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04 April 2024
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Story Lunga Luthuli
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Photo SUPPLIED
Dr Juliet Kamwendo champions gender-inclusive climate action in Africa. Her expertise at the recently held AFR100 workshop highlighted vital steps towards sustainable and equitable development.
Dr Juliet Kamwendo, Lecturer and Programme Director for Gender Studies in the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies at the University of the Free State, is spearheading efforts to integrate gender considerations into Africa's climate restoration agenda. Reflecting on her involvement, Dr Kamwendo stated, "This is particularly crucial, as women make up almost 50% of the population in Africa, and the depletion and degradation of land affect them disproportionately."
She recently served as a gender expert at the AUDA-NEPAD AFR100 workshop in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from 25 to 29 March 2024. This initiative aims to restore forests and degraded land across Africa by 2030, with a focus on gender equality.
The workshop emphasised the integration of gender perspectives into the AFR100 project, acknowledging the disproportionate impact of land degradation on women. Dr Kamwendo's expertise highlighted the need to empower women in climate change interventions, addressing existing gender inequalities exacerbated by environmental degradation.
“Women – who are primarily responsible for household food security and water provision – bear the brunt of environmental degradation, leading to increased workloads, reduced income opportunities, and heightened vulnerability to climate-related disasters. Furthermore, the loss of forest cover and biodiversity further exacerbates the challenges faced by women, particularly in rural areas where they depend heavily on natural resources for their livelihoods,” added Dr Kamwendo.
Her participation highlights academia's crucial role in fostering inclusive and sustainable development, emphasising interdisciplinary collaboration to tackle complex environmental challenges. Through initiatives such as AFR100, stakeholders are working towards a more resilient and gender-responsive future for Africa.
UFS appoints new head for Research Commercialisation and Business Development
2009-02-27
The University of the Free State (UFS) has appointed Dr Glen Taylor (pictured) as the new head of the Office for Research Commercialisation and Business Development.
The purpose of this new office is to optimize the commercialization of innovation and intellectual property at the UFS.
According to Dr Taylor, the core function of this office is to establish a sustainable third stream of income from intellectual property in order to diversify the funding base of the University. In essence, the office is responsible for the facilitation of technology transfer.
Aside from the normal aspects associated with technology transfer, such as innovation disclosure, intellectual property protection (patenting) and licensing, a rather broader approach of transferring knowledge to a user in society will also be sought.
“It is evident that the funding environment has changed significantly due to a shift in priorities from public funded agencies, which have impacted hugely on tertiary education,” said Dr Taylor. “Furthermore, due to the changes in the state funding of universities, there is more pressure on these institutions to become financially self-sufficient.”
“So in the light of these challenges, universities as generators of knowledge have a fundamental role to play in the knowledge society, and through the process of innovation and intellectual property development there must be value to the institutions and the individuals.”
Dr Taylor is the former Head of the Department of Agricultural Management and manager of research, technology and innovation activities on the George Campus of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
The Office for Research Commercialisation and Business Development was established at the beginning of 2009.
26 February 2009