Author name: NEWA

NEWA in collaboration with Timran facilitated a two days Training of Trainers on awareness creation about gender inclusion in the National Dialogue

National Dialog NEWA & Timran

NEWA in collaboration with Timran facilitated a two days Training of Trainers on awareness creation about gender inclusion in the National Dialog Under the coalition of Women’s Voice for the National Dialogue, the Network of Ethiopian Women’s Association (NEWA) in collaboration with Timran facilitated a two days Training of Trainers on awareness creation about gender inclusion in the National Dialogue. During the opening of NEWA & Timeran’s EDs, Mrs. Saba Gebremedhin & Mrs. Eyerusalem Solomon welcomed the participants from all the regions & special thanks and welcome goes to the Tigray Delegation who joined the national training platforms for the first time after two & half years! The directors also addressed the participants on the background and objectives of the Coalition of Women’s Voice in the National Dialogue & why gender-inclusive national dialogue and why is important to build facilitation skills for the national dialogue. Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission, Commissioner Blen Gebremedhin, deliver the keynote speech, & in her keynote speech she welcomed the delegation team from Tigray & also recognize this is the first national training platform that includes Tigray region participants after a while. Commissioner Blen briefed on how the ND Commission is working toward an inclusive national dialogue & the ND commission’s discussion with Coalition for Women’s Voice for National Dialogue & opened the training officially.

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Stories of Capacity Development: Changing COVID-19 perceptions in Ethiopia through a women-led organization

Stories of Capacity Development: Changing COVID-19 perceptions in Ethiopia through a women-led organization

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ethiopia, with more than 115 million people, was challenged tremendously. Reaching key groups in a country in which 80 percent of the population resides in peri-rural areas was difficult, and worsened by the ongoing conflict concentrated in the north. JSI, through its Last 10 Kilometers (L10K) project and with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, partnered with the Network of Ethiopian Women Association (NEWA) to strengthen risk communication and community engagement to thwart the spread COVID-19. Through a series of consultative sessions with over 850 women and girls in Addis Ababa, Oromia, Amhara, and Sidama Regions, it was found that the low vaccine acceptance rate of the was attributable to incorrect information. These included false claims that the vaccine led to infertility, that the vaccination was prohibited by religious beliefs, and that vaccination is the West’s attempt to impose its values on Africa. JSI helped NEWA members work with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health (MOH) to design social and behavior change communication (SBCC) materials and messages to facilitate COVID-19-prevention behavior among women. JSI supported NEWA on developing and adapting guides and tools and conducting research. NEWA collected data and produced more evidence on COVID-19 prevention measures and the need for medical intervention in response to severe infection. JSI’s technical assistance and NEWA’s research led to a thorough SBCC campaign that included gender-sensitive radio messages, house-to-house visits, and informal community meetings with women. NEWA staff and its partners disseminated SBCC materials throughout key woredas (districts) in the four regions where L10K works. The materials were also distributed to women in isolated rural communities and remote villages through regional health centers with support from the MOH, Ethiopia’s Women’s Development Army (a group of trained volunteer health workers), and certified health extension workers. Ultimately, these combined efforts helped the MOH design actions to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and vaccinate 65 percent of the targeted population.Source: JSI – https://www.jsi.com/stories-of-capacity-development-changing-covid-19-perceptions-ethiopia/?fbclid=IwAR1_pXDIfwg-hWvU9zH-0bMHFH3mdAu27xM0IPToz6SMWz1YOPQmQUzFNhY

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Women’s development and rights organizations made a press statement demanding action against acid attacks on women

A press statement demanding action against acid attacks

Women’s development and rights organizations made a press statement demanding action against acid attacks on women Women’s development and rights organizations made a press statement on February 2 demanding action against acid attacks on women and girls. The statement was read by w/o Zertihun Teferra director of Siqqe Women’s and co-signed by Network of Ethiopian Women’s Association and others.  

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Big visions -Young Women’s Voice

Edelawit Alemu

Edelawit Alemu, 24, is a passionate young woman currently working in Benshangul-Gumuz region of Metekel Zone, a place known for recurring conflicts. However, working under difficult circumstances is not intimidating for a young woman with vision like Edelawit. Rather, facing challenges and learning in the process is her way of growing professionally and personally. The organization she is working for is Mujejeguwa Loka Women’s Development Association, founded by the late Tirhas Mezgebe, the well-known women rights activist served the community for some 30 years. She is from the small town of Wonji, 103 Kms from the capital Addis Ababa. She studied ‘Early childhood care and education’ and graduated from Woldiya University one and half years ago. She was passionate about serving the society, especially working on issues affecting women and children and she has joined the new department despite the advice that the field of study won’t get her a job as it is new in the job market. Immediately after graduation she joined TARKANFI Sustainable Development Association as project coordinator for the organization’s Sheleads project. The project, implemented by TARKANFI as a subgrantee of Network of Ethiopia Women’s Associations (NEWA) aimed at empowering girls and young women. “Coordinating the activities aimed at helping girls and young women build their capacity around motivation, self-confidence and communication skills also helped me to be a better version of myself” said Edelawit. She also believes her experiences of the Sheleads helped her broaden her scope. Edelawit is member of the Ethiopian Young Women Voice (EYWV), aspiring young girls’ group recently established by NEWA under the Sheleads project. 40 young women from different regions of the country are members of the group. She describes herself as confident, someone who easily communicates her ideas and willing to learn and explore new things. According to Edelawit, as someone who as has been implementing Sheleads and now part of a group under the project, facing challenges, being confident and able to be a voice for the silenced, having the willingness and empathy to understand other women’s situation are the few skills she has acquired through Sheleads among others. She believes empowering young women is very critical to create a society that treats men and women equally. Establishing a foundation that helps children and women is Edelawit’s vision. Edelawit and her likes are the hopes that the country will have many more Tirhases.

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Becoming a Woman of Vision

Tirumar Abate - Success Stories

H.E the state minister for Planning and Development, Mrs Tirumar Abate,38, is one of the young high government officials. She studied Business Management at undergrad and has an MA in Leadership and Governance. She was among the women leaders who have shared their experience to young women during the establishment of Young Ethiopian Women’s Voice (YEWV) in December 2022. She is also one of the women politicians who participated in the leadership and decision-making pre-election (Ethiopian national election 2021) training delivered by Network of Ethiopian Women’s Associations (NEWA), Timran and UN Women. She was an active participant in events at schools and Universities she has attended, and she recalled that those exposures helped her to be assertive and vocal. The passing away of her mother when she was just young, forced her to take responsibility for a family of five including looking after her younger siblings. This was where she started to learn how to face challenges and use them to her own advantage. She had sat down for the entrance exam for the masters program when it was about six days to her due date. She passed and started class when her baby was two months old, and she graduated with the highest grade. Though it’s challenging, she believes neither passing through pregnancy nor raising a baby should stop women from advancing in their education or career. “Women shouldn’t shy away from taking chances to grab leadership roles at any stage” is her advice for young women. She was a teacher and served at different posts in the lower administrative tiers before joining Enat Party, opposition party. She remembers she used to mentor three students to participate in different activities in their community and grab chances. She has never let any capacity building training or workshops organized by women as she thinks such platforms are critical for women to build their capacity and confidence and to be assertive. She believes it’s the women’s responsibility to grab such opportunities. Having a vision is another important thing as Tirumar explained further. According to her, having a vision gives clarity and helps to keep motivated. She strongly believes platforms like YEWV are important for young women to build their capacity and learn from each other’s experiences. Regarding women’s participation in politics, she said politics is nothing but problem solving. According to her, women shouldn’t shy away from politics, rather they have to participate in any capacity building training, build their capacity and confidence as this helps to face the challenges hindering them from joining politics. Tirumar’s vision is to continue serving her country while aspiring for higher positions.

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Training on Sexual gender-based violence risks and engaging in GBV mitigation strategies

Training on Sexual gender-based violence risks and engaging in GBV mitigation strategies

Training on Sexual gender-based violence risks and engaging in GBV mitigation strategies NEWA is implementing a project entitled “Preventing and Responding for SGBV in selected districts Amhara and Afar Regional States” As part of the project activity, the Network of Ethiopian Women’s Association (NEWA) in collaboration with the UN Women in Ethiopia was facilitating a two days training for women-led organizations (WLOs) and women’s rights organizations (WROs) in developing locally relevant tools to monitor sexual gender-based violence prevention and mitigation strategies at the community level. The training aimed at mitigating, preventing, and responding to SGBV in crisis-affected communities. The training was held at Harmony Hotel, Adiss Ababa on January 12-13, 2023.

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Sensitization training on unpaid care and domestic work for stakeholders from the public and private sectors.

Sensitization training

Sensitization training on unpaid care and domestic work for stakeholders from the public and private sectors. Network of Ethiopian Women’s Association (NEWA) in partnership with OXFAM Ethiopia facilitated a two days training for public and private sector representatives on unpaid care and domestic work. The training was focused on addressing how unpaid care and domestic works affect women’s participation at all levels, and also emphasized issues on awareness creation and behavioral change in unpaid care and domestic work. Apart from this, the training also encourages networking among private and public sectors on care agendas, and inputs were collected on better coordinating the public and private sectors on unpaid care and domestic work agendas. The participants were very interactive. The trainer Mr. Eniyew Tamiru, who is from the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs (MoWSA) presented conceptual clarity on unpaid care and domestic work. The training was held at Radisson Blue, Adiss Ababa on January 11-12, 2023.

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DISCUSSION ON BUILDING COMMON INFLUENCING AGENDAS ON UNPAID CARE AND DOMESTIC WORK

DISCUSSION ON BUILDING COMMON INFLUENCING AGENDAS ON UNPAID CARE AND DOMESTIC WORK9

DISCUSSION ON BUILDING COMMON INFLUENCING AGENDAS ON UNPAID CARE AND DOMESTIC WORK Network of Ethiopian women’s Associations in collaboration with Oxfam Ethiopia organized a half-day discussion for Women’s Rights organizations, Youth groups, and Caregivers. The main aim of the forum was to reach a common influencing agenda on Unpaid care and domestic work. Apart from reaching a common influencing agenda, the workshop aims to change the attitude of all stakeholders about unpaid care and domestic work and to make them aware of the issue in Ethiopia a true representation of urban and rural areas through a panel discussion and the inclusiveness of care agendas in policies. The discussion was held at Harmony Hotel on December 23, 2022.

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The Ethiopian Young Women’s Voice (EYWV) Launched

The Ethiopian Young Women's Voice (EYWV) Launched

The Ethiopian Young Women’s Voice (EYWV) Launched Young women representing almost all region, forty (40) attended the three days conference that formed the Ethiopian Young Women Voice. Day-One, began with young women’s representatives from regions and city administrations interacting through storytelling and experience sharing. These young women also received training on movement building by Terre Des Hommes Netherlands and motivational speech on intentional development. The training helps young women improve their competence, capacity, and performance and gain knowledge and new skills. Day Two: The young women received a training on youth advocacy. This improves the skills to speak for themselves, demand their rights and asks. Later on, the young women consciously deliberated on the existing legal and socio-economic situation of the young women and girls and identified their concerns and asks. Then, the young women started their high-level advocacy action as right holders and presented their demands and asks to the relevant Ministries and Commission, as duty bearers during the interface meeting. In the interface meeting the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs; Plan and Development Commission; Health; Education and Finance have attended and responded to the young women demands and asks. Those unanswered demands and asks will be addressed in the future as agreed upon. Day Three: The young women discussed on drafted memorandum of understanding (MOU), made amendments and approved it. As per the MOU, they elected Seven-Members technical committee to coordinate and manage the future actions of EYWV under the auspices of NEWA. At last, the representatives of Ethiopian young women from all folks of society warmly established their Voice. The establishment of the long awaited Ethiopian Young Women’s Voice, the first of its kind was celebrated. The event was held for three days from 9:00PM to 5:00PM on December 8-10, 2022 at the Mosaic Hotel

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High-level panel discussion on Transitional Justice and Effective Remedy for Conflict-Related Gender Based Violence:

High-level panel discussion on Transitional Justice and Effective Remedy for Conflict-Related Gender Based Violence:

High-level panel discussion on Transitional Justice and Effective Remedy for Conflict-Related Gender Based Violence Reflections on the work of the Inter-Ministerial Taskforce (IMTF) to Oversee Redress and Accountability for Human Rights Violations in the Northern Ethiopia Conflict organized by Network of Ethiopian Women’s Associations (NEWA) and UN Women in collaboration with Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) at Harmony Hotel. The discussion is being attended by Mr. Schadrack Dusabe, deputy country representative of the UN Women, H.E Commissioner Meskerem Geset, Ethiopian Human Rights Commission representatives of Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Women and Social Affairs and CSOs.

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