Thursday, April 21, 2011

GUIDELINES and CONCEPT NOTE FOR PERFOMANCES AND PRESENTATIONS DURING GENDER FESTIVAL 2011 PLENARY & WORKSHOP

TANZANIA GENDER NETWORKING PROGRAMME
GENDER FESTIVAL 2011

GENDER DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT:
LAND, LABOUR & LIVELIHOODS!

GUIDELINES and CONCEPT NOTE FOR PERFOMANCES AND PRESENTATIONS DURING GENDER FESTIVAL 2011 PLENARY & WORKSHOP

1. Background to the Festival!
1.1. About the Organisers

The Gender Festival is coordinated by the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) and the Feminist Activist Coalition (FemAct), working together with other partners, including intermediary gender networks at district level and the many grassroots outreach groups who are part of the Gender and Development Seminar Series.

Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) is an activist non-governmental organisation advocating for feminist social transformation that leads to gender equality and equity, women’s advancement, social justice, and access to and control over resources by women, youth and other marginalised groups. The organisation works to build a transformative feminist social movement that can contribute towards achieving a transformed society characterised by gender equity, women’s empowerment, democracy, human rights and social justice.

The Feminist Activist Coalition (FemAct) is a coalition of over 40 non-governmental organisations that has been working for social change in Tanzania and beyond since 1996. The coalition aims to develop, strategise, and implement a collective activist agenda for progressive and gender-focused transformation of economic, social and political policies, processes, and programmes.

1.2 About the Gender Festival

The Gender Festival is an open forum for likeminded individuals and organisations to come together to share experiences and knowledge, to celebrate achievements and assess challenges ahead, to strengthen networking and coalition-building, to build capacity and to contribute to public debate and plan collectively for social change from a feminist perspective.

The Festival provides the space, and opportunity for more than 2000 activists interested in women/feminist movement building, from all walks of life, to come together from all over the country and outside. This four-day event integrates analysis, research, activism, capacity development, strategic planning and art with effective and dynamic results.

Individual organisations and/or networks are invited to ‘claim’ and organise the separate workshops within the proposed workshop framework because of limited space for new themes. Abstracts submitted should be no more than 1page. They can be written in either English or Kiswahili, using accessible language.

Culture and art are the most powerful vehicles of transmitting ideologies and they are used effectively by both the dominant cliques we oppose and the transformative feminist movement and all those who are agitating for change. They are at the centre of any communication/advocacy strategy and consciousness raising works of underground movements. Participants are invited to share in plenary and in workshops their own art productions: such as works of fiction, cartoons, plays, poetry, songs, dance, films, pop culture, etc which are used to decentre and challenge mainstream culture and male dominated creative enterprise, so as to radically change the collective psyche of society.

1.3 Gender Festival 2011

The overall theme of the 10th Gender Festival is: Gender, Democracy and Development: Land, Labour and Livelihoods!

The present theme – ‘Land, Labour and Livelihoods’ – builds on the themes that have guided earlier Festivals, while retaining the broad emphasis on Economic Justice. This year’s Festival focuses on the specific struggles and initiatives of grassroots, marginalised women and their organisations and coalitions around Land, Labour and Livelihoods in the context of neo-liberalism and patriarchy.

The new scramble for African resources, including land, water, forests, minerals, oil and natural gas, by multinational corporations and their governments is threatening the livelihoods and welfare of the majority of people, and women most of all. International Financial Institutions including World Bank and IMF, along with other donors, continue to impose neo-liberal conditionalities on African governments. Feminist and other panAfrican activists demand an alternative macro-economic framework so as to liberate Africa economically and politically. The transformative feminist movement is in the front line of this struggle, because marginalised women are the most exploited and oppressed, and the most radical in linking private and public struggles into one broad movement for change.

1.4 Festival Format

The Festival is composed of a combination of plenaries, sub-plenaries and workshops focusing on the following major areas:

The themes for the Gender Festival 2011:
The Gender Festival is organised around one key theme at plenary level, with sub-themes at workshop level. Participants will choose which workshop to attend according to their personal interests. Day One includes the Opening of the Gender Festival, with a focus on the main theme for the day, and the launch of the Gender Exhibition.

The plenary sessions provide the conceptual framework for the day. They are held every morning with a variety of short (15 minutes) art and literal presentations. During the second and third day afternoon workshops will be organised on relevant skills building for strengthening advocacy, organising and movement building initiatives. These will include workshops on: writing, feminist performance (music, poetry, dance, and drama), media usage, ICT, organising skills, action oriented research skills, fundraising and canvas art.

Day One – 13th September 2011:

Morning Plenary: Opening of Gender Festival 2011
Conceptualisation and Focus of the Gender Festival: Women Struggles over Employment, Livelihoods and Labour
Afternoon Plenary Discussion: Burning Issues

Discussants should focus on the employment and livelihoods conditions in the formal and informal sectors and their implications for the rights and power of marginalised women and the community concluding at national levels. This includes access to employment in the formal/informal sectors, equitable returns, employment benefits, types of employments available to women compared to men; the care economy in the market, state and family, including paid and unpaid work, with a focus on home based care for people with chronic disease; and appreciation and respect for women’s labour. We say the right to livelihoods and a liveable income, are a human right!

Day Two – 14th September 2011:

Morning Plenary: Women Struggles Over Means To (Self) Employment And Livelihoods: Land, Water, Physical Space & Markets
Discussants should focus on the practical inputs that are needed to enable women to not only own the land, but use it for agriculture or otherwise. Education, good health, materials and conducive environments are but a few of the means to enable (self) employment towards a dignified sustainable livelihood. the livelihoods of many women and their communities have been swept away by land-grabbing for production of food and bio-fuels for export. This takes us back to the 1980’s and the Structural Adjustment Programmes but even before that where societal order was disrupted in the last stages of the pre-colonial era and the colonial era itself. Education, health, access to resources and control over resources are central if women are to be empowered to be economically independent, and provide for their needs and that of their families. We say the means to employment and livelihoods, are a human right!

Mid Day Workshop Themes:

• Struggles over Natural Resources and their Use in the context of ‘land-grabbing’
• Struggles Over People Centred Constitutions in Africa
• Sex, Sexuality, Bodily Integrity, Politics of Choice and struggles against GBV in the workplace public and private
• Politics of Trade, Aid and Debt at all levels
• Economic Independence of Women: Challenges, Strategies, towards a full employment policy
• Women workers/producers organising for wages and incomes in paid and unpaid work through labour unions, support groups, ‘circles’, grassroots women’s groups and community based activism

Afternoon Skills Building Sessions for Organising and Movement Building: Media Usage, Writers Forum, Analysis and Research, Organising, Canvas art, Fundraising, Infotainment, Photo gallery, ICT.

Day Three – 15th September 2011:


Morning Plenary: Women Struggles Over Wages, Incomes, Working conditions, Social/Economic Security & Wellbeing
The day will focus on examples of movement strategies and outcomes from grassroots to regional level. Achievements, lessons learnt and challenges on from building women’s movement on economic justice. Discussants should ask themselves, why do people work? Employment is a means to life, therefore women who are at work should work without fear of being harassed, and have a sense of personal fulfilment. This is employment either in the formal and informal sectors, paid and unpaid labour. We say Dignity and Work are a human right!

Mid Day Workshop Themes:


• Struggles over Natural Resources and their Use in the context of ‘land-grabbing’
• Struggles Over People Centred Constitutions in Africa
• Sex, Sexuality, Bodily Integrity, Politics of Choice and struggles against GBV in the workplace public and private
• Politics of Trade, Aid and Debt at all levels
• Economic Independence of Women: Challenges, Strategies, towards a full employment policy
• Women workers/producers organising for wages and incomes in paid and unpaid work through labour unions, support groups, ‘circles’, grassroots women’s groups and community based activism

Afternoon Skills Building Sessions for Organising and Movement Building: Media Usage, Writers Forum, Analysis and Research, Organising, Canvas art, Fundraising, Infotainment, Photo gallery, ICT.

Day Four 16th September 2011:

Morning Plenary: Strategies for Feminist Organising and Movement Building for Women’s Access and Control over Land, Labour and Livelihoods

The workshops during this day will focus on the ‘Way Forward’ how do we carry on the discussions of the first three days? How do we take back the skills that we have learnt to our respective communities/groups? How do we improve on existing work based on the discussions of the first three day? Economic development and national growth prioritise export-oriented growth with little or no regard to employment and livelihoods; big investors are given priority over micro and small scale producers, a large proportion of whom are women; the entire society depends on women’s and children’s unpaid labour with little or no resource support. We say livelihoods, are a human right!

Mid Day Workshop Themes:


• Struggles over Natural Resources and their Use in the context of ‘land-grabbing’
• Struggles Over People Centred Constitutions in Africa
• Sex, Sexuality, Bodily Integrity, Politics of Choice and struggles against GBV in the workplace public and private
• Politics of Trade, Aid and Debt at all levels
• Economic Independence of Women: Challenges, Strategies, towards a full employment policy
• Women workers/producers organising for wages and incomes in paid and unpaid work through labour unions, support groups, ‘circles’, grassroots women’s groups and community based activism

Afternoon Plenary: Action, Strategies and Demands

Gender Festival Objectives

1. Generating, reflecting and sharing knowledge on Land, Labour & Livelihoods;
2. Celebrating the power of our numbers and strengthen alliances towards collective movement for economic justice and women’s empowerment across social sectors at all levels of society;
3. Enhancing our position as women/feminist activists building on participants’ own experiences and knowledge
4. Documenting and sharing feminist struggles and contributions to the public debate on Land, Labour & Livelihoods; and
5. Networking, sharing information and having fun!

The Cross –cutting Themes which thread through all workshops:

1. Analysis/experiences of Transformative Feminist Movement Building, including feminist participatory leadership and organising styles, in the context of the pan African movement
2. Global Financial and Economic Crisis and the Search for an Alternative to Neo-liberal Macro Economic Policy
3. Politics of culture and ‘tradition’ and Impact of Religious Fundamentalism and Traditionalism on Women’s Lives

4. Looking at employment and livelihoods, both formal & informal, paid and unpaid, at all levels
5. Power and voice in decision-making at all levels about resources, policies, strategies, budgets, expenditures in both private and public spheres; including access to, ownership and control over productive resources
6. Lessons learned about organising and movement building at all levels

2. General Guidelines:

2.1 Plenary Sessions

Prepare a paper, case study, video, art performance, visual art or cultural expression
• Performances and Presentations should address a relevant plenary theme by addressing the entire question or an aspect or angle therein
• Performances and Presentations should be focused on women/feminist movement building and people-centred gender, democracy and development issues
• Indicate the relevance of the presentation at local, international and/or regional levels.

2.2 Workshop Coordination (Workshop Coordinators are welcome to request an additional theme as long as it coincides with the plenary theme of the day)

• Each workshop is expected to be organised in such a way as to encourage a high level of participation from all. Workshop organisers are therefore encouraged to use a variety of methods for organising presentations and discussion. These might include any of the following methods, alone or in combination:
• Skit/video/artistic and cultural expressions and discussion
• Panel presentations
• Presentation of two full papers [maximum 10 min each], including participants interaction, followed by discussion
• A debate for and against a motion, followed by discussion
• Small group work
• The workshop organiser is responsible for coordinating the workshop, identifying potential co-presenters, and developing the workshop plan, which will be shared with the Secretariat. The workshop organiser will follow-up to ensure that all papers/presentations are submitted on time, according to the deadline dates to be shared, and for ensuring that the Secretariat has received the final copy in hard print and on diskette. The workshop organiser will liaise with the Secretariat on a regular basis.
• Workshops coordinated should address a relevant sub-theme by addressing the entire question or an aspect or angle therein
• Presentations and performances should reflect on the current situation and strategies
• Performances and Presentations should be focused on women/feminist movement building and people-centred gender, democracy and development issues
• The secretariat provides a venue for workshops, including chairs, tent and public speaking devices. Other costs of workshops are the sole responsibility of workshop organisers and other presenters. The secretariat will not be providing honorarium, therefore, for organising a workshop, or for preparation of individual papers or skits. However, the secretariat will be responsible for reproducing enough copies of paper abstracts to share with participants in a given workshop.

3. Process and Timeframe:

Papers, case studies and workshops for facilitation will be selected utilising the following process:

3.1 Those interested should prepare an abstract for a paper, case study, performance or workshop to be coordinated in one of the relevant sub-themes following the guidelines stipulated above. The abstract should be submitted to TGNP by June 30th, 2011, at the latest. All are requested to specify which day their inputs are intended for and to which sub-theme their abstract relates. All are also requested to give an indication of how a workshop around their paper and case study should be facilitated to achieve the desired output.

3.2 If your paper, case study or workshop is selected to be presented or facilitated at the conference you will be informed by 8th July 2011. You will then need to complete the paper (and abstract, if relevant) or final workshop description by 10th August 2011 at the latest, so as to allow time for reproduction of all papers, and translation of plenary papers and of all abstracts.

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