By Amandine Rushenguziminega

The first edition of the Université Populaire de l’Engagement Citoyen (Popular University of Citizens’ Engagement) was launched in Dakar, in July 2018, with the aim of bringing together social movements from the continent to reflect on Africa’s pressing challenges. Discussions turned around the legacy of Pan-Africanism, the political and economic challenges that Africa is currently facing and the need of greater solidarity between citizens. An official continental platform called “Afrikki Platform” has been launched at the end of the one-week event in order to coordinate the different social movements and be the focal point to contact when activists are in danger in order to create chains of solidarity and reactions.

Present:

• Bariton Lezabbey, Communications, and Research Intern
• Christiana Banzorwa, Grants, Monitoring and Evaluation Intern
• Chidinma Chinyere Mbaegbu, Executive Director, COLIDEIN

Objective:

To understand the method used by COLIDEIN on mindset change and attitude reorientation as part of their community engagement strategy when implementing funded projects.

Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) in collaboration with House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes, Open Government Partnership (OGP) and Federal Ministry of Justice and with sponsorship from TrustAfrica held a 2 days leadership training workshop for legislators and staff of the House of Representatives Committee on financial crimes. The workshop held in Abuja between 31 July and 1 August 2018.

With TrustAfrica’s support, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), organised a retreat for Nigerian legislators on NEITI process and remedial issues. The retreat held between 1 and 3 August 2018 at Protea hotel, Kuramo Waters, Lagos. The programme aimed at strengthening legislative engagements on the management and oversight of the extractive sector in Nigeria. It had in attendance members of civil society, legislative aids and legislators, including the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Senate Committee on Federal Character & Inter-Governmental Relations, and House Committee Petroleum Upstream.

18 August 2018

Rest in Peace Kofi Annan: A true African giant of global leadership 

TrustAfrica learns with great sadness of the passing away of former UN Secretary General and Nobel Peace Prize Laurette Mr. Kofi Annan.

Mr. Annan was a true African giant of global leadership.

Download the Flyer here.

On Sunday, 12 August 2018, shortly after 4pm (local) Professor Samir Amin passed away in a hospital in Paris, where he had been flown for emergency treatment at the end of July. 

The list of institutions that Samir Amin built and /or led is very long: CODESRIA, ENDA, Third World Forum, the World Forum for Alternatives, the UN Institute for Development Planning (IDEP)... . The number of movements, in all continents, that he inspired is much longer. Just two weeks ago in Dakar, he spoke at the launch of the Alternative Report on Africa, the conceptualisation and production of which he actively participated in.

As part of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Center (PLAC)’s Expanding Political Participation of Women in Nigeria, PLAC with the support of TrustAfrica and Ford Foundation proposed to collaborate with policymakers, which include legislators, influencers and opinion shapers to embark on a study visit to Senegal to learn practices and share experiences on strategies for successful inclusion of women in governance. The delegation met with the National Assembly, the Ministry of Women, Gender and Family, the National Observatory on Parity, Article 19, the Senegalese Lawyers Association and OSIWA. The expected outcome of this study tour was to increase awareness among policymakers and stakeholders on the gains of women inclusion in governance. The study visit took place in Dakar, from Tuesday 31^st July to Thursday 2^nd August 2018.

Nigerian women, despite constituting a significant part of the country’s general and voting population, continue to be marginalized in the governance and political structures of the country. For instance, in the current 8^th ;National Assembly, only 21 women occupy seats in the House of Representatives while only 7 occupy Senate seats. With women occupying less than 5% of the country’s federal legislative seats and few key appointive positions, a prompt intervention is necessary.

Recognizing that the law on parity placed Senegal at the forefront globally in terms of women representation and one of the most stable countries in West Africa, Senegal is prime example of a country Nigeria can learn practices from and share experiences on strategies for successful inclusion of women in governance. This study visit was towards examining likely reforms to be undertaken to achieving the same in Nigeria. Senegal was identified due to its status as a West African country with successful efforts in ensuring increased numbers of women in key political and governance institutions (in particular, the parliament).

It is in this regard that in addition to the one-on-one meetings with different organizations and Senegalese Government officials, TrustAfrica organized a roundtable discussion on Thursday August 2^nd with the theme: Where are we now, lessons learned and way forward to create an opportunity for interaction with many more actors involved in the promotion of parity in Senegal and hear about their perspectives on the future. Are we now satisfied with the parity in Senegal? What are the lessons learned throughout the journey which the Nigerian delegation can also take home as they work towards the same? This was also an opportunity for Senegalese actors to network and reflect on plans going forward.