Southern African Regional Gender Mainstreaming Symposium
5 - 7 April 2005, Orion Hotel – Mbabane, Swaziland

Call for Resource Persons/Facilitators

Why is it that almost a decade after ratifying and acceding the Beijing and Dakar Platforms for Action , after the Convention of Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women , engendering processes of the Millennium Development Goals, Maputo Declaration on Gender Mainstreaming , SADC Declaration on Gender and Development and various other treaties and conventions, southern African countries continue to battle with: gender power imbalances, gender based violence, gender based stigma and discrimination, feminization of poverty and ultimately feminization of the HIV/AIDS epidemic?

SAfAIDS is hosting a southern African Regional Gender Mainstreaming Symposium in Swaziland from 5 - 7 April 2005. The Symposium is anticipated to draw developmentalists, gender, human rights and HIV/AIDS experts and activists, representatives of FBOs, NGOs, CBOs, UN Agencies, and groups/organisations of PLWHA. Among approximately 100 participants from regional, continental and international arenas are expected to examine the relevance, effectiveness and efficacy surrounding existing regional mainstreaming strategies, towards a gendered and human rights based approach to HIV and AIDS policy, law and programming initiatives
It seems that whilst the introduction of the mainstreaming process has been noble, its enormous implications and multiple influencing factors were inadequately considered and planned for prior to its large-scale application. Until the cross-cutting nature of gender mainstreaming is fully understood and appreciated by all sectors and stakeholders in the development world, and machineries remain fragile around the acceptance of human rights as fundamentally important to gender equality, HIV/AIDS interventions cannot adopt an effective and sustainable stance.
This is a call for experts and resource persons who are conversant in the following areas, and who would be willing to facilitate sessions or present papers around the areas outlined below :
• A succinct overview of international and regional instruments which have been established in view gender, human rights, and HIV/AIDS, and the extent to which these have been ratified, acceded, domesticated and implemented in the southern African region
• An international and regional Exploration of Gender Mainstreaming Efforts, including how successful and practical they have been, from a developmental and HIV/AIDS perspective
• Exploring a possible paradigm shift from the conventional mainstreaming practices: what else could work?
• Has mainstreaming promoted the status of women and girls or has it overshadowed their fundamental needs?
• Harnessing the dynamics of culture, tradition and religion: how have these linked with gender mainstreaming efforts do date?
• Linking gender based- violence and HIV/AIDS: what role has mainstreaming played?
• How can mainstreaming accelerate universal access to HIV/AIDS related treatment for women and girls in southern Africa?
• Policy and Legal Reform as Tools in supporting effective gender and human rights transformation: how has mainstreaming influenced effective use of these tools?
• Mobile mainstreaming : how have mainstreaming strategies influenced the vulnerability and risk of HIV infection for women and girls in mobile and migrant populations?
• Mainstreaming in a human rights vacuum: Is this feasible?
• Women and Leadership: Mainstreaming begins at birth...leadership cuts across life-span of woman, so does risk of HIV infection. how has mainstreaming been useful in this regard?
• Can mainstreaming create mass mobilization? How have mainstreaming efforts in the media, the arts and other similar mass mobilizing avenues affected development and HIV/AIDS in the region?
• The role of mainstreaming in ensuring Meaningful Involvement of People Living with or Affected by HIV/AIDS (MIPA)

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Rouzeh Eghtessadi or Joshua Chigodora

Southern Africa HIV/AIDS Information Dissemination Service
Tel: + 263-4-336194/3; 307898
Fax + 263-4-336195
Email: [email protected], [email protected]