REFELA: Ten years is worth celebrating !

From March 08 to March 11, 2021, the Network of Locally Elected Women of Africa (REFELA) will celebrate its 10th anniversary. Created in Tangier (Morocco) in 2011, REFELA has since come a long way.

On March 8, in addition to the celebration of International Women’s Day, REFELA, which is the Standing Committee of UCLG Africa for Gender Equality, will take the time to celebrate on the one hand this important women’s day but also to celebrate until March 11 its 10 years of presence within the African municipal movement.

Thus on Monday March 8, 2021, a webinar will be held at the level of UCLG Africa and at the level of each of the National Chapters of REFELA in their respective countries. In a second phase, from March 11, a second webinar will be held by REFELA with all REFELA-Country Chapters under the aegis of the President of REFELA, Ms. DAO Macoura COULIBALY.

The meetings of March 8 will be devoted to the theme chosen by the UN for the celebration of the International Women’s Day: ” Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.”

From March 09 to March 11, festivities will be held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of REFELA. This will be the opportunity to review the network’s support for the promotion of female leadership and gender equality in local authorities in Africa, but also to honor the various presidents who have taken turns at the head of the network: Ms. Milouda Hazib (Morocco), Ms. Fatimetou Mint Abdel Malick (Mauritania), Ms. Maria Elena Langa (Mozambique), Ms. Célestine Ketcha Courtès (Cameroon), and Ms. Macoura Dao (Côte d’Ivoire).

On March 09 and March 10, an online capacity building workshop will be held through the African Local Government Academy (ALGA) of UCLG Africa and in partnership with the International Centre for the Promotion of Human Rights at the Local and Regional Level (under the auspices of UNESCO). The theme chosen is: “Local Approaches to Guarantee Women’s Rights”.

The discussion panels on March 11 will be held on the themes of “REFELA, a Network, a Vision and an Agenda at the service of the promotion of female leadership and gender equality in local Africa” and “Role and commitments of REFELA for the promotion of gender equality in Africa”.

In ten years, REFELA has managed to set up 30 national chapters in order to achieve its vision of building a gender-balanced, inclusive and gender-sensitive local Africa. Indeed, Indeed, the Standing Committee on Gender Equality of UCLG Africa is mobilizing for the presence of more women in municipal councils, is committed so that cities and local governments in Africa fight against the vulnerability of children, and works to make gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls effective, in accordance with the vision of Agenda 2063 of the African Union and the Global Development Agendas.

Some key dates of REFELA

2011: Creation of REFELA and integration of the network as a Standing Committee on Gender of UCLG Africa video here:
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Video 2
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video 4

2015: Training on gender-sensitive budgeting, in collaboration with UN-Women
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2016: Integration of the President of REFELA as a member of the Presidency of UCLG Africa.

2018: Launch of the “ Campaign of African Cities without Children in Street Situations ”, under the Effective Presidency of Her Royal Highness Princess LALLA MERYEM of the Kingdom of Morocco, as part of a ceremony during the Africities 8 Summit, in Marrakech, (November 24, 2018).

2018: Signing of the Europe – Africa Pact for Local Equality, in Marrakech.

2019: Launch of the campaign: “African cities with zero tolerance for violence against women ”.

2019: Launch of the online consultation for the drafting of the Local Authorities Charter for Gender Equality in Africa.

2020: Launch of the campaign: “African cities conducive to the economic empowerment of women”.

2020: The REFELA honored with the IDEALKENT Award for the Woman-Friendly City, at UNESCO

2020: Development of the analytical report of the results of the online consultation for the drafting of the Local Authorities Charter for Gender Equality in Africa.