stereotype narrative on Africa. We don’t deny that there are challenges that exist, but, we also need to highlight the successes, the determination and the ingenuous creativity of the African people despite these challenges.
I’m sure you will join me in congratulating GF2D and our runners ups, and thanking them for the amazing work they are doing across the continent. We wish them every success in the future!
Throughout Africa, there is amazing progress by civil society focused on ending extreme poverty and fostering socio-economic empowerment. These new ideas and exciting approaches are designed and implemented by Africans who understand the complexities of bringing about change and transforming lives in their communities. The ONE Africa Award applauds the progress of these unsung heroes and organizations and looks forward to solutions for the challenges ahead.
Last week we marked World AIDS Day, our annual time for reflection and a recognition that the beginning of the end of AIDS is upon us. As we commemorate the strides that have been made in the battle against the disease since its discovery 30 years ago, it seems the perfect opportunity to present our next ONE award finalist, Prévention Information Lutte contre le Sida (PILS) in Mauritius and honor the progress that they have achieved in the battle against this indiscriminate disease.
This piece was originally published on our Africa Blog.
The 2011 ONE Africa Award finalists continue with the announcement of our third finalist, a model for social entrepreneurship in the agriculture sector. If you are already familiar with ONE’s recent activities then you will know that we recently launched our campaign to address the famine in the Horn of Africa. Hunger and malnutrition continue to be important issues on the continent and that’s why the work that our next finalist, Sylva Food Solutions (SFS), is doing is so important.
Sylvia Banda, the founder of SFS, is a very well known personality in Zambia and speaks regularly on the most popular private radio station in the country, Radio Phoenix, about the importance of using local foods, nutrition, and maintaining a healthy life style. With 10 employees, Sylvia started SFS in 2005 building on her successful catering business that had been around for about 25 years.
Reading about Africa in the Western news media can often be a depression-inducing experience. Conflicts, corruption, coups, famine and disease are just a few of the ills singled out in the everyday news coverage of the African continent in Europe and North America. We at ONE are working hard to change that narrative, though. Not by denying the major challenges that certainly exist on my home continent, but by highlighting the successes, the determination and the ingenuous creativity of the African people despite these challenges. There is no good reason why Africa’s positive stories of the major progress that are happening everyday should not be told and be overshadowed disproportionately by short-term, isolated challenges.
Africa is rising and the Africa of today is a continent of great optimism and greater consciousness of the need to chart its own destiny. It is a continent of much more empowered citizens when it comes to demanding more accountability from their leaders as well as participating in shaping their own communities and their countries. These are the stories that must be told and we at ONE are finding such examples everyday and making an effort to bring you this other narrative about Africa by sharing the positive story/ies of a rising Africa.
In November 2009, the United Nations General Assembly declared July 18th “Nelson Mandela International Day,” a day of activism. In response to being bestowed this honor, Mr. Mandela said:
“We are humbled by the decision of the United Nations to recognize 18 July as Nelson Mandela International Day. It is our wish that the day be used not to honor an individual, but rather to remember the millions who have contributed to the struggle for freedom throughout the world. The best way to commemorate these struggles is for people everywhere to work with and within communities to make this a better world.
The annual ONE Africa Award, is back for the fourth year running. If you are an indigenous African organization making a tangible difference in your community, then we are eagerly waiting to hear from you. Why? Because, we at ONE are believers in the future of Africans being transformed by Africans themselves. The ONE Africa Award is about celebrating our victories and pointing out the silver lining in the cloud.
This year the ONE Africa Award will particularly address two things; creativity and advocacy. We shall be rewarding innovative Africa-led, Africa-driven advocacy efforts to help advance one or more of the Millennium Development Goals. The winner receives $100, 000 USD.
Since crowning our first winner in 2008, we continue to see evidence of selfless African efforts in utilizing unique methods designed to reduce poverty and the spread of preventable diseases. These organizations demonstrate that they understand the complexities of working with their communities and hence provide the best solutions to combat their problems, and drive the demand for change that is necessary for the continent to transform and attain any of the Millennium Development Goals.
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
