Region: Global
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Hivos calls on all sectors at SEforALL Forum to accelerate energy access
From 3-5 April, Hivos is participating in the Sustainable Energy for All Forum (SEforAll forum) in New York. The Forum is the landmark gathering celebrating the global sustainable energy movement. It brings together over 1,000 high-level representatives from government, business, civil society and helps drive action towards achieving universal access to affordable, clean and reliable…
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Hivos Southern Africa brings Green & Inclusive Energy to the stage
For the first time ever, a play about energy-related issues was put on in Zimbabwe at Harare’s Theatre in the Park, where some 100 spectators gathered to watch “Look No Further.” The play tells the story of an old woman who is reluctant to embrace new technology because it is against her tradition and culture.…
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No civil society, no energy access for all
Why civil society’s contribution is crucial in ensuring energy access for all To eradicate poverty and combat climate change we need universal access to clean and affordable energy. This is also included as one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG7). However, over the last years energy access has not speeded up but slowed down, especially…
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Women’s Political Participation as Novelty
Man to woman the evening of March 8: “Your day is over, time to go back to the kitchen”. *laughter* It’s easy to assume that this type of sexist humour just comes out of typical male cafés in Lebanon. But this joke was used by seasoned Lebanese television host Marcel Ghanem in a tweet to…
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Community Media Fund Call for Proposals
Call for Concept Notes for the Community Media Fund in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa The role of media and journalism is not confined to news organisations, broadcasting companies or governments—within Africa, a large and growing community media sector is linked to enterprises, civil society, educational institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that focus on issues…
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Action 24 Convenes COPS 22 Feedback Meeting
The Zimbabwean government is currently finalizing the ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which it signed last year. The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gases emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020. At a Conference of the Parties (COP) 22 Feedback Meeting…
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Age of Wonderland: 100 Days of Learning in Dar es Salaam
I was part of an inspiring half-day session named 100 Days of Learning, organised by the Age of Wonderland program on Valentine’s Day. An initiative to foster social innovation by facilitating co-creation between creatives in Africa, Latin America and Asia and the Netherlands. The event was organized by Guavay Tanzania, and held at Buni-COSTECH, Dar…
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Civil Society Organisations Urged to Integrate Social Media into Communications Matrix
Hivos Southern Africa has urged civil society organizations (CSOs) to integrate social media into their communications matrix as this provides a valuable opportunity for them to reach their communications goals and new audiences more efficiently. While media polarisation in Zimbabwe has been a contentious issue over the years, so many gains have been brought by…
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Internet freedom is a human right
The city of Valencia hosted the 3rd Internet Freedom Festival from 5-10 March 2017. The festival brought together a diverse group of over 1200 people from 114 countries to discuss issues related to privacy, anonymity, access to information and policy and advocacy for Internet freedom. Internet Freedom in Africa was widely discussed with the issues…
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Ensuring farmer’s access to open source seeds systems in Kenya
‘’Farmers, too, have a voice in food security.’’ This comment represents some of the conversations during an open source seeds forum in Nakuru County on 15 to 17 March 2017 convened by Hivos East Africa, Bioversity International, Genetic Resources Research Institute and Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Management – Africa. The forum drew participation from…
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Understanding Gender-Energy Nexus Key to Renewable Energy Uptake
The heavy focus on technical aspects of renewable energy projects tends to overlook the vital gender aspects that can make or break the uptake of projects. In many cases, energy projects are treated as gender neutral based on the assumption that energy bottlenecks and solutions impact men and women in similar ways. The failure to…
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Doña Ángela, the water lady
Lea la versión en español de este blog acá. It’s three in the morning, when most people are asleep and haven’t even started thinking about the chores of the day, let alone water, a resource many of us take for granted. But not doña Ángela*. She is already up and making her way to Matagalpa,…
