International Workshop on Empowering Women to Invest in SLM

5 June, 2007 - 7 June, 2007
Bamako, Mali

The GM, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Sanitation of Mali, is convening an International Workshop on Empowering Women to Invest in Sustainable Land Management (SLM), in Bamako, Mali, from 5 to 7 June 2007.

The workshop is being organized by GM’s Gender Programme in response to a request to the GM from women delegates and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from several francophone countries, for support for economic and social activities undertaken by women that contribute to combating desertification.

The workshop also reflects the GM’s mandate to invest in new approaches to resource mobilization, by identifying ways of promoting investment in SLM which respond to affected countries’ specific needs and the new financial architecture for development assistance.

The full participation of women in decision-making is an integral part of this process.

The objectives of the workshop are:

to reach a common understanding of the institutional, political and socio-economic constraints faced by women and opportunities that exist at community level
to define a concerted approach and modalities for building innovative multi-actor partnerships that enhance the capacity of women’s networks, in order to empower women to invest in SLM
to identify the GM’s scope of action for this initiative, in line with the GM’s institutional mission.

The expected outcomes are:

a common understanding of the institutional, political and socio-economic constraints faced by women at community level and of the opportunities that exist
resource mobilisation opportunities pinpointed
capacity-building needs of women’s networks identified
work principles and assignments for the various stakeholders defined
an operational programme of priority actions formulated
exchange of information and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms established.

The workshop will bring together approximately 60 participants, including experts in the field of gender issues and natural resource management, representatives of civil society and women’s organizations, government officials, and bilateral and multilateral institutions.

The event will be articulated in plenary sessions and thematic group discussions. These will be informed by a background paper from an electronic forum, which took place between 19 February and 9 March 2007, with the participation of national experts and NGOs, international institutions and experts from the North.

The working language of the Workshop is French.

For more information:

Ms Ines Chaalala

Advisor, Gender Issues

Tel. +39 06 5459 2548
i.chaalala(at)ifad.org