55th
CSW

AWOMI
Parallel
Event

The
YOWLI
Monologues:
Young
African
Women
Speak
Out
on
SRHR,

Climate
Justice
and
Youth
Leadership

‐‐

Tuesday
March
1,
2011
–
2:00pm
to
3:30pm
–
10th
Flr.
Rm,
Church
Center,
UN
Plaza,
New
York



Background

Through
 AWOMI’s
 three
 programs
 –
 the
 Young
 Women’s
 Knowledge
 and
 Leadership
 Institute
 (YOWLI),
 the

Women’s
 Empowerment
 Fund
 (WEFU),
 and
 the
 Accountability
 Tracking
 (ACT)
 research
 program
 –
 much

awareness
 and
 involvement
 has
 been
 generated
 from
 women
 and
 young
 women’s
 organizations
 at
 the

national
and
local
levels
across
Africa.
With
new
emerging
issues
like
climate
change,
AWOMI
is
deepening
its

work
 on
 the
 links
 between
 policy
 analysis
 and
 program
 management,
 and
 contributes
 in
 strengthening

mechanisms
 that
 increase
 gains
 for
 women
 and
 youth
 organizing
 for
 social
 change.
 The
 incidence
 of
 climate

change,
coupled
with
the
global
economic
and
food
crises,
has
led
to
new
challenges
around
women’s
sexual

reproductive
health
ad
rights
and
gender‐based
violence.
Numerous
international
agencies
including
the
U.N.

agencies,
international
NGOs,
and
governments
are
shifting
focus
to
the
influence
of
climate
change
in
the
lives

of
 women
 and
 youth.
 AWOMI
 recognizes
 that
 it
 is
 critical
 to
 develop
 the
 knowledge,
 research
 advocacy
 and

organizing
 capacity
 of
 young
 African
 women
 and
 women
 community
 leaders
 for
 them
 to
 articulate
 their

challenges
and
mobilize
to
influence
decision
makers
in
directing
resources
towards
those
in
the
direst
need.

Consequently,
a
prime
focus
was
given
to
climate
justice,
economic
empowerment
and
SRHR
during
the
third

edition
of
the
YOWLI
in
December.




AWOMI
will
organize
a
parallel
event,
The
YOWLI
Monologues:
Young
African
Women
Speak
Out
on
Sexual

th
Reproductive
Health
and
Rights
(SRHR),
Climate
Justice
and
Youth
Leadership,
during
the
55 
Session
of
the

Commission
on
the
Status
of
Women
(CSW)
in
New
York.





Program
Overview:

The
YOWLI
Monologues
is
scheduled
to
take
place
on
Tuesday,
March
1,
2011
from
2pm
to
3:30pm
and
will

feature
 a
 panel
 session
 during
 which
 selected
 YOWLI
 graduates
 will
 discuss
 and
 share
 their
 country

perspectives
and
young
African
women’s
experiences,
opinions
and
engagement
in
combating
gender
violence

and
women’s
rights
abuses
in
the
context
of
climate
change
and
natural
disasters.




In
 addition
 to
 presenting
 lessons
 and
 results
 from
 post‐YOWLI
 projects,
 the
 YOWLI
 Monologues
 will
 also

include
 an
 “Africa‐Style”
 Monologues
 presentation
 on
 the
 aforementioned
 issues
 with
 representatives
 from

Ghana
 (Jemila
 Abdulai),
 Gambia
 (Omar
 Dibba),
 Madagascar
 (Tantley
 Ravelomanana),
 Namibia
 (Esther

Sheehama),
Rwanda
(Sahiya
Umuhoza),
and
Sierra
Leone
(Musa
Ansumana
Soko
&
Moiyattu
Banya).

















www.awomi.org
Cité Sagef Zac Mbao Villa N°15 Dakar – SENEGAL
PO BOX 5409 Dakar-Fann SENEGAL - Email : awomi@awomi.org
Phone : + 221 338366487 



Objectives

With
this
event
AWOMI
hopes
to:



• Share
experiences
and
knowledge
on
SRHR
under
the
YOWLI
and
post‐YOWLI
frameworks



• Examine
the
impacts
and
implications
of
climate
change
on
the
economic
independence
and
sexual





















reproductive
health
and
rights
(SRHR)
of
Africa’s
women
and
girls



• Brainstorm
and
explore
possible
mechanisms
for
increasing
awareness
on
climate
change
mitigation





and
adaptation
among
Africa’s
women
and
youth



• Facilitate
increased
dialogue,
networking,
knowledge
and
best
practice
sharing
between
African






women
and
youth,
in
the
hopes
of
contributing
to
a
revitalized
youth
movement
on
advancing
social





and
economic
rights
in
Africa





Agenda



2:00pm
‐2:10pm

 
 Opening
Remarks
(Yassine
Fall,
UN‐Women
Senior
Economic
Adviser)



Panel

2:10pm
–
2:20pm
 
 Introduction
by
Panel
Chairs



 
 
 (Letty
Chiwara,
UN‐Women
Africa
Division
Chief)


 
 
 (Aminata
Toure,
UNFPA
Chief
of
Gender,
Human
Rights
and
Culture
–TBC)



2:20pm
–
2:50pm
 
 Panel:
Assessing
the
Impacts
of
Climate
Change
on
Women
and
SRHR
in
Africa



2:50pm
–
3:00pm

 
 Q
&
A



Monologues


3:00pm
–
3:05pm

 
 Introduction
(Hameda
Deedat,
YOWLI
Facilitator
and
Trainer)



3:05pm
–
3:
25pm

 
 Screening
of
YOWLI
2010
Film


 
 
 Monologues
Presentation
(YOWLI
Graduates)



3:25pm
–
3:30pm

 
 Closing
Remarks
(Jemila
Abdulai,
AWOMI
Regional
Program
Coordinator)


























www.awomi.org
AWOMI : PO BOX 5409 Dakar-Fann SENEGAL - Email : awomi@awomi.org
Phone : + 221 338203660 -Mob: +221 774502119