The Young Women’s Knowledge and Leadership Institute (YOWLI) is one of the 2 Flagship programs of AWOMI. The other flagship program is the African Women Empowerment Fund (WEFU). YOWLI was set up to enable young women and men of African descent to widen their leadership horizons enhance their knowledge base and actively engage in monitoring and fighting for social justice. YOWLI supports innovative ideas that challenge anti human rights strategies and propel organizing for social transformation.
ANNUAL LETTER
As we embark on implementation of our 2010 work plan, it is the time to revisit the achievements reached and lessons learned from AWOMI’s projects. We have much to celebrate given the multiple outcomes from 2009, which provide us a robust base for the future.
In 2009, AWOMI worked with women and youth in 11 African countries to introduce a process, providing them a means to financial independence through ownership of personal financial accounts. The following 3 programs were key in achieving such milestones, the Women Empowerment Fund (WEFU) linking economic education, opportunity and advocacy; The Young Women Knowledge and Leadership Institute (YOWLI) linking knowledge building, leadership and movement building; the Accountability Tracking (ACT) linking evidence building to demanding accountability.
Accountability Tracking
The Accountability Tracking (ACT) is one of AWOMI’s
three main program areas of work. It covers action research mapping all
critical issues related to gender, economic reforms and social justice
including access to water and sanitation, HIV/AIDs, services related to
sexuality, reproductive health and rights (SRHR); food sovereignty and
nutrition, finance, women’s unpaid work, representation, participation and
voice. The ACT starts with evidence gathering undertaken by women at local
level supported by academics, parliamentarians and gender equality activists.
It is the tool enabling women and youth to hold their governments and all
public institutions to account. Following its design the tool is tested at
different levels, fora and processes.
AWOMI’s third program, the Women Empowerment Fund (WEFU) is
the corollary activity of the ACT and YOWLI. The WEFU serves as a funding program to post YOWLI identified initiatives and also promotes income
generating opportunities for women at the local level. Following the month long YOWLI training
AWOMI selects a few of the best YOWLI proposals that link implementation of the
ACT to Advocacy and social mobilization and provides support to the YOWLI
groups through a partner mentoring organization.
The WEFU has also enabled numerous women’s organizations to
access seed money for implementing the ACT while enhancing their income earning
activities. The WEFU is the vehicle that allows these economic actors to
understand the place of their activities in the production chain of the sector
and identify policy challenges that they can use in their advocacy for
demanding change as well as increased budgetary allocations for their activity.
The WEFU proves to be an innovative initiative in the sense that most financing
to income generating activities do not integrate a research or advocacy
dimension like the ACT. The WEFU is a catalyst for women understanding where is
the money, which controls resources and decision making and how they can engage
with them to ask for a more equitable distribution of the national and local
budget.
Young Women Knowledge and Leadership Institute (YOWLI)
3rd Edition
Dec 2010 - Jan 2011
Senegal
“Does the Global Financial and Economic crisis matter for Young African Women and Men’s Rights, Leadership and Organizing?"
The Young Women’s Knowledge and Leadership Institute (YOWLI) is one of the 2 the Flagshp programs of AWOMI. The other flagship program is the African Women Empowerment Fund (WEFU) . YOWLI was set up to enable young women and men of African descent to widen their leadership horizons, enhance their knowledge base and actively engage in monitoring and fighting for social justice. YOWLI is a space that supports innovative ideas that challenge anti human rights strategies and propel organizing for social transformation.
