GETNET's Approach
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Networking
Our networking
function has developed through the strategy of arranging joint seminars,
workshops and other forums, through NETWORK
NEWS and through a range of partnerships that have existed
in areas of national government; local government; within the NGO sector;
within the SADC region; university departments and research institutes.
Our networking, partnerships and co-operative initiatives
Building partnerships and sharing knowledge underline the need for critical dialogue for the development of indigenous theoretical frameworks and methodologies. Only through developing indigenous frameworks and methodologies can we ensure that strategies to achieve gender equality are effective and that the impact of gender training is lasting.
Building
partnerships with government
We place high value on co-operation with government and institutions involved
in gender work and research. In South Africa, our co-operation with parliamentary
and government structures includes engaging with issues pertaining to
national and international machinery for the empowerment of women.
As stated previously, GETNET has worked with several government departments
and Parliament. We co-ordinated research that resulted in the establishment
of the Joint Parliamentary Standing Committee for the Improvement of the
Quality of Life and the Status of Women, the formation of the cross-party
Parliamentary Women’s Group and the establishment of the Commission
for Gender Equality (CGE).
More recently, GETNET has begun working in partnership with the Women’s
Budget Initiative to produce training materials for training in civil
society groups to enable them to analyse the government budget from a
gender perspective. This important initiative is linked to lobbying government
for gender sensitive policies, legislation and distribution of national
resources
Regionally
- based networks in Southern Africa
Our networking function has grown considerably and we are keenly gathering
information to link up with regionally-based in networks of Southern Africa.
The implementation of CEDAW and the Beijing Platform of Action are vantage
points for strengthening regional co-operation.
GETNET’s gender training conferences offer the opportunity to develop
indigenous knowledge and experiences in the field. Our next conference
scheduled for 2001, will focus on gender and institutional transformation.
Co-operation
with academic institutions
GETNET believes that information sharing is an important aspect of networking
and is continually establishing links with relevant academics, university
departments and research institutes. Examples of this co-operation are
the links with the African Gender Institute (AGI) at the University of
Cape Town and the Public Management and Development (P&DM) at the
University of the Witwatersrand which were established through a workshop
on ‘Gender Justice and Organisational Change’ in 1998.
GETNET Director and staff contribute to raising the profile of our organisation
in a range of important activities in the local government arena, lecturing
to students at the Universities of Cape Town and the Western Cape, giving
expert advice to stakeholders and funders, attending conferences and more
recently, the National NGO Week.