June 2026

Strengthening Partnerships to Advance Safe and Protective Education in Amhara Region With the support of the Malala Fund, the project “Enhancing Girls’ Education through Promoting the Safe Schools Declaration in Conflict-Affected Regions” successfully established the Amhara Regional Coalition for the Safe Schools Declaration on June 26, 2026, at Unison Hotel in Bahir Dar.The coalition brings together a diverse group of stakeholders committed to protecting education and advancing girls’ education in the region. Members include representatives from the Amhara Regional Education Bureau, Regional Women and Social Affairs Bureau, the Bahir Dar and Dessie City Education and Women Affairs Bureaus and other relevant regional government bureaus. The coalition also includes girl representatives, INGOs, and Education Champion Networks (ECNs) and the NEWA members working in the project’s intervention areas.Its members include representatives from the Amhara Regional Education Bureau, the Regional Women and Social Affairs Bureau, the Bahir Dar and Dessie City Education and Women Affairs Bureaus, and other relevant regional government bureaus. The coalition also includes girl representatives, international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), members of the Education Champion Networks (ECNs), and the Network of Ethiopian Women Associations (NEWA) working in the project’s intervention areas.The establishment of the coalition marks an important step toward creating a sustainable, multi-stakeholder partnerships that promotes and advocates the safe and quality education for all children, especially girls affected by conflict.Coalition members reaffirmed their commitment to working collaboratively to advocate for safe education across the region, promote practices that protect education from the impacts of conflict, and ensure that every girl has the opportunity to learn in a safe, protective and supportive learning environment.By fostering strong partnerships among government institutions, civil society organizations, development partners, and girls themselves, the coalition will play a vital role in advancing girls’ education and safeguarding the right to education across the Amhara Region.Together, we are building safer schools, stronger partnerships, and brighter futures for every girl. 0 photo_2026-06-29_11-04-25 photo_2026-06-29_10-55-31 photo_2026-06-29_10-55-46 photo_2026-06-29_11-04-10

Empowering girls to become advocates for safer education! With the support of the Malala Fund, the project “Enhancing Girls’ Education through Promoting the Safe Schools Declaration in Conflict-Affected Regions” successfully conducted a capacity-building training on the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD) and human rights for girls in Bahir Dar, Amhara Region held at Unison Hotel on June 25, 2026.The training brought together girls from diverse backgrounds, including girls with disabilities, in-school girls, out-of-school girls, and internally displaced girls (IDPs). The inclusive participation ensured that the voices and experiences of girls affected by conflict and other challenges were represented.The training aimed to:·       Raise awareness and strengthen girls understanding of the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD) and its importance in protecting education during conflict, while empowering girls to promote its implementation in their schools.·       Equip girls with knowledge of their rights under national and international human rights frameworks, enabling them to claim and advocate for those rights.·       Strengthen girls’ leadership, confidence, and advocacy skills to promote safe, inclusive, and gender-responsive learning environments within their schools and communities. By capacitating in girls’ knowledge, leadership, and advocacy skills, the project is helping to build safe and protective learning environments where every girl can learn, thrive, and realize her full potential. Together, we are advancing safe schools, protecting education, and empowering girls to lead positive change. photo_2026-06-29_11-21-51 photo_2026-06-29_11-21-30 photo_2026-06-29_11-21-17 photo_2026-06-29_11-21-01 photo_2026-06-29_11-20-52 photo_2026-06-29_11-03-06 photo_2026-06-29_11-02-37 photo_2026-06-29_11-01-40

STRONG HER Project Hosts Thematic Advocacy Planning Consultative Meeting Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | June 23, 2026The Network of Ethiopian Women’s Associations (NEWA), in partnership with SOCODEVI, successfully hosted a one-day Thematic Advocacy Planning Consultative Meeting under the STRONG HER Project. The meeting brought together representatives from government institutions, civil society organizations, women’s rights organizations, NGOs, cooperative unions, and development partners to collaboratively identify advocacy priorities that advance women’s environmental, economic, and social rights. The consultation focused on developing practical advocacy action plans using NEWA’s 8-Step Advocacy Framework, with participants identifying priority interventions in:  Women’s environmental rights and climate resilience. Women’s economic empowerment and livelihood opportunities. Women’s leadership and participation in decision-making Prevention of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Policy advocacy for women’s environmental and economic rights Strengthening partnerships and multi-stakeholder collaboration The workshop concluded with a shared commitment to transforming these priorities into impactful grassroots initiatives. Together, we are building stronger partnerships and advancing a more equitable future where women and girls can thrive. 0 1 3 4 5 IMG_8106 IMG_8109 IMG_8111 IMG_8119

Celebrating the Launch of the RWVL-E Project NEWA Proudly Participates in the Launch of the Renewed Women’s Voice and Leadership Ethiopia (RWVL-E) Initiative.NEWA is honoured to be among the six principal partners of the Renewed Women’s Voice and Leadership Ethiopia (RWVL-E) Initiative, officially launched on 17 June 2026 at Haile Grand Hotel, Addis Ababa.Funded by Global Affairs Canada and implemented by CARE Ethiopia, this transformative six-year initiative represents a significant investment in advancing women’s leadership, promoting gender equality, and strengthening the meaningful participation of women and girls across Ethiopia.The launch brought together government leaders, diplomatic representatives, development partners, and civil society organizations committed to building a more inclusive and equitable society. During the event, NEWA Executive Director, W/ro Saba Gebremedhin, delivered remarks on behalf of the principal partners, reaffirming their shared commitment to amplifying women’s voices, expanding leadership opportunities, and advancing the rights of women and girls across the country.The event concluded with a collective pledge to strengthen women’s rights movements, forge strategic partnerships, and drive transformative social and policy change. Together, we are investing in a future where women and girls can lead, thrive, and influence the decisions that shape their lives and communities.NEWA looks forward to working closely with partners and stakeholders to create lasting impact and advance gender justice across Ethiopia.

በሴቶችና ሴት ልጆች ላይ የሚፈፀሙ ፆታን መሠረት ያደረገ ጥቃቶችን (VAWG) መከላከል፤ ጥበቃና ምላሽ አሰጣጥ ስርዓት ላይ ያተኮረ የሁለት ቀን ስልጠና በተሳካ ሁኔታ ተጠናቀቀ   የኢትዮጵያ ሴቶች ማህበራት ቅንጅት (ኢ.ሴ.ማ.ቅ) ከዩ. ኤን. ትረስት ፈንድ በተገኘ የገንዘብ ድጋፍ ከሰኔ 4-5, 2018 ዓ.ም  በአዲስ አበባ ሳፋየር ሆቴል ለሁለት ቀናት ወሲባዊ እና ሌሎች ፆታን መሰረት ያደረጉ ጥቃቶች መከላከል፣ ጥበቃ እና ምላሽ አሰጣጥ ስርዓት ላይ ያተኮረ ስልጠና ከፌደራልና ከክልል ለተወጣጡ የመንግስት ባለድርሻ አካላት ተሰጥቷል።የኢ.ሴ.ማ.ቅ ዋና ስራ አስፈፃሚ የሆኑት ወ/ሮ ሳባ ገ/መድህን በስልጠናው ቦታ በመገኘት የመክፈቻ ንግግር ያደረጉ ሲሆን በንግግራቸውም ፆታን መሠረት አድርገው የሚፈጸሙ ጥቃቶችን መከላከል፣ከለላ መስጠት እንዲሁም ጥቃቶቹ ተፈጽመው ሲገኙ አፋጣኝ ምላሽ ሊሰጣቸው እንደሚገባ በመግለጽ ለዚህም ደግሞ የሁሉም ባለድርሻ አካላት ርብርብ እና የተቀናጀ ምላሽ መስጠት እንደሚገባን ገልጸዋል፡፡በንግግራቸው አክለውም የብሔራዊ የሴቶች ማብቃት እና ስርዓተ ፆታ እኩልነት ፓሊሲ በሚኒስቴሮች ምክርቤት መፅደቁ ለምናከናውናቸው ፆታን መሰረት ያደረጉ ጥቃቶች መከላከል፣ ጥበቃ እና ምላሽ አሰጣጥ ላይ ጉልህ አስተዋዕፆ አንደሚኖረው ግልፀዋል፡፡ በስልጠናው ወቅት ተሳታፊዎች ፆታን መሰረት ያደረጉ ጥቃቶች መከላከል፣ ከጉዳት በማገገም ላይ ያሉ ሴቶችና ሴት ልጆች ጥበቃ፣ የሪፈራል ስርዓት ማጠናከር እና በተቀናጀ መልኩ ምላሽ ስለመስጠት ግንዛቤ ጨብጠዋል። ስልጠናው በተለይም ግጭት በነበርባቸው እና እሁንም ግጭት ባለባቸው የኢትዮጵያ አካባቢዎች ውስጥ ለሚገኙ ሴቶች እና ሴት ልጆች የሚደረገው ጥበቃ ተጠናክሮ እንዲቀጥል፣ የሚሰጡ ምላሾችም በወጡት መመሪያዎች መሰረት መሆን እንዳለበት፣ ምላሽ በመስጠት ሂደት ውቅትም ጉዳት የደረሰባቸውን ሴቶች እና ሴት ልጆችን ማዕከል ያደረገ መሆን እንዳለበት ተገልጿል፡፡ከአሰልጣኝ ገለጻ በተጨማሪም ተግባራዊ ልምምዶች እና የልምድ ልውውጦችን ተካተውበታል፤ ተሳታፊዎች በየአካባቢያቸው ያሉትን ተግዳሮቶችና መልካም ተሞክሮዎችን በማካፈል ጥሩ የሆነ የእርስ በእርስ መማማሪያ መድረክ ተፈጥሯል፡፡ በመጨረሻም ተሳታፊዎቹ ያገኙትን እውቀት በተቋማቸው ለሚገኘ የስራ ባልደረቦቻቸው ለማካፈል እና የአገልግሎት አሰጣጥ ሂደቱን ለማጠናከር፣ እንዲሁም ለሴቶችና ሴት ልጆች ተደራሽና ጥራት ያለው አገልግሎት መኖሩን ለማረጋገጥ የተግባር ዕቅድ አዘጋጅተው ለመተግበር ቁርጠኝነታቸውን አሳይተዋል፡፡ ኢ.ሴ.ማ.ቅ እንደ ሁለጊዜው ሁሉ ፆታን መሰረት ያደረጉ ጥቃቶች መከላከል፣ ጥበቃ እና ምላሽ አሰጣጥ ስርዓት ለማሻሻል የበኩሏን ድርሻ ትወጣለች፡፡ በተለይም በአማራ፣ ትግራይ እና ቤንሻንጉል ጉሙዝ ክልሎች  ከአጋር ማህበራት እና ባለድርሻ አካላት ጋር በመሆን የሴቶችና ሴት ልጆችን መብት፣ ደህንነት እና ፍትህ ለማረጋገጥ  የሚያግዙ ተግባራትን አጠናክራ ትቀጥላለች፡፡ዓላማችን ለሴቶችና ሴት ልጆች ምቹ የሆነች ኢትዬጵን ማየት ነው፡፡

The NEWA, in partnership with the Malala Fund, working to advance girls’ education through promoting Safe Schools Declaration (SSD). The NEWA, in partnership with the Malala Fund, working to advance girls’ education through promoting Safe Schools Declaration (SSD). As part of this initiative, NEWA conducted a one-day training on the Safe Schools Declaration and Human Rights for girls’ representatives drawn from Kelem Meda and Hote Secondary Schools in Dessie City on June 13, 2026. The training brought together girls’ representatives to enhance their understanding of safe and inclusive education, strengthen their awareness of their rights, and encourage their active participation in creating positive change within their schools and communities. The training focused on the objectives, benefits and key commitments of the Safe Schools Declaration, emphasizing the importance of protecting schools, students, and educators from the impacts of conflict and violence. Girls gained a deeper understanding of safe learning environment. In addition, the session provided comprehensive information on human rights, gender equality, and the prevention of gender-based violence (GBV). Girls explored national and international legal frameworks and policies that safeguard the rights of women and girls, including protections against discrimination, violence, and harmful practices. Discussions also highlighted the importance of girls’ leadership, participation in school clubs, and engagement in advocacy efforts to promote gender equality and educational opportunities. The training created a valuable platform for girls to share experiences, discuss challenges affecting their education, and build confidence in expressing their views.

NEWA organized a three-day Capacity Building Training on Project and Grant Management for its staff and partner organizations With the financial support of the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, Network of Ethiopian Women’s Associations organized a three-day Capacity Building Training on Project and Grant Management for its staff and partner organizations from May 20–22, 2026, at Mado Hotel. The training aimed to strengthen the capacity of NEWA and partner organizations implementing projects related to strengthening the prevention, protection, and response mechanisms for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) in conflict-affected areas. It also focused on enhancing participants’ knowledge and practical skills in project and grant management to ensure effective, accountable, and survivor-centered programming.The training brought together NEWA head office and branch office program teams, finance staff, and partner organizations working on GBV and CRSV interventions in conflict-affected areas. A total of 19 participants (15 female and 4 male) attended the training, creating a highly engaging and participatory learning environment that encouraged collaboration, peer learning, and experience sharing among participants from different regions and organizations.Key thematic areas covered during the training included project and grant cycle management, logical framework and theory of change development, proposal writing, budgeting and financial management, monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL), and donor compliance requirements. The sessions also incorporated discussions on strengthening coordinated GBV and CRSV response mechanisms, improving service delivery for survivors, and enhancing institutional accountability in humanitarian and conflict settings.In addition to technical competencies, the training also focused on essential soft skills such as personal development, teamwork, communication, leadership, and problem-solving. Overall, the training was highly interactive and impactful, equipping participants with practical tools and broader professional insights to improve program quality, organizational effectiveness, and sustainable GBV and CRSV response interventions in conflict-affected communities.