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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 scoops up MACE special award for consistent excellence

2016-12-02

From the left: Martie Nortjé, Lerato Sebe, Thabo Kessah,
Lacea Loader, Lelanie de Wet, Leonie Bolleurs,
Leslé-Ann George, and Mamosa Makaya from the
UFS Communication and Brand Management team
at the MACE Excellence Awards, where they received
two Merit Awards, two Excellence Awards, four Gold Awards,
one Platinum Award, and one Severus Cerff: Special Award.

The Department of Communication and Brand Management at the University of the Free State (UFS) won ten awards during the Excellence Awards of the national association of Marketing, Advancement, and Communication in Education (MACE), held on 24 November 2016 in Cape Town. Hundred and sixty two awards were presented at the event.

At the awards ceremony, the department further received the Severus Cerff Award for demonstrating consistent and outstanding excellence in the 2016 Excellence Awards Programme.

The awards ceremony is part of the MACE Annual National Congress, which took place from 23 to 25 November 2016. The MACE Congress is a platform where experts from the fields of marketing, advancement, and communication share experiences and best practices. This year’s programme included speakers such as Dr Imtiaaz Sooliman, Founder of Gift of the Givers, Ruda Landman, Non-Executive Director of Media24 Limited, and Jonathan Shapiro, well-known cartoonist.

Lacea Loader, Director of the Department of Communication and Brand Management, said, “I am extremely proud of our achievements and I’m privileged to work with such a high-performing team. The fact that we received the Severus Cerff Award for consistent excellence is an additional, exceptional accomplishment.”

Other awards include a Platinum Award, four Gold Awards, two Excellence Awards, and two Merit Awards. Martie Nortjé, Assistant Director: Branding and Merchandise, received a Platinum Award for KovsieGear, the university’s merchandise shop. The Platinum Award is given to all the entries receiving a Gold Award of Excellence in a category, and the best entry in a division receives the award.

Leonie Bolleurs, Assistant Director: Internal Communication, received the Gold Awards for the Sound [W]right UFS student tone and voice guide, the Spaces and Places Video, the Student Bursary Fund Campaign: Photographs as well as the Excellence Awards for the Student Bursary Fund Campaign: Video and the Expanded Footprints Publication. Loader was awarded with the Gold Award for the Facilitation of the review of the UFS Language Policy. This award is given to the highest-scoring entry in every category.

Thabo Kessah, Senior Officer: Internal Communication at the Qwaqwa Campus, and Loader each received a Merit Award for the Ke Eo Taba Qwaqwa Newsletter and Prof Jonathan Jansen’s Commemorative Book: For such a time as this.

Earlier this year, KovsieGear received Gold at the 2016 Prism Awards of the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA). The B Safe Take Action campaign also recently received an award at the African Excellence Awards in Cape Town.

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