NEW #IDEP COURSE: #Migration Policy, #Free Movement and Regional Integration in Africa

The United Nations African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (UN-IDEP) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have launched an online course on: "Migration Policy, Free Movement and Regional Integration in Africa" from 14th November 2022.

The course aims to guide middle and senior level policymakers in Regional Economic Communities (RECs); Public Policymakers from National Governments; Stakeholders representing National and Regional Civil Society Organizations on the formulation of national and regional migration policies that will enhance regional integration and actively contribute to the implementation of countries' development strategies and international agreements in the area of migration. It will provide participants with the required knowledge and the appropriate tools to develop coherent migration policies at local, country, regional, cross-regional and continental levels.

For further details, please find attached the announcement, also available on-line here:

https://knowledge.uneca.org/idep/event/migration-policy-free-movement-and-regional-integration-africa

The deadline for submission of applications is 12th November 2022. All applications can be submitted directly online, including supporting documents through the electronic application form using the following link: https://idep-applications.uneca.org/

PAID WRITING OPPORTUNITY FROM AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION*

*PAID WRITING OPPORTUNITY FROM AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION*

The AUC Communications Department is looking for 5 ghost-writers (i.e. writers without published by-lines) to contribute to a compendium published by the AUC on topics related to Africa's Industrialization ahead of the Africa Industrialization Week in November. 

Full list of topics will be published on *Ecowas Business News* (ecowasbusinessnews.blogspot.com) here:

- Gender and industrialization

- Industrialization and climate change linking to COP 27

- Industrialization and data (evidence based) actions

- Industrialization and human capacity development eg. Negotiators

- Industrialization and laws/ agreements especially with multinationals

- Case studies such as Morocco's SEZ.

- Nexus between good governance and industrialization.

- Promoting Made in Africa goods and services.

- Financing industrialization

- Industrialization for sustainable development

📌Prospective writers must be *fully-conversant* with the African Union, its institutions and how it works. 

📌selected applicants will receive between USD500 & 700USD depending on experience.

📌deadline for articles (2000 words) is *15 November, 2022*

📌submit initial interests and examples of similar articles to ecowasbusinessnews@gmail.com for onward transfer to the AU's communication department.

   

#AfricanForumOnMining: When Moderator Duties Go a-Calling at the Second African Forum on Mining in Addis Ababa

#AfricanForumOnMining: When Moderator Duties Go a-Calling at the Second African Forum on Mining in Addis Ababa:

ADDIS ABABA 

I had the priviledge of moderating a session on 4 October at the Julius Nyerere Hall of the AU's Peace & Security Building. The session was entitled "Resource-based Industrialization in Green Minerals Value Chains: The Case of Solar Power Systems & EVs". It featured Tatenda Mungofa , Nyasha Chasakara, kojo francis, Eddy Sebera

When the personable Interim Director of African Minerals Development  Centre  (AMDC) Dr Marit Y. Kitaw approached me to remember the time and try to do it in thirty minutes, I swallowed hard. When Progranmes Officer for AMDC Mkhululi N Ncube reminded me not to go a minute beyond 30 minutes, my mouth went dry, knowing this was quite a feat of herculean proportions.

How do I moderate a session empanelled by 4 "paragons of manufacturing virtue", as I put it somewhere in the moderation session, without offending them I had cut them off. 

Swallowing what was left of my dry mouth, I ensure each had 3 minutes to speak. Thereafter, I went, like magic, into moderator mode:

" I think we are on track, so there will be an opportunity for answers and questions for those who would like to contribute. 

Not to sum up -- because I couldn't even begin to sum up-- except to say that I think what we have here on the panel...are... paragons of manufacturing virtue - so to speak. 

In each of your own capacities, you are doing something big. [you] are talking about Assembly plants in solar; you are talking about phones, cars; and there's a lot of things we still need to unpack around the conversation, because let's be honest: we don't have experts filled in this room. We still have people who are mid-level...we need to break this conversation down to them.

So what I'm going to try and do is as I open the floor for questions and answers, to try and find out questions from people who would like to find out more about the important points from these CEOs, and how we can take the conversation further when we get back home.

We don't want this to die...we remembered all those who had fought for this conversation on AmdC and Mining Vision. ..There are lots of heroes in this conversation we cannot name now, so we will need to continue the journey as equitably and critically as we can. 

Thank you for your time. The floor is open for questions. Maybe we can pick three for now ...and try and limit it to 1 minute if you can. A contribution or a comment or a question please. 

Thank you very much."

In the end, I managed about 45 minutes max, with 3 questions and responses by all panellists. 

Not quite the 30 minutes I had hoped for -- but we shall do better next time!

For more on what was said by these panellists, you can check @AfricanAMDC on twitter and do a twitter search for "#AfricanForumOnMining Sebera" to get to the panel and Mr Sebera's comment on my moderator duties, which turned out to be humbling. 

HAPPENING NOW IN #NIGER: Swedish Government, #KAIPTC strengthen capacities of regional actors to report on progress of WPS Agenda in Africa

                                                                                                                                

Swedish Government, KAIPTC strengthen capacities of regional actors to report on progress of WPS Agenda in Africa

Accra Ghana: The Swedish Government, in partnership with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), is providing funding to train regional actors to better monitor and report on the implementation of the Women Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda in Africa, using the Continental Results Framework (CRF).

Adopted by the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council in 2018, the CRF aims at enhancing regular and systematic monitoring and reporting of the WPS agenda in Africa and contribute to closing the gap between WPS policy commitment and implementation in Africa. 

Two decades after the passage of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 which is an important tool for advancing the WPS Agenda, the exclusion of women from formal peace negotiations among other issues remain a challenge.

The CRF has two main objectives - to institutionalize regular and systematic monitoring  and reporting on the implementation of the WPS Agenda in Africa, and to strengthen accountability for the implementation of  the WPS Agenda in Africa.

The KAIPTC with funding support from the Swedish Government is advancing the WPS Agenda in Africa as part of its strategic objective. Thus, the Centre through its Women Peace and Security Institute (WPSI) in partnership with the Office of the Special Envoy (OSE) on WPS developed a training manual with a simplified template to support Member States on utilizing the CRF in reporting on the WPS agenda as a response to the request made by member states.

With support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the KAPITC will train focal points in charge of the implementation and reporting on the WPS agenda within the identified member states of the AU.

Five countries are benefiting from the training. The training took off in Liberia in September, with similar workshops scheduled to be held in Ghana, Niger, Benin, and The Gambia successively.

The overall objective of the training is to enhance skills and knowledge on the WPS monitoring and reporting. 

The Course has adopted a "Trainers of trainers" approach and thus, it is expected that the participants would further train more people in their respective Ministries, Departments and Units.

Gender equality and improved human security are central goals in Swedish Development Cooperation and clearly reflected in SIDA's result strategies. Since 2009, the Swedish Government also has been implementing a National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325.

SIDA supports the WPS agenda, given its broad mandate to contribute to poverty reduction in fragile states as well as its strong focus on gender equality and human security.

The CRF recognizes that while several commitments towards the WPS Agenda have been adopted at the continental, regional and national levels in Africa, the continent has not established measures to ensure effective assessment of, and reporting on, the delivery of those commitments. Thus, the Swedish Government and KAIPTC are collaborating to contribute to the effective implementation of the CRF by strengthening the capacities of AU Member States to advance WPS issues on the continent.

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