Africa

Compassion, Commitment, and Innovation: A Symposium on Onchocerciasis Control in Africa

Bruce Benton’s book, Riverblindness in Africa: Taming the Lion’s Stare (2020), documents the origins, stories, successes, and challenges of controlling, and eventually eliminating, onchocerciasis, a widespread and debilitating disease in Africa. This event probes dimensions of the human side of the onchocerciasis-control story, including the role of compassion and the importance of trust. It examines how compassion, commitment, and innovation, which have been central to the long-term success of onchocerciasis control, can lead to completion of that effort in Africa.

Register here: https://georgetown.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fZyB5O3yR3asKzMfU38JCQ

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee for Rare Diseases, please visit ngocommitteerarediseases.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

Environmental Justice, The Climate Crisis and People of African Descent

Greetings from Geneva.

The Working Group of experts on people of African descent would like to invite you to participate in its 28th public virtual session entitled “Environmental Justice, The Climate Crisis & People of African Descent” from 24 to 26 March 2021 at 14:00 – 16:00 CET.

This thematic session will discuss human rights solutions to address environmental injustice, racial disparities, unequal protection and the unique impact of the climate crisis and environmental racism on people of African descent.  It will involve a comprehensive look at various aspects of environmental racism and the climate crisis locally and globally. 

Please note that due to COVID-19 restrictions the 28th session and civil society consultation will be public virtual meetings broadcast on UNWebTV and using the remote simultaneous interpretation platform Interprefy for speakers.

Watch live at webtv.un.org Listen live at listen-live.unog.ch

We encourage all civil society representatives who would like to be added to the speakers list for these events to send confirmation indicating name of speaker, organization, email address and date of intervention to: africandescent@ohchr.org, csaunders@ohchr.org and jfucio@ohchr.org asap. The link for participation and instruction on how to use the Interprefy platform will be sent to speakers one day prior to the events. We would also be grateful if statements are sent in advance labelled with the speaker’s name and date of intervention which will facilitate the work of the interpreters.

  • Wednesday, March 24 thematic discussion: Environmental Racism Earth, Wind & Fire (and water)
  • Thursday, March 25 thematic discussion: Race and the Climate Crisis: Preparedness & response
  • Friday, March 26 thematic discussion: Environmental Racism, the Climate Crisis and reparatory justice

Further information and documents will be posted on the website: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Racism/WGAfricanDescent/Pages/Session28.aspx

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,

WGEPAD Secretariat

Participate via social media #WGEPAD #africandescent #fightracism

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@gmail.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org.

CSW 65: How to Challenge and Change a Social Norm?

Gender injustice is deep-rooted in social norms. Social norms are the values defined by a group and to which members of the group are expected to comply, otherwise risking disapproval, marginalization and/or exclusion. Religion and culture have a strong influence on the definition of social norms, including those relating to gender. At any given moment, many social norms are presented as fixed. Our event brings together gender advocates, who are challenging and changing social norms, to achieve gender justice. Tackling social norms related to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, Women in Leadership, Child Marriage, Political Voting, Masculinities, FGM and Social Protection.

To register for “CSW 65: How to Challenge and Change a Social Norm,” and to explore other upcoming events on gender equality, click here. 

Organized by: Side by Side, Islamic Relief Worldwide, ACT Alliance, Lutheran World Federation, Religions for Peace, All Africa Conference of Churches, World Council of Churches, Christian Aid

Religions for Peace’s Co-Moderator, Dr. Vinu Aram, will be a speaker at this event.

Please note that you must have a profile on the NGO CSW65 virtual platform to register for this event. You can register as an NGO CSW65 Virtual Forum Advocate for free here: NGO CSW65 Forum Advocate registration page link.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-NY, please visit ngocsw.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org.

Pan-African Psychology Union Leadership Summit

On March 16, join global and continental leaders on Zoom to discuss psychology in your country, Africa, and the rest of the world.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEpdO6trTsrGdT7YjBQusmmGwMRKnaUywr3

PAPU’s mission is to be a collaborative union of psychological societies and psychologists in Africa committed to scholarship and human development in our communities, countries, Africa and the World. Learn more about the Pan-African Psychology Union here.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Mental Health, please visit ngomentalhealth.org.

Africa Rise! Healthier and Stronger

Welcome to Africa Rise! Healthier and Stronger a virtual experience for a global audience, from across the Pan African Diaspora. As we celebrate our culture with music, dance, and other performances, you will be asked to donate money to make the needs for the Africa Health crisis to help serve the rural areas for the underserved communities with ongoing needs.

Africa Rise! Healthier and Stronger is brought to you by Earth Rights Institute, Inc., Give Them A Hand Foundation, Black Star News, the International Association of Applied Psychology, and The United African Congress which has been working together to improve the lives of Africans and Africans in the diaspora.

Explore channels to watch live, view the list of performers, and register here: africarise2020.com/index.html

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee for Rare Diseases, please visit ngocommitteerarediseases.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Mental Health, please visit ngomentalhealth.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

[regional launch] Education for Sustainable Development for 2030 Roadmap: Africa

UNESCO has published Education for Sustainable Development: A roadmap which provides guidance for Member States and other stakeholders for the implementation of the new global framework ‘Education for Sustainable Development: Towards achieving the SDGs’ (ESD for 2030). Learn more here.

UNESCO is organizing regional online launch events of the ESD for 2030 Roadmap to discuss implementation at the local level. Register for your local session:

Asia and the Pacific: Thursday 19 November 8:00 – 9:15 UTC+1 
Latin America and the Caribbean: Friday 20 November 15:00 – 16:15 UTC+1 
Arab region: Tuesday 24 November 15:00 – 16:15 UTC+1 
Africa: Thursday 26 November 12:30 – 14:00 UTC+1 (Paris time) register here
Europe and North America: Tuesday 1 December 15:00 – 16:15 UTC+1 (Paris time) register here

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-New York, please visit ngocsd-ny.org.

[Virtual] Lessons from the Decolonization Era in Confronting the COVID-19 Crisis

Join members of Post-Colonialisms Today in a live event on 29 July discussing African policy responses to the COVID-19 crisis. As the impacts of the crisis are compounded by neoliberalism and colonialism, panelists will reflect on the immediate post-independence period—including initiatives of Nasser, Nkrumah, Nyerere, etc.—to draw lessons for today guided by a vision for structural transformation of the continent.

Please REGISTER here to watch / Veuillez vous INSCRIRE ici pour regarder: bit.ly/DecolCovid

We will also be holding a discussion group on 30 July and invite you to join with your questions and comments.

Please register for the discussion group here: bit.ly/DiscussDecol

We welcome any questions or comments at postcolonialismstoday@regionsrefocus.org.

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CoNGO Notes: On UN Charter Day, 26 June 2020, the President of CoNGO, Liberato Bautista, issued a presidential statement in which, among other things, he said, “The unfinished agenda of decolonization and corollary issues related to self-determination cry out for attention [at the United Nations].” CoNGO also issued on 12 May 2020, the statement “COVID-19 Recovery: Building Back Better” in which it said: “During a crisis, global cooperation and solidarity are urgently needed, but nationalism, racism, intolerance, xenophobia, and border closures have too often prevailed. Measures to fight the pandemic have led to restrictions of long-established civic rights and democratic structures. An effective global response will require building consensus and strengthening concerted action to mitigate the multiple challenges we all face.” For more information about CoNGO, visit www.ngocongo.org.

 

[Policy Dialogue Webinar] The Potential of Distinctive Signs to Promote Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Development

Dear NGO Representatives,

We are pleased to inform you that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Trademark Association (INTA) will hold a policy dialogue (by webinar): “The potential of distinctive signs to promote inclusive and sustainable economic development” on Friday, 3 July 2020, at 15:00 (Geneva time).

This policy dialogue will touch upon the opportunities and challenges that may arise for producers in developing countries when using distinctive signs for products such as coffee and pepper. Panelists will inter alia share practical experiences from the ASEAN region and Zimbabwe and focus on the development potential of distinctive signs. The objective of the discussion is to inform policy makers in the areas of trademarks, related rights, geographical indications and economic and social development.

Cher(e)s représentant(e)s des Organisations non-gouvernementales,

Nous sommes heureux de vous informer que la Conférence des Nations Unies sur le commerce et le développement (CNUCED) et l’Association internationale des marques (INTA) tiendront un dialogue politique (en ligne) :

« Le potentiel des signes distinctifs pour promouvoir le développement économique inclusif et durable » le vendredi 3 juillet 2020, à 15 h (heure de Genève).

Ce dialogue politique abordera les possibilités et les défis qui peuvent se présenter pour les producteurs des pays en développement lorsqu’ils utilisent des signes distinctifs pour des produits tels que le café et le poivre. Les panélistes partageront entre autres leurs expériences pratiques de la région de l’ANASE et du Zimbabwe et se concentreront sur le potentiel de développement des signes distinctifs. L’objectif de la discussion est d’informer les décideurs dans les domaines des marques, des droits connexes, des indications géographiques et du développement économique et social.

A joint initiative of the International Trademark Association (INTA) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), this policy dialogue will touch upon the opportunities and challenges that may arise for producers in developing countries when using distinctive signs for products such as coffee and pepper. Panelists will inter alia share practical experiences from the ASEAN region and Zimbabwe and focus on the development potential of distinctive signs. The objective of the discussion is to inform policy makers in the areas of trademarks, related rights, geographical indications and economic and social development.

For registration, contact: tatlouembe@inta.org

Webinar Agenda for Friday 3 July 2020, 3:00 pm Geneva Time

Moderators: Mr. Christoph Spennemann (UNCTAD), Mr. Tat-Tienne Louembe (INTA)

15:00-15:15 Welcome and Introduction

  •  Mr. Christoph Spennemann, Officer-in-Charge, Intellectual Property Unit, UNCTAD
  •  Mr. Tat-Tienne Louembe, Representative, Africa, Middle East and IGOs, INTA

15:15-15:30 “The opportunities and limitations of coffee branding – Experience by small scale coffee farmers in Zimbabwe”

  • Ms. Charlene Musiza, PhD candidate at University of Cape Town, South Africa

15:30-15:45 “The socio-economics of branding in enhancing eco-tourism – comparative analysis of the ASEAN region”

  • Ms. Sanaz Javadi Farahzadi, IP/Trade Lawyer, Consultant to UN & EU

15:45-16:00 “The significance of the reputation of distinctive trademarks in inclusive and sustainable economic development”

  • Ms. Natalia Dulkowska, Intellectual Property Lawyer, Member of INTA Harmonization of Trademark Law and Practice Committee

16:00-16:25 Open discussion

16:25-16:30 Closing remarks

  • Mr. Christoph Spennemann
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