Region: Southern Africa

  • 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.…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Why Ditching the Start-Up Pitch Is Good for Innovation

    The start-up pitch, which involves making a rapid fire presentation of an idea followed by a question and answer session involving selected judges, is increasingly a waste of time and non-efficient in propagating the tech start up ecosystem in Zimbabwe. The start-up pitch is based on the traditional business planning methodology and ignores the fact…

  • Why Southern Africa Needs to Focus on Green and Inclusive Energy

    Zimbabwe’s Minister of Energy and Power Development, Samuel Undenge, recently announced at the 48th Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) meeting in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe that the region will add 30 000 MW to the region between 2017 and 2022. Addressing delegates at the meeting, Undenge lamented the slow pace of commissioning of new projects but hoped…

  • Hivos Director of Operations Tours Projects in Zimbabwe

    Hivos Director of Operations Sanne Nolst Trenité recently toured selected projects in Harare, Zimbabwe and also held a townhall-type meeting with all staff in the Southern African region. Members of staff for Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe had an opportunity to interact and engage with the DOO on the trajectory of the organizations as well…

  • Much work remains in fight against child marriage in Malawi despite progress

    Malawi has put a final legal nail on the coffin of child marriages by making a historic amendment to the Constitution to fully outlaw child marriage. The legal development followed more than fifteen years of undaunted advocacy that eventually resulted in Malawi’s President, Peter Mutharika, signing the Marriage and Family Relations Bill into law in 2015, raising…

  • Renewable Energy Carries Potential to Propel Zimbabwe

    Harnessing Zimbabwe’s abundant renewable energy resources is key to helping the country support its development strategies and leapfrog towards low-carbon socio-economic progress. Energy is increasingly being recognised as a pre-requisite for human development: it’s surprising that it took the world so long a time to acknowledge this reality. Fortunately, it is now enshrined in the…

  • Young People Key to Uptake of Renewable Energy

    Young people at the Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) expressed dismay at the lack of funding opportunities to scale up their renewable energy innovations. “We’ve many ideas but we need money to make them see the light of day. Zimbabwe is a third world country. It is poor and there are no opportunities for us…

  • Maximising Social Media Content, Context & Digital Storytelling Among CSOs in Zimbabwe

    The expansion of social media use in Zimbabwe has meant it has become an important medium through which Zimbabwean civil society organisations can reach out to the public when promoting and protecting human rights. The social protests that rocked Zimbabwe in July-November 2016 were also a clear testimony to the potential of social media in…

  • Human Rights Fund Partners Review Progress amid Global Shifts

    Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Zimbabwe have been facing huge challenges due to limited funding and a lack of new, creative and innovative strategies to address longstanding problems that inhibit the enjoyment of human rights among citizens in the country. Against this background, Hivos South Africa, in partnership with the Embassy of the Kingdom of…

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