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Nawa 12 |
Jul 30 2002 |
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PEP CELEBRATES EDUCATORS` ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS
 For educators, one of the most heartening outcomes of any activity is to hear students say: "Now we know..."This was a frequent response given by the Professional Enhancement Program (PEP) participants in interviews conducted by Dr. Wesley Snyder of the University of Montana during his visit to Namibia in June to attend the second PEP Academic Achievement Ceremony. This ceremony, hosted at the Safari Hotel and Conference Center in Windhoek on June 29, 2002, was held to honor 16 Ministry of Basic Education officials who recently completed their masters or doctoral studies through PEP. PEP is an innovative in-service distance education program collaboratively implemented by the University of Namibia, the University of Western Cape, Harvard University, and the University of Montana that has now allowed 25 Ministry officials to upgrade their academic qualifications while remaining actively engaged in their government positions.
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In attendance at the ceremony was the Minister of Basic Education, the Honorable John Mutorwa; the USAID/Namibia Mission Director, Ms. Diana Swain; and representatives from all four education institutions involved in the program including the Vice Chancellor of the University of Namibia, Dr. Peter Katjavivi. In his address, Dr. Katjavivi praised the program`s participants for their valuable scholarly work and for their work in reactivating the Namibian Educational Research Association (NERA) as a forum for committed education professionals to support one another and share research findings with the larger education community in Namibia.
PEP has been a hugely successful program with 83% of participants having completed their studies to date. This has been compared to the 60% students who complete the resident study program at the University of the Western Cape. Program administrators are confident that the remaining five students will also complete their studies soon. Among these expected completers is Minister Mutorwa, who, in June, undertook a short study trip to the University of Montana to make progress on his research. Indeed, the professors and mentors at the participating universities have much to celebrate. The Ministry officials now feel empowered to undertake research to gain greater insight into education in their country. Further, all of these officials have given the program the highest marks in their evaluations. No participant rated the program lower than an "8"on a 10-point scale. The participants` research will soon be available through a series of monograph publications also supported by PEP. |
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WOMEN`S INHERITANCE AND PROPERTY RIGHTS
With funding, awarded last year under EGAT/WID`s NGO Small Grants Program around the issue of Women`s Inheritance and Property Rights in three African countries, the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), Namibia Development Trust (NDT), and the University of Namibia (UNAM), have recently concluded important gender-relevant activities that included research on traditional customs and practices, raising awareness on rights and contributing towards policy changes and law reform initiatives. The various projects addressed multiple elements of the legal and social contexts that determine women`s property ownership and inheritance and have identified specific actors and agents of change (e.g., judges, legislators, community institutions, civil society advocates). Understanding on the broader concepts and institutions that shape inheritance practices (e.g., rule of law and institutional structures, public attitudes and practices including custom, awareness of human rights) and the ways in which these elements must be integrated to bridge the gap between policy and practice so that women`s rights are protected, has been deepened through the research conducted by the local organizations.
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The LAC performed legal research and analysis of current legislation with the aim of framing new legislation, an activity that relates to the highest levels of policy change. The NDT`s project was focused on awareness raising and skills building to challenge gender-biased property and inheritance practices at grass roots level. The team at UNAM conducted an extensive survey research project that sought to establish current attitudes and practices that determine women’s ability to own and inherit property, knowledge that will be used to inform future policymaking and contribute to the reform of current inheritance law.
All three projects, in unique ways, have contributed to the public examination and debate of current policy governing women`s property ownership and inheritance. Through their ongoing efforts to collaborate with each other and with other organizations addressing women’s rights, community development, and legislative reform, they continue to contribute to growing attention to these issues at the national level and providing critical information built upon local-level research and careful legal analysis. They are also promoting the empowerment of women and communities through efforts to increase awareness about women`s rights and to demonstrate the value of observing and protecting those rights when property and inheritance concerns arise. Especially through the auspices of LAC with its track record of successful law reform initiatives in the past, these projects have ready access to relevant policymakers and the means to influence future policy concerning inheritance rights.
All participating NGO grantees are set to meet in Nairobi in June, together with EGAT/WID resource persons and technical experts, in order to share findings, discuss possible follow-on activities and seek means of future collaboration around key issues. |
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PATRICIA SKYER WINS INTERNATIONAL AWARD
 Ms. Patricia Skyer, leader in Namibia`s CBNRM movement, has received worldwide recognition for her contributions to conservation. Patricia is the 2001 recipient of World Wildlife Fund`s Women in Conservation Recognition Award: Contribution of Women to the Conservation Field. This award celebrates important contributions made by young women in the field of conservation, especially those whose efforts have not yet been widely recognized and whose work is new and innovative. Patricia is currently the Secretariat Coordinator of the Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organizations (NACSO), the national Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) umbrella body. In her work in CBNRM over the past six years, she has gained immense respect in her tireless efforts to bring about real, tangible change for rural people though local management of their natural resource. Patricia makes a point of keeping in touch with issues at all levels from the grass root communities, NGOs and government to the private sector. This means that her work is always relevant, focused and based on the real issues facing people in conservation. Patricia is incredibly motivated in her work in CBNRM, and inspires her colleagues and partners in their own contribution to conservation in Namibia.
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 Patricia joined the CBNRM program in 1996 as the Community Development Officer for the USAID supported WWF`s Living in a Finite Environment (LIFE) Program. During this time she worked with San (Bushman) communities providing technical support and training to community-based organizations wishing to establish "conservancies". She also worked closely with local NGOs and government to lay the foundations for the implementation of the enabling legislation passed by the Namibian Government in 1996. Her efforts were rewarded when her work with the San group culminated in the legal registration of the 900,000 hectare Nyae Nyae Conservancy as the first and largest Namibian Communal Area Conservancy to be established (1998).
Patricia traveled to Washington DC to receive her award, which was also attended by Ambassador Leonard Iipumbu and Dr. Carol Culler, USAID/Namibia. Anna Davis, Namibia Nature Foundation, nominated Patricia for the award and accompanied her to Washington. |
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