Calendar of Events

The period from November 25 to December 10 is the internationally recognized 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. The time frame for activities begins on November 25, International Day Against Violence Against Women, and ends on December 10, International Human Rights Day.

This 16-day period also highlights December 1, World AIDS Day. USAID has organized several activities to raise awareness of these issues.

Film Screening and Discussion on Women, Violence, and HIV/AIDS
Film screening of Sasa!, a film about women, violence, and HIV/AIDS produced by Raising Voices and The People’s Picture Company. Chanda Chevannes, coproducer of the film, will facilitate a discussion following the screening. This event is hosted by the Gender-Based Violence Task Force of the Interagency Gender Working Group (IGWG).

Contact Charlotte Feldman-Jacobs (cfeldmanjacobs@prb.org) or Lora Wentzel (lwentzel@usaid.gov, 202-661-0383) for more information.

When and where:
12:30–2:00 pm
Population Reference Bureau
1875 Connecticut Avenue NW

Engaging Men and Boys to Confront GBV in Afghan Refugee Community in Pakistan
The American Refugee Committee (ARC) is working to combat gender-based violence (GBV) among Afghan refugees by engaging the community and using participatory methodology with a special focus on men and boys. In the Afghan refugee community in Pakistan, men are gatekeepers and decisionmakers at all levels; interventions must involve men to have a measurable impact on behavior change. ARC works closely with communities to design interventions that are relevant, recognize cultural complexities, and do no additional harm to survivors.

ARC will present challenges to program implementation and successful strategies that have emerged from their findings. A newly developed module for the engagement of men and boys in refugee settings, developed by CARE and EngenderHealth, will also be presented.

When and where:
12–1:30 pm
Triumph, Large Conference Room
600 13th Street, Suite 660

USAID’s World AIDS Day Event
Did you miss it? The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer recently presented a series of reports featuring U.S. efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa, focusing on the successful PEPFAR supported programs in Rwanda. Hear one woman’s account of how PEPFAR has changed her life, despite suffering a series of tragedies associated with the Rwandan genocide. The PBS feature will be shown in its entirety, followed by an open discussion.

When and where:
1:00 pm, with open discussion to follow
Point Four Conference Room
Ronald Reagan Building
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Briefing and Film Screening on Early Marriage
This session, coordinated by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), will examine why child marriage exists and what is being done about it globally and in the United States. It will include a screening of the PBS NOW documentary Child Brides: Stolen Lives, followed by a presentation by ICRW’s experts on global prevalence of child marriage, its consequences, and evidence on prevention. The presentation will also include a briefing on current U.S. legislation seeking to curb child marriage and what this can mean for policymakers and policy practitioners.

Contact Kathleen Selvaggio (kselvaggio@icrw.org) or Lora Wentzel (lwentzel@usaid.gov, 202 661-0383) for more information.

When and where:
2:00–4:00 pm
Africa Bureau Nile/Congo Conference Room
1325 G Street NW, Suite 400

Safe Schools Program: Highlights from the Field
Richard Columbia, Director of the Safe Schools Program will provide an update on this innovative pilot. The Safe Schools Program, a five-year USAID-funded pilot program implemented by DevTech Systems, Inc., is working to combat school-related GBV in 30 communities in Ghana and 30 communities in Malawi. A brief overview of the program will be given, including the five program interventions. Highlights from a recent trip to Malawi and Ghana will be discussed, including program results, challenges, and successes.

Contact Julie Hanson Swanson (juswanson@usaid.gov) for more information.

When and where:
2:00–3:30 pm
USAID Information Center
Ronald Reagan Building
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Mezzanine Level, Room M18

Seminar on Integrating GBV into HIV/AIDS Programming
The Office of HIV/AIDS will host a GBV and HIV/AIDS programming seminar, highlighting the Constella Futures/Health Policy Initiative Task Order 1 and CARE programs. Constella Futures will present on their GBV and Most-at-Risk Populations (MARP) screening framework, tool, and approach, and its beginning stages of implementation in Mexico and Thailand. CARE will highlight a couple of its innovative programs that address GBV in the context of HIV/AIDS.

Please contact Laura Skolnik (lskolnik@usaid.gov) or Sara Wilhelmsen (swilhelmsen@usaid.gov) for more information.

When and where:
1:00–2:30 pm
Triumph, Large Conference Room
600 13th Street, Suite 660