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UFS lecturer, Dr Kamwendo, elevates gender mainstreaming in AFR100 Climate Project

04 April 2024 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo SUPPLIED

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.

News Archive

UFS presents unique rally

2006-05-11

On Friday 9 June 2006 the University of the Free State (UFS) will present the second Amazing Race Rally in Bloemfontein.

The rally is presented in aid of children and babies with serious diseases in the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health in the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences. These children are in need of intensive care, and suffer from cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases and conditions, endocrinological diseases or gastro-enterological conditions.

By raising the necessary funds, equipment can be acquired to meet the unique healthcare needs of these children and babies and it will also enable the UFS to maintain the high standards of education, training and research in this field.

Last year about 12 corporate teams from among others Vodacom, Medi-Clinic, Eskom, Mimosa Mall and Nedbank and four teams from the UFS competed in the rally. The Medi-Clinic team was the winner.

This year the teams will again follow a specific route with various check points by car. Here they will have to complete activities or solve clues before receiving their clue to the next checkpoint. The teams will be travelling with cars branded with the logo of the company they represent.

Companies and institutions in Bloemfontein can enter in the rally by means of sponsoring a check point, entering a team of two persons or sponsoring some aspects of the day.

The rally will give participants an opportunity to test their knowledge of the city, as well as their time management skills, communication skills, team work and even their relationships!

The programme will start at 12:00 on the UFS Main Campus and the first team to complete this task is the winner of Bloemfontein’s second Amazing Rainbow Rally.

Extensive publicity of the event on OFM in the weeks running up to the day will ensure that participants are easily recognised and will create a measure of excitement.

Enquiries about the rally can be directed to Ms Adéle van Aswegen at (051) 401-3535 or Ms Ilse Olivier at (051) 401-2415.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
11 May 2006

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