MAINSTREAMING GENDER ISSUES

REPORT ON THE NUFU PROJECT COORDINATORS’ SEMINAR
HELD ON 16/04/2009 AT ÅS UNIVERSITY- NORWAY

Introduction
The seminar was held under the Theme: The challenge of mainstreaming gender issues in NUFU co-operation. The seminar was well attended by partners both from the South and North (basically Norway). Notably were partners from the following partner countries in the south; Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi and Sudan.
Opening remarks were made by Gro Tjore, Head of SIU who emphasized the main goals as:
· Closing the gender gap
· Renewed focus on gender mainstreaming
· Achieving the greater gender balance
Various papers were presented and they were followed by plenary discussion in which strategies to address challenges were identified. News about SIU was presented followed by discussion.

Presentations:
The seminar started with welcoming remarks from Professor Ruth Haug, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Ås University in charge of research. She pointed out that 20% of the professors at the University were female and noted that some faculties had even fewer or no females.

A second presentation was by Berit Aasen; a Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NBRI). She presented a paper “Gender Mainstreaming and Gender Targeted Action”. She reported that various researches have been conducted and some of the findings were:
· Little visibility, few resources invested, reduced training
· Poor reporting on gender mainstreaming
· Low status for female targeted projects
· Lack of reporting on the good work done
· Paradox: while all is happening that way, there is more acceptance and good will for Women's Rights & Gender equality.
· Cross cutting issues prioritized? Cross cutting issues e.g. poverty reduction disappear with time.
She noted that there is need to work with the Energy Centers in development cooperation and to take on board competing agendas such as poverty reduction.

The other paper was presented by Professor Grace Bantebya Kyomuhendo, Makerere University, Uganda. “Gender mainstreaming at Makerere University – experiences from an impact assessment made in 2008”. She elaborated on the efforts that the Government of Uganda and Makerere University in particular have done in terms of gender mainstreaming. It was clear that despite the efforts, the proportion of women in top positions of academic and administration at the University was still very small. The following were sighted as challenges the female gender faced:
Institutional
Lack of conducive environment
Lack of research net works
Social/Family
Increased work loads
Increased social responsibility
University
Demand for extra presence
No career mentoring (for females by the male counter parts)

The other presentation was “Resolutions from the NUFU Programme Conference in Malawi 11-13 February 2009”, by Dr. Pierson Ntata from the University of Malawi. He alluded to the fact that female recruitment in Higher Institutions of learning in Malawi was a third as compared to the two thirds of males. He reported that the resolutions posed important questions for consideration and they are:

Which strategies for recruitment and retention of female researchers should be applied in NUFU co-operation to increase gender balance?
How can NUFU supported projects promote gender equality and gender mainstreaming in its various components/ activities i.e. research and education components?
How can NUFU supported projects create more interesting research opportunities for females?

In the plenary, the following strategies were lidentified;
Improving women’s working environments
Explore men’s support in gender mainstreaming
Special programmes targeting women
Competence building among women
Research projects that are attractive e.g. publications that can be used at one point
Short sabbatical leave periods to fit in women’s schedule
Academic and research mentoring together with joint publications
Strengthening of the North-South partnership such that the partners in the North who supervise projects in the South should be credited
Increase access to information
Put in more finances/ resources
Consideration of PhD programmes for younger females as soon as they complete Masters so that they do not break the link to engage in family responsibilities, this will check on retention
Under infrastructural development fund, child care facilities (care facilities) could be considered
Maternity and paternity leave for PhD students and their husbands
Sabbaticals which are funded the staff in the South
Bring forth success stories
Identify indicators for success and have them documented
Carry out an assessment of staff in Higher Education Institutions

According to my observations and reflections, the challenges pointed out above could be the same as those we are facing or even more in Kyambogo and Upper Nile Universities. Can we identify more challenges not mentioned above? The strategies outlined above, I think, are just a few of those that can address the challenges in Kyambogo and Upper Nile Universities. How do we address challenges that arise due to religious inclinations? Are there particuar efforts/ policies at our KyU and UNU that specifically aim at closing the gender gap? Are the challenges in the South different from those in the North? This means that the strategies may also differ.

LEARNING WITH YOUR LEARNERS

For learning to take place, one has to be challenged so that they find themselves in some sort of conflict or tension. According to Kolb, one is precipitated into state of cognitive conflict when some external event challenges his/her ideas and in an effort to resolve conflict, cognitive growth is achieved. This tension has to be carefully created by the facilitator. During conflict, the old assumptions clash with fresh understanding and new experiences emerge. This conflict is even better seen if learners are in learning groups. The dialogue that ensues brings about a wide range of data/ information that a single person involved in conflict would not have otherwise obtained. This is because the different members of the group all come with their diverse experiences.
The facilitator can do this by actively probing the learners in a supportive environment (the individual and the social) or so to say, problem posing (posing problems of human beings in their relations with the world). The facilitator and learners are both learning from the generated dialogue and reflections made. This mode of learning on either side has the advantages of constant reforming one’s reflections in the reflections of the learners and the students are not merely listening but actively involved in their own learning.
According to Freire, as the students continue to encounter with problems relating to themselves in their world, they get challenged and are obliged to respond to the challenges and hence learn. Their response to the challenge evokes new challenges, followed by new understandings; and gradually, students get committed to the learning.
What is the role of a “teacher” therefore?
· Carefully, to create a challenge for the learners, preferably in groups.
· To listen carefully and give support as the learners go through the conflict.
· Reflect on the learners’ reflections.
As he/she is doing so, he/she becomes a learner. This person ceases to be a "teacher" who in most cases is seen to poses all knowledge, but instead becomes a facilitator for learning to take place. This, I think is the basis of Vocational Pedagogy. I call it VP!