Coming from Senegal, Chad, Niger and Burkina Faso, along with Mauritania, representatives of civil society from these 5 nations met in Nouakchott from May 14 to 16, 2024, within the presence of the French embassy , the French Development Agency (AFD) and the European Union, for discussions on the restitution of the outcomes of the capitalization of the Sahel Gender Fund (FGS).
Established in 2021 for 4 years, the fund works to strengthen civil society on problems with gender equality, offers assist to States and ensures the sharing of fine practices.
Partial view of the room within the foreground the mayor of the agricultural commune of Dar El Avia in Brakna. Credit: Aidara
The closing of the regional capitalization workshop Fonds Genre Sahel (FGS) passed off on Friday May 17, 2024 in Nouakchott, after three days of labor, within the presence of representatives of civil society from Senegal, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania.
The workshop which passed off from May 14 to 16, 2024, was marked by the restitution of the outcomes of the capitalization of the undertaking which is coming to an finish, because it ends in December 2024, the contribution of the actors of the society civil and the trade of speeches closing the work of the workshop.
The closing ceremony
Before the closing remarks delivered by the consultant of the Ministry of the Economy who welcomed the outcomes of the capitalization of the FGS and wished an excellent return to the delegations coming from pleasant nations, the assembly was particularly marked by the speech of the Cooperation Advisor and Cultural Action (SCAC) of the French Embassy in Mauritania, Bernard Rubi and that of the Head of the FGS Project, Henry Paule Elesé.
Henry Paule Elesé, Project Manager. – Credit: Aidara
The latter ought to remind us that the FGS expertise is the fruit of the efforts made by all of the undertaking stakeholders, civil society organizations (CSOs), donors, implementation companions, associate operational groups, ladies and men from the localities. areas of intervention.
All the actions carried out throughout the lifetime of the undertaking aimed, in accordance with her, “ to implement higher social justice and sustainable improvement the place girls have their place and handle to develop their full potential alongside males ».
She subsequently praised the invaluable contributions of the companions within the lifetime of the undertaking, particularly the contribution of EDIFIS, a regional initiative supported by the AFD in French-speaking Africa and carried out by Expertise France, by way of the FGS, in the direction of Local CSOs engaged within the prevention, promotion and effectiveness of girls’s rights.
Bernard Rubi Cooperation and Cultural Action Advisor (SCAC) of the French Embassy in Mauritania. – Credit Aidara
In his intervention, Bernard Rubi recalled the first position performed by the French Embassy, by way of the AFD and its subsidiary Expertise France, within the implementation of the FGS undertaking, created in April 2021 throughout the first mission of the partnership EDIFIS and after session with the stakeholders concerned
He additionally recalled that gender equality is a precedence for France as it’s an goal included within the2030 Agenda for ODD (Objective 5). According to him, 75% ofpublic assist improvement grant granted by France is devoted to the promotion of gender equality.
The contours of capitalization
The two consultants who led the capitalization, Jean-Philipe Obo and Justine Hallard subsequently introduced the outcomes of the capitalization of the FGS throughout at the present time on the finish of the claps the place 35 individuals stuffed the room. Their restitutions thus built-in all of the mass of reflection collected throughout the three days of debates and exchanges, the place all the panoply of communication was deployed, by way of storytelling, quizzes and cartography.
View of the room and the 2 capitalization consultants on the backside of the picture. – Credit: Aidara
They thus reviewed good practices, equivalent toSentinel utility developed in Mauritania by the Committee of Solidarity with Victims of Human Rights Violations (CSVVDH) and the Association Terre Espoir pour le Développement (ATED) and which offers a database on GBV within the six communes the place they intervene within the Brakna area within the south of the nation.
In their presentation, the 2 consultants additionally developed the themes on CSO capability constructing. They famous the Top 6 successes recorded and addressed the intersectoral and holistic method of their approaches, earlier than highlighting the challenges encountered in reaching the undertaking’s goals in addition to the options to beat them.
They additionally famous the anticipated and surprising results of the undertaking. Then, they centered on Mauritania and the results noticed amongst beneficiaries within the undertaking intervention communities. An replace on the mandatory companions, the ecosystem of actors within the areas of intervention, the actors current, the networks, and so on.
CSOs unfold their actions
At the beginning of the ceremony, representatives of the completely different organizations in society introduced their construction.
Side view of the room. – Credit: Aidara
Mauritania was represented by a number of organizations. These embrace the Committee of Solidarity with Victims of Human Rights Violations (CSVVDH) which manages with the Association Terre Espoir pour le Développement (ATED) the “Sawt El Maraa Erriviya” (The voice of rural girls) undertaking which operates within the Brakna area. The Sentinel utility that these two organizations developed made it doable to establish 60 instances of GBV, together with 35% sexual violence, in two municipalities in Brakna the place they function.
Other Mauritanian actors had been additionally current, on this case, SOS Pairs Educateurs and its Support Center for the Education and Integration of Young Girls, the Mauritanian affiliation of mayors of southern communes, represented on the event by the Mayor of Boghé, treasurer of the affiliation and the mayor of Dar El Avia. Finally, the National Observatory for the Rights of Women and Girls by way of its president, former minister Mehla Ahmed Talebna and Aïchetou Camara, member, introduced their construction and the challenges encountered for better promotion of girls’s rights and women in Mauritania.
CSVDDH posterAs for Senegal, it was represented by a consortium composed of Diapalanté and two different organizations, CasamanSanté and Women In Mining (WIM).
The Nigerien delegation having left earlier than the closing, Chad and Burkina Faso had been represented respectively by the Association of Indigenous Women and the Committee for the Quality of the Right to Justice (CQDJ).
Several senior officers from famend establishments had been represented on the workshop, such because the Grand Sahel regional directorate and the FGS undertaking staff headquartered in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).
After the presentation of the outcomes of the capitalization, a number of individuals offered suggestions and extra data, just like the mayor of Dar El Avia who pleaded for his municipality. The mayor of Boghé additionally praised the work of girls market gardeners who, in accordance with him, contribute to the bills of their households and the availability of their metropolis and Nouakchott with greens. Finally, he introduced the prize received by the affiliation of mayors of Mauritania in partnership with Banlieue du Monde within the quantity of 30,000 euros which might be awarded on the subsequent assembly of French-speaking mayors.
Sheikh Aïdara