EVE Organisation for Women Development with support from Urgent Action Fund has successfully implemented its project on civic engagement on Beijing Platform of Action. The organization raised awareness on the BPFA +25. The project which lasted for three months started off in July to the end of September 2020. The strategic approaches that were used to implement this project comprised of radio talk-shows, open air campaigns, caravans for awareness raising and civic engagement campaign on social media and billboards. The main target was the young women and men.
EVE Organization hosted four speakers from the academia, legislature and the civil society organisation who extensively spoke about BPFA+25 on its radio talk shows that were broadcast on Advanced Community Radio every Wednesday for four consecutive programs
The speakers included Hon Betty Ogwaro who participated in the fourth Work Conference on Women Action for Equality Development and Peace that was held in Beijing, China in 4-15 September 1995. She lay the foundation reflecting how far it has come and also spoke about women and environmental health to basically explain the relationship between women and environment and how women are affected.
Dr. Angelina Bazugba from the National Leadership Training Institute who has specialized in conducting leadership trainings and also well conversant with Beijing Platform of Action. Spoke about women in power and in decision making. Meanwhile Dr. Siham Osman, a lecturer at the University of Juba had an Arabic session summarizing the genesis of Beijing Platform of Action and tackled women and education where she also included the importance of girl child education. The three consultants were accompanied by four staffs of EVE who worked as the supporting team to the main speakers.
The team included Elizabeth Biniya and Bazilka Joan, who spoke about the importance of youth involvement in the BPFA +25. In the discussion Basilka spoke about negative stereotypes surrounding women. According to her, in South Sudan it continues to be a shared responsibility for us to work towards achieving gender equality.
“Stereotypes are not facts!”, said Bazilika
“We pose the challenge to each individual to confront negative stereotypes they have subscribed and influenced by history, culture, traditions and patriarchal system. A thriving woman is a thriving nation.
“The pillar of concern might be called the Girl child, but she is not the problem. We are.” said Elizabeth on the issue of the Girl Child. Society has a shared responsibility to protect the girl child and give her, her rights. It can no longer be just discussion, it must be an action.EVE also employed the use of visibility materials to raise awareness on the BPFA +25 we published billboards bearing key messages that where displayed on the major roads, around Seventh-Day Adventists Round about and at Juba ministries road. These ran right from the month of September through to October.
EVE also conducted open air campaigns by the use of caravans raising awareness on BPFA+25 to the communities of Kabo, Rajaf and in the Metropolitan of Juba. The campaign integrated the use of music skits to emphasis women empowerment, participation and inclusion. This open air campaigns could incorporate the use of music and sketches to emphasis women empowerment, participation and inclusion
This was carried out by the staff of EVE Organization and the volunteers recruited from the alumni of the incubator program. It was a one-day event for each of the three locations. September 9th 2020, the team led a caravan to Rajaf Payam of Juba County.
The event at Rajaf took place at the church premises which brought the local communities together. There were sessions introducing Beijing Platform of Action in Arabic and Bari the local languages used in the community. The team used the method of illustration taking a girl and a boy comparing their scenarios on the workload of a school going girl and a boy after classes.
The communities understood the necessity of engaging both girls and boys, men and women in doing equal work in order to support full development that would be of social benefit. A majority of the people expressed the need to exercise equality right from a tender age. This will help them grow up responsibly to be able to support their partners in future. They talked about the other aspects of Beijing Platform of Action that would lead to women emancipation such as their participation in decision making, in economic activities for a good livelihood.
The same caravan went to Kabo in the periphery on Juba along Juba Luri Road on September 18th 2020. In both location, EVE distributed T-Shirts to both men and women. Though there were demands by the young age group for T-Shirts for them, and leaflets of BPFA +25 to be issued out.
