Tag: UNESCO

UNESCO’s flagship O3 Programme Empowers 30 million learners to prevent HIV, reduce EUPs and eliminate GBV

Michael Gwarisa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 4 Mai 2022 — UNESCO’s flagship Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future (O 3) Programme is holding its Annual Review and Partners’ Meeting from 4 to 6 May 2022 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The meeting will be opened by the Honorable Angie Motshekga, Minister of Basic Education in South Africa. The O 3 Programme, run in partnership with ministries of education and health, supports 33 countries across sub-Saharan Africa to work towards a region where adolescents and young people are empowered, healthy and resilient and have the…

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Organisations sign MOU to fight GBV against women with disabilities

Healthtimes

THE Memorandum of Understanding supporting coalition building between Organisations of Persons with Disabilities and the Women’s Movement in addressing Intersectional Discrimination signed on Wednesday seeks to engage traditionalists and faith based organisations. By Kudakwashe Pembere Women Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCOZ) National Coordinator Ms Sally Dura told journalists during the signing ceremony that they will be collaborating with traditional leaders and faith based organisations in coming up with ways of tackling SGBV against women and girls with disabilities. Our MOU is anchored on building strong partnerships in line with Sustainable Development…

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Let us make schools places of learning about respect and equality

Healthtimes

An estimated 246 million children and adolescents experience violence in and around school every year. By Lidia Arthur Brito and Hubert Gijzen It is estimated that globally 246 million children and adolescents experience some form of physical, sexual or psychological violence in and around schools each year. Violence in schools, can be detrimental to learners. Many of us have seen disturbing videos circulating on social media in the ESA region, of young people either being bullied or being part of those bullying others. These were not isolated cases. In a…

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Musasa Project Launches GBV Braille Publication

Michael Gwarisa

IN a move to promote inclusive access to Gender Based Violence (GBV) services as well as bridge existing gaps to accessing services, Musasa Project has produced a Braille publication to cater for women and girls with visual impairment and those with low vision. By Michael Gwarisa Publication of the two paged pamphlet was made possible through support from the United Nations Population Fund in Zimbabwe (UNFPA-Zimbabwe), the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the program “Increasing access…

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It’s All Systems Go for ESA Ministerial Commitments Reaffirmation Meeting at ICASA 2021

Michael Gwarisa

HEALTH ministers from across East and Southern African (ESA) countries will converge in Durban, South Africa to reaffirm their commitment to advancing Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and youth friendly services in line with the 2030 development agenda and address unfinished business. By Michael Gwarisa In 2030, 20 ESA countries affirmed the ESA Ministerial commitments and in 2021, the affirmation meeting will take place during the 2021 International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in Africa (ICASA) conference in Durban South Africa which is running from 6 to 10…

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VISUS initiative to address school safety assessments in Zimbabwe

Healthtimes

More than 70 participants joined the launch session of the Visual Inspection for defining the Safety Upgrading Strategies (VISUS) Initiative which helps to assess the safety of schools in Zimbabwe, with an initial focus on schools in Chimanimani district. This initiative is being implemented in the context of the Zimbabwe Idai Recovery Project (ZIRP) funded by the World Bank and managed by UNOPS. The launch session which was held on 4 October 2021, drew participants from the government, academia, civil society organisations and local schools. Some physically attended the launch…

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UNESCO’s Rapid Training Programme On Open, Distance And Online Learning Reaches 1 400 Teachers

Michael Gwarisa

AS with many countries across the world, 2020 saw Zimbabwean schools abruptly closed as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. The closure of schools for almost a year seriously impacted school outcomes and reversed some important post-independence gains in areas such as literacy and numeracy, school infrastructure, and school attendance, among others.   Most public schools did not have the capacity to offer distance or online learning since, in addition to a lack of infrastructure and resources, teachers were neither equipped nor trained to offer this type of learning. While…

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UNESCO And Gvt Launch New WhatsApp Based Education App

Michael Gwarisa

THE United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in partnership with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (ZIMSEC) has this morning launched a WhatsApp-based educational application, Dzidzo Paden|Imfundwe’ndlini. By Michael Gwarisa Dzidzo paden|Imfundwe’ndlini is a WhatsApp automated chatbot aimed at distributing premium academic resources to learners who have limited or no access to the internet but have access to WhatsApp. The chatbot will start by distributing curriculum-aligned academic resources (notes, past exam papers and marking schemes) for Grade 7s, Form 4s and…

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Comprehensive Sexuality Education Could Help End SGBV In Schools- UNFPA

Michael Gwarisa

THE United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)says Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), could reduce cases of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SHBV) in schools since it is a scientifically proven methodology of delivering sexuality education to learners. By Michael Gwarisa   Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Zimbabwean schools is perpetrated either by teaching and non-teaching staff and peers. An insidious form of gender-based violence is embedded in child labour practices in the school and the community and gender-based violence is perpetuated by a culture of silence informally maintained by victims, teachers,…

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Respecting The Dignity Of Disabled Persons During Pandemics…A Closer Look At UNESCO’S Interventions In The Zim COVID-19 Battle

Michael Gwarisa

ACCORDING to the World Health Organisation (WHO), close to three million confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been recorded globally. To date, more than a hundred thousand deaths have also been reported on a global scale. As at 26 April 2020, Zimbabwe had recorded 31 COVID-19 cases including four deaths and two recoveries.  By Michael Gwarisa As the world grapples with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, governments are absorbed with containing and minimising further spread of the virus. Various governments including Zimbabwe have instituted national Lockdowns as a precautionary measure against the…

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