Page 48 - OSISA Annual Report 2015-2018

In this quarter, the Unit also started the process of shaping the content of Buwa! Issue #9, which aimed to focus on “The Future of Women’s Work on the Continent”. This was a very timely and relevant topic for our region, given the global debates around the future of work. We would seek to explore the various frontiers that seemed to be shaping the future of jobs, how this would impact the spaces where women were currently and would likely be working in etc. We expect this issue to be circulated by December 2018.
The Unit spent significant time in this quarter engaging with potential grantees shaping the work and proposals that would be tabled at the June board meeting. Considerable time was spent engaging with and gathering information on new and potential grantees, including the Southern African Cross Border Traders Association (SACBTA), the International Domestic Worker Federation (IDWF), and the Zimbabwe Women’s Bureau (ZWB).
All of these organisations were seen as potential new grantees doing inspiring work in alignment with our strategy. We were very excited about the possibilities that these potential partnerships could bring in, deepening and expanding the scope of our work as we move forward.
Women’s Rights Programme July-
September 2018
The Unit worked very hard to advance initiatives in this quarter. The Programme promoted several grants (individually and collaboratively) and allocated its entire programme budget by the end of September through grants and two operational projects. The Programme then focussed its attention on reviewing received completed grant project reports and planning for the new year.
One grant that stood out and that the Programme was excited about was a collaborative grant with the EJ Programme. This grant sought to support the Consumer Unity Trust Society (CUTS) in Zambia to facilitate the attendance of a delegation of domestic workers, women informal traders and rural women from our region at CSW 2019 in New York (scheduled for March 2019).
The theme for 2019 CSW focussed on social protection – an important issue for women in the economic sectors targeted in this project. The project would enable a
regional consultation process to define a regional policy position on social protection before convening a workshop at CSW to draw up an advocacy strategy and raise awareness while learning from other regions.
The Unit worked collaboratively with the EJ Team to support and engage with partners at the People’s Summit, convened in August in Namibia. The summit’s highlight was the official launch of the Rural Women Assembly Namibia (RWA Nam) chapter, the core-conveners of the summit. We were excited to participate in this launch, which saw RWA Nam commit to mobilising women’s agencies to influence the National Land Conference’s outcomes, slated for October 1-5. They have since released a Women’s Position Paper on land, which will guide their advocacy going forward.
The Unit also spent time in this quarter developing a new concept aimed at systematically enhancing the capacities of women’s rights organisations, networks and movements in the next few years. The concept, which was being developed collaboratively with Human Rights Initiative (HRI) and other OSF networks and foundations, envisaged giving three- to four-year grants for institutional support to strategic women’s rights institutions, organisations and networks as a strategy to boost their sustainability — advancing grants to procure office buildings, as well as, supporting organisational development, among other capacity gaps. The concept is still under development, and there is scope to adapt this at the institutional level. We hope to roll this out in the new year.
In this quarter, the Unit also spent significant time commissioning and editing the next issue of our flagship publication, BUWA!#9, which focusses on the theme: “The Future of Women’s Work in Africa”. This is a very timely topic and relevant one for our region, given current global debates around the future of work. The issue explores the various frontiers that seem to be shaping the future of jobs, how this will impact the spaces where women are currently and will likely be working in, etc. We have completed content editing and passed-on the manuscript for copy editing. We expected this issue to be circulated by the end of January 2019, with a launch planned for March 2019 around International Women’s Day commemorations.
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OPEN SOCIETY INITIATIVE FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA – 2018 REPORT