African Women in Education Network (AWEN)

Cooperation Projects

African Women in Education Network (AWEN)

Regional Project: Africa Implementing Countries: Zambia; Botswana; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ivory Coast; Ghana; Zimbabwe; Ethiopia; Cape Verde; Angola; Morocco; Cameroon; Madagascar; Togo; Burkina Faso; Congo; Tunisia; Algeria; Guinea; Gambia; Palestine; Mauritius; Egypt; Kenya; Kuwait; Lebanon; Lesotho; Namibia; South Africa; South Sudan; Liberia; Nigeria; Mozambique; Malawi; Sierra Leone; Sao Tome and Principe; Guinea-Bissau; Somalia; Swaziland; Senegal; Gabon; Chad; Rwanda; Djibouti; Burundi; Mali; Benin; Mauritania; Niger; Central African Republic; Tanzania; Eritrea; Uganda

Description

AWEN is the EI Women’s Network in Africa. It was launched in May 2008 with the overall goal to promote Gender Equality in unions to strengthen these unions for the achievement of Quality Education for All. AWEN constitutes a platform for women educators sector to influence the political will in union leaderships and further involve the members at grassroots level, improve communication between and within the women’s networks, and empower women with leadership skills to play leadership roles in unions effectively.

It brings together four sub-regional women networks in line with existing geopolitical structures:

Réseau des Enseignantes Syndicalistes d’Afrique occidentale (RESAO)/WAWEN,
Réseau des Enseignantes Syndicalistes d’Afrique Centrale,
Women Network in East Africa (WNEA),
Southern Africa Women in Education Netwok (SAWEN).

Eighty-nine (89) EI member organisations in 41 African countries effectively participate in the Network activities.

Objectives

The purpose of AWEN is to increase women’s participation in union activities, and to support more women to stand for decision-making positions at all levels of the unions and in the teaching profession.

The main goal of AWEN is “ to promote gender equality in unions to strengthen these unions for the achievement of Quality Education for All”.

Strategic objectives:

To increase knowledge and understanding of gender equality issues among union leaders, to enhance political will and commitment to gender equality;
To ensure effective peer to peer learning, collaboration and internal and external communication”.
To build the capacity of women to increase their active participation in decision making and leadership positions at all levels of the unions.

Activities

Capacity Development, Advocacy and Lobbying, Awareness-raising Campaigns, Sharing of Experiences and best practices, Women round tables, Research, Review and Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation.

Outcomes

Some key achievements:

Many teacher unions in Africa have reviewed their constitutions to include women through affirmative action
More women are now part of decision-making processes at different levels of union structures in many countries
Gender desks were set up to ensure an increased women’s participation in unions'activities
Budgets for gender programmes were made available by an increasing number of unions;
Gender policies are increasingly developed and implemented by unions;
Unions have homegrown programs to fight against School related Gender Based Violence which discriminates against women.
Union solidarity has been strengthened through AWEN, since the network’s activities bring together unions to implement joint gender activities.