Kilimanjaro Initiative heads to AU Summits

NaijaAgroNet:

As part of the action plans for the Kilimanjaro Initiative, which commenced since March, this year, will in the coming months head to the headquarters of the African Union Commission (AUC) to register the advocacy and call for action, reports NaijaAgroNet.

This, NaijaAgroNet gathered, will come as part of their participation via delegation at selected AU summits between the month of July and August 2016.

Confirming these plans in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire during a presentation at a workshop hosted jointly by the Africa Media Initiative (AMI) and World Bank in Abidjan, the Africa Advocacy Officer, ActionAid International, Mr. Buba Khan, informed NaijaAgroNet that the plan to AU Summits is a continental call to action so as to push the advocacy to the heads of governments and states in Africa.

Khan also said that the march to AU Summits, will be heralded with a launch of a flagship report on the status of women land rights in Africa.

The target for this specific action will be regional actors in support of rural women to engage in African Union (AU), Southern Africa Development Commission (SADC), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) heads of states summits.

Further, he said, the journey to Kilimanjaro as scheduled between September and October this year, will see to the launch of Caravans to Kilimanjaro as a creative digital engagement tools will be made available to communicate, mobilise and engage supporters from global North.

Additionally, he revealed that stunts, speaking tour, lobby visits and story-gathering will be planned to engage the public and decision makers in the north.

“Rural Women across Africa, Latin America and Asia will be mobilized to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa,” he said, stressing they will reclaim their power and demand right to access and control of land. Just as government officials and high profile women leaders will be called upon to witness and hear direct voices from rural women.

Key demands the initiative will be asking from AU, Khan hinted will include full implementation of the AU guiding principles on large scale land based investment and the tenure guidelines on land, fisheries and forests through participatory, inclusive mechanisms that prioritise the rights and needs of legitimate tenure users, especially women.

The summit will be charged to ensure free, prior and informed consent for all communities affected by land transfers, including the fair and equitable participation of local communities, especially excluded and marginalised groups such as women, youth, children, minorities, the elderly and disabled.

Participation of the delegation, he explained, will spur review of public policies and projects that incentivise land grabbing, and instead support policies that prioritise the needs of small-scale food producers – particularly women – and sustainable land use.

This, he pointed out will help in regulating businesses involved in land deals so that they are fully accountable for respecting human rights, tenure rights and environmental, social and labour standards. This includes ensuring that investors carry out comprehensive human rights due diligence, are transparent and are fully accountable throughout all their operations at home and abroad, to name a few.

+Remmy Nweke in Abidjan/ED Ops 

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Kilimanjaro Initiative gathers momentum

NaijaAgroNet:

The Kilimanjaro Initiative is gathering momentum as its council with five-regional representatives acting in the capacity of Rural Women Steering Group step-up activities for the actualization of its objectives, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The council, NaijaAgroNet comprising five regional women representatives from Northern Africa, Eastern Africa, Central Africa, West Africa and Southern Africa.

This is coming as international agency steering group, is currently being convened by ActionAid and made up of Oxfam, ILC, WILDAF, Tanzania Gender Networking programme, Kenya Land Alliance among others, to see to the success of the programme.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that members of the council include Moroccoan Ghita Ait Ben Lmadani, who is representing North, Flora Mathias Mlowezi of Tanzania representing Eastern Africa; Cameroonian Augustina Takah and Vanessa Adoko standing in for the Central Africa, whereas Nigerian Lovelyn Ejim Nnenna is representing West Africa in the council.

Kilimanjaro Initiative, conceived by rural women in 2012 with support from civil society organisations at a meeting held in Dar e salaam, Tanzania, creates space for rural women to participate in decision making about the issues dear to them.

Also, the initiative seeks to mobilise rural women from across Africa towards an iconic moment at the foot of Mt Kilimanjaro in October 2016, with access to and control over land and natural resource as an entry point.

The mobilisation is expected to culminate in a mass African rural women’s assembly and a symbolic ascent of the mountain by a delegation of women to proclaim a charter of principles and demands on women’s access to and control over their land. Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, is a powerful symbol of a challenge to climb and of a starting point to spreading a message across Africa.

NaijaAgroNet further gathered that the objectives include strengthening the movement of rural women in claiming and defending their defending land and natural resource rights in Africa; engender political will amongst national governments, donor and regional institutions to implement an all-inclusive African women’s charter.

The initiative, NaijaAgroNet reports, will work towards mobilising and supporting the participation of 100,000 rural women in the Kilimanjaro initiative across Africa and raising awareness on existing frameworks and safeguards around large scale land based investments and demand for their application in securing legitimate tenure rights of rural women in Africa.

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ActionAid mobilises West Africans for Kilimanjaro standup on land rights

NaijaAgroNet:

A global movement known as ActionAid International is mobilising West Africans from six countries in the region for the Kilimanjaro Initiative Caravan expected to attract some 30,000 women and youth to stand up for Women’s Land Rights, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Disclosing this at a just concluded media training workshop organized by the Africa Media Initiative (AMI) and World Bank in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, the Africa Advocacy Officer, ActionAid International, Mr. Buba Khan, is working on mobilizing an estimated 30,000 women and land activists to participate in the international programme on land rights for women.

He said that ActionAid, a global movement of people working together to further human rights for all and defeat poverty is partnering other stakeholders, like Oxfam to deliver on this.

Also, he said that the nine-month project will see to a global Key Change Promise (KCP) towards boosting women access and control to land and natural resources.

As said by him, people expected to benefit from this initiative include some 300,000 women, youths, activists, artists, ActionAid, media and other partners, while women and youth in six countries are being targeted for wider community impact in specifically six West African countries.

Khan equally said the multi-country Kilimanjaro Initiative involves Senegal, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria.

This, he explained is the part of the decentralized actions and events expected to take place in about 16 countries across the continent of Africa, namely Mozambique, South Africa, Congo DRC, Tanzania, Morocco, Tunisia, Kenya, Seychelles, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Togo, Senegal, Nigeria, Namibia and Cameroon.

He used the opportunity to drum media support and participation for the initiative through adequate publicity, which will encourage African women to stand-up for their rights on various issues of social emancipation including land for the rural women farmers.

+Remmy Nweke just back from Abidjan/ED, Ops.

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Two Nigerians emerge winners in Intel #ClimbAfrica competition

NaijaAgroNet:

Two winners have emerged from Nigeria in the Intel #ClimbAfrica competition meant to predict the time it will take Tanzanian Julio Ludago to ascend and descend Mt. Kilimanjaro, NaijaAgroNet reports.

The winners, Allan Thairo, and Dennis Murii Irungu had the most accurate predictions on how long it would take Julio to climb Kilimanjaro, with 11hours, and 10 hours, 45 minutes and 30 seconds respectively; and will receive the Asus Transformer Book T100 and Asus Fonepad.

Sponsored by Intel Corporation, ASUS and his employer Ahsante Tours; Julio, who set out on Sunday, September 27, 2015 to beat the world record of ascending and descending Mt. Kilimanjaro currently held by Swiss-Ecuadorian Karl Egloff at 6 hours, 56 minutes and 24 seconds put up a spirited fight to complete the climb and finished in 11hours, 8 minutes, thus becoming the second Tanzanian and African to make this attempt to climb and descend the highest Mountain in Africa in the shortest time on record, NaijaAgroNet reports.

Finishing his climb, Julio said “I knew it was never going to be an easy task for me, but I had a lot of determination. I also drew a lot of inspiration from the support I received from the people who cheered me throughout this challenge.

“My intention was to create awareness on mountaineering in Tanzania and inspire people around the world to come and climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. The high altitude, low temperature and occasional strong wind made it a difficult challenge but I waded through with a lot of faith. Despite not beating the current record, I believe I did my best and I hope that I have inspired other people to come and attempt the climb.”  

NaijaAgroNet recalled that Intel, through the use of technology enabled Julio to track his fitness levels and also share his extraordinary experience with Africa and beyond. Throughout the preparation stage and actual climb, he used Basis Peak to help him track his activity, health and sleeping metrics 24/7. He was able to continuously monitor his heart rate, movement, perspiration and skin temperature throughout the climb.

Julio also had an ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi powered by Intel. The razor-thin and powerful 2 in 1 device with a 12.5” screen was useful during his preparation phase to track weather conditions, create a schedule and measure his progress. He was also able to surf the internet to get exercising tips and keep in touch with his fans.

 Cyriacu Nnaji/GEE

 
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