EconoWin Newsletter, August – October 2012

This edition contains:

Promising Selection of Mentees for the Female Mentoring Project.................................................................. 2

TUI-GIZ Cooperation Wins Travel One Sustainability Award ......................................................................... 3

Updates on the New GSVC-Analyses in Egypt, Morocco & Tunisia ............................................................... 3

Producing Dolls for NatureTex: Aida Tells about her Experience ................................................................... 5

“Ana Hunna” Regional Workshop unites Media NGOs from the Region ....................................................... 5

“Ana Hunna” Celebrates its Official Launch in Jordan .................................................................................... 7

GSVC Updates on Implementation in Jordan and Tunisia ............................................................................... 8

“Economic Integration of Women – MENA” (EconoWin) is a regional technical cooperation programme based in Cairo, Egypt with offices and activities in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. The programme’s objective is to enhance capacities and services of partners engaged in integrating women into the labour market of the four countries. Its four areas of cooperation are: an awareness-raising media campaign, implementation of gender-sensitive labour market policies, gender-sensitive value chain development and professional orientation for women. EconoWin is supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). For more information, please contact the Programme Coordinator, Mrs. Nele Wasmuth: nele.wasmuth@giz.de

Female Mentoring Project in Morocco

The mentoring project matches an experienced person (“mentor”) with a young, inexperienced person (“mentee”). It enables the mentee to benefit from the experience, knowledge, advice and network of professionals. It boosts the mentee’s self-confidence and acquaints them with positive role models thus encouraging their active participation in the labour market post-graduation. The Female Mentoring Project in Morocco started in June 2011

with a kick-off workshop. In February 2012 the project was

launched with the partner “Centre d’Accueil, d’Information et

d’Orientation et de Suivi” (CAIOS) through a press conference at

Mohamed V University in Rabat-Souissi.

Promising Selection of Mentees for the Female Mentoring Project The Female Mentoring Project in Morocco started with the selection of mentees at the University

of Mohamed V in Rabat-Souissi. The jury was positively surprised with the diversity and

motivation of the young students applying to become mentees.

Following numerous presentations, workshops and forums on the Female Mentoring Project for students in various institutes and faculties of the University Mohamed V Rabat-Souissi, one hundred applications from female students were received. Forty candidates from different faculties (Law, Pharmacy, French Literature, Education, Economics etc.) were selected for the interviews, which took place in the Centre d’Accueil, d’Information, d’Orientation et de Suivi (CAIOS) between September 19 and 20, 2012. Hafida Mderssi (director of CAIOS), Boutaina El Khattabi and Laura Winter (technical advisors of the EconoWin programme) and Asmàa Fakhoury (project coordinator) formed the jury that led the group interviews. In each group, 3-4 students presented their personal and professional plan for the future and justified their needs and motivations. In the end, jury members selected twenty students as mentees. The decision was based on several criteria, including student motivation, commitment, need for a mentor, their understanding of the concept, etc.

The jury (left), Hafida Mderssi, Asmàa Fakhoury, Boutaina El Khattabi and Laura Winter interview potential mentees (right). One student helped convince the jury of her need for mentoring by pointing out: “I have a real need for guidance because I have no one I can turn to for advice. My parents live in the countryside and are illiterate. I had to struggle for the bachelor’s degree on my own, and now I wish to benefit from the advice of a wise person to avoid making mistakes in my career”. Asmàa Fakhoury, the project coordinator, mentioned that the jury was “pleasantly surprised by the excellent level of students and their strong desire to obtain guidance from professional women.” In parallel, the process of identifying mentors is still ongoing. Until now, a dozen professional women who are committed and willing to share their experiences with these young students have been selected as mentors. The project team continues to receive further applications, but the selection process must be finished before the end of October 2012 to proceed with matching mentors to mentees.

What is a Gender-Sensitive Value Chain Analysis?

A value chain is a set of steps in the process of manufacturing an item from raw material to a final product. Analyses of value chains have increasingly been used as a tool for defining concrete ways to promote economic development. Men and women are likely to be engaged at different steps of the value chain, with women usually involved in the invisible parts and therefore overlooked in the process of development and upgrading. Nele Wasmuth, Programme Coordinator of EconoWin, stated: “If women’s perspectives, challenges and priorities are taken into full consideration and women are enabled to unleash their potential, economic growth will further expand for the benefit of both women as well as men.” That is why EconoWin is conducting 2 gender-sensitive value chain analyses in each target country.

TUI-GIZ Cooperation Wins Travel One Sustainability Award Every year, initiatives that positively affect the ecological and social balance in the tourist industry have the opportunity of being awarded the Sustainability Award by Travel One, a German practice-oriented journal for travel professionals. The joint initiative “TUI-GIZ opens the door for Tunisian women to the tourism sector” won the second price in 2012.

Tunisian Tourism sector: A woman working in a hotel.

The objective of the joint initiative of the tour operator TUI and EconoWin is the promotion of Tunisian tourism through the economic integration of women. The initiative convinced an independent jury composed of renowned experts and was awarded the second place of the Travel One Sustainability Award 2012. Considering that the initiative was just launched with a kick-off in July 2012, winning the prize is particularly noteworthy and a good sign for the future success of the joint initiative. The awards ceremony took place on September 12, 2012 in Frankfurt, Germany.

Updates on the New GSVC-Analyses in Egypt, Morocco & Tunisia Throughout September and October, three Gender- Sensitive Value Chain Analyses were conducted in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. Each analysis revealed concrete measures to promote economic development and upgrade the position of women in value chains.

1) GSVC Analysis of Prickly Pears, in Sidi Ifni, Morocco

The GSVC analysis of prickly pears has been completed in Morocco with AIDES (Agence Internationale pour le Développement Economique et Social). It took place in Sidi Ifni (south of Agadir). The analysis revealed short-term measures that will be implemented in the upcoming four months. The international expert Valerie Hindson stated: “Worldwide, there are 120 ways of deriving products from the prickly pear. In Morocco, only 20 are used. Seed oil, jams, jellies, juices, cactus flour, animal feed, dried blossom, these are just a few examples of what actually can be done with the Opuntia plant!” One initiative focuses on diversification and innovation of production: cooperatives are encouraged and sensitised to specialise and produce in ways that complement each other. Additionally, these women cooperatives (some already well established and others recently created) are strengthening their technical, managerial and professional capacities. Furthermore, a feasibility study on establishing storage silos will be conducted.

2) GSVC Analysis of Organic Cotton in Sharkeyah, Egypt

“If women value work, have good salaries and female friendly working conditions they would love to keep the work and would talk and argue with their husbands and family to keep the job after they get married. Today, however, they do not fight for their jobs and right to work; but willingly and happily leave the jobs once their husbands ask them to” said Dr. Fatema Khafagy –a gender expert– as she summarised her impressions after a workshop with some female workers from NatureTex regarding the high turnover rate of female employees.

A woman working in a NatureTex factory.

NatureTex is a company specialised in the production of soft toys and garments made from organic cotton. The initiatives revealed during the analysis were presented to the stakeholders during the workshop: an awareness and leadership programme increasing worker awareness about the value of their skills and the importance of their work will ultimately aim to increase their job satisfaction. The second initiative is the career opportunity and capacity building programme that aims to present NatureTex female workers with more choices and opportunities to improve their career path(s).

The third initiative focuses on better integration of village workshops into NatureTex’s production chain. Finally, a marketing task force is to be formed to develop a draft market strategy. Currently, teams of motivated stakeholders or “initiative groups” have started the implementation of these four initiatives. To develop the markets was seen as an essential step to create more work for women – and for men. A film by our international consultancy Mesopartner nicely summarizes the analysis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoEnQB8H9dE&feature=youtu.be or (http://goo.gl/gqOjX )

3) GSVC Analysis of Myrtle in Ain Drahem, Tunisia

Myrtle, a plant growing in the Mediterranean region, is known for its numerous therapeutic qualities. Its derivates are used in cosmetics, pharmacy, food and medicine. Essential oils, soaps and shampoo are produced from its distilled leaves; yoghurt, jam and liqueur is made from the berries; dried leaves and flowers are used for cosmetics.

Women during the myrtle harvest.

In the Tunisian myrtle analysis, six main short-term measures were identified. In order to better gear the measures towards their goals, distillers and agricultural development cooperatives (“groupements de développement agricole”, GDA) in the region must be identified and counted. Then, competences of GDA members (in particular women) will be reinforced through basic training in management (accounting, costs, etc.) and negotiation skills. The GDAs will also be supported in improving the labelling and packaging of the products. Another measure focuses on the establishment of core support structures on a regional level to boost the value chain.

The last initiative consists of developing a marketing plan for myrtle and its different uses as a flagship product for the region. All these initiatives will be implemented throughout April 2013.

Producing Dolls for NatureTex: Aida Tells about her Experience One of the GSVC development projects of EconoWin is cooperating with NatureTex on organic products (see article above). Aida Mahmoud Mohammed, 27 years old, leads a workshop in her house. She is the mother of one son and lives with her husband, the first wife of her husband and her four children, in a small house in the Village next to Sekem in Sharkeyah. She tells of her experience at the actual time when the GSVC project with NatureTex is still in its preliminary stage: Text by Julia Gerlach

“Our days here in the countryside start early: we get up at 6 am, feed the animals, get the children ready for school and prepare breakfast for our husbands. After finishing the housework, at around nine, I sit down to work. I work until it’s time to prepare lunch and then I help the children do their homework. Then I resume work in the afternoon. I work six to eight hours per day. I just started, so I haven’t made any money yet, but I pray to God that I will get a good salary; that the work is worthwhile. After finishing middle school at Sekem I worked in the doll factory on the farm. I liked this work a lot. It was well paid and we received insurance and benefits. I really enjoyed working with all the other girls and it was good to get out of the house. After I got married, I had to quit the job. Why? Because that’s how life is here in the Egyptian countryside. The men don’t want their wives working outside the house. They always want to have them close-by in case they need anything. What can we do? Working from home is a good chance for me to earn some money. I don’t think that this will actually change my role in the family but who knows? We’ll see when the money is in my pocket. To start this workshop I didn’t need much: I bought some scissors, needles and the blanket we are working on. The company delivers all the other materials and a sample, so we know how the dolls should look in the end. Being the boss of a workshop might seem something to be proud of, but actually I don’t really like shouldering the responsibility. As I told you: I pray to God a lot that it will work out.”

Aida in her workshop in a village in Sharkeyah.

“Ana Hunna” Regional Workshop unites Media NGOs from the Region

“Let people be part of Ana Hunna, involve and activate them!” - This was one of the key messages

of the regional workshop on „Ana Hunna“, EconoWin’s awareness raising initiative, which took

place in Jordan on 4-6 of September. Or, in the words of Confucius: “Tell me & I’ll forget. Show

me & I’ll remember. Involve me & I’ll understand”.

The need for activating people was emphasized by the experts Katharina Binhack and Nada Abisaleh who contributed with two inputs to the workshop, which had the aim of developing a regional strategy for the film-based initiative “Ana Hunna”. Katharina Binhack, Director at AgenZ, a GIZ owned Agency for market-oriented concepts, spoke of the creation of an “Ana Hunna community”, stressing the importance

of making participants tell their own story, of turning each event into a special unique experience, and of creating exchange on a regional level.

The regional “Ana Hunna” team – GIZ, partner organizations from the four target countries – in Azraq, Jordan. The strategy workshop took place near the small town of Azraq, 100 km east of Amman, in the midst of a nature reserve. Partner organizations from the civil society of the four countries took part in the workshop, about one year after the first kick-off workshop of the media campaign in June 2011. The importance of creating stronger regional links became clear and tangible throughout the workshop. “Creating a regional initiative will give ‘Ana Hunna’ much more strength and impact than having each country work on its own”, Nele Wasmuth, Programme Coordinator of EconoWin, pointed out. During the three days of the workshop, the participants took the opportunity to exchange their experiences on the organization of events, to discuss tools for campaigning – flyers, stickers, website, Facebook, trailer etc. –, to specify the time-line and define a target-group. Participants largely agreed to put the main focus of the initiative on the youth – men and women between 15 and 25 years. “Youth are the carriers of change in our countries”, explained one of the participants.

On the following day, Nada Abisaleh, from the advertising agency Leo Burnett in Lebanon, showed two examples of successful campaigns from her country. “Khede Kasra” and “No Women No Rights” were campaigns on women’s empowerment, which made it into national media in Lebanon. From her experience in Lebanon Nada Abisaleh pointed out the importance of having one common message for the regional initiative: “’Ana Hunna’ is your slogan. But what is your driving idea, your message?”, she asked. This triggered a discussion on what “Ana Hunna” promises to people and helped sharpen the further planning.

Khede Kasra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEEeWUI_Z38

No Women No Rights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFGGPYhgAc0

“Ana Hunna” Celebrates its Official Launch in Jordan The Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD), partner organization of Ana Hunna in Jordan, celebrated its official launch in the capital of Jordan, Amman at the cultural centre Darat el Funun.

On September 4th, the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD) and its youth centre Princess Basma Youth Resource Centre (PBYRC) officially launched the initiative Ana Hunna at Darat Al Funun in Jabal Al Lwaibdeh - Amman. Two hundred students, women-rights advocates, and families from all over Amman attended the event that aimed to raise awareness on women-rights and gender equality in the working world in the Middle East and North Africa. The audience at the screening in Darat el Funun.

Also among the guests were the participants of the strategy workshop on Ana Hunna (see article above).

Darat al Funun, in which the event was held, is home for the Arts and artists of Jordan and the Arab world. Overlooking the heart of Amman, Darat al Funun is housed in three traditional buildings of the 1920s,alongside the archaeological remains of a six-century Byzantine church built over a Roman Temple that is used for seminars, discussions and screenings.

Majida Kabariti, director of the film “Torfa”, on stage.

Majida Kabariti, an independent Jordanian documentary filmmaker and the director of ‘Torfa’, one of the films screened at the event, was the main guest speaker. She spoke about ‘Torfa’ and the difficulties faced and experiences gained during the shooting as she spent two weeks living with the protagonist – a Bedouin Jordanian woman called Torfa – and her goats in the mountains. Abeer Dabbas who attended the event, said after the screening “I really enjoyed the event. I liked the film ‘Torfa’, I was impressed by the personality and views of the Bedouin woman Torfa. She seemed to know everything going on around her and has her opinion about it”.

GSVC Updates on Implementation in Jordan and Tunisia In Jordan and Tunisia the analysis on two projects –one on the dairy milk sector and one on dog roses– have already taken place in the previous months and implementation of specific measures has begun.

1) GSVC project on dairy products in Jerash, Jordan

The team working on GSVC in Jordan.

“The results of the last three months in Jerash do not only revolve around the implementation of certain economic women initiatives” says Dima Kalha, project manager from the Microfund for Women (MFW) –the primary facilitation partner of the GIZ during the implementation of the Gender-sensitive value chain project on the dairy milk sector in Jordan. “Much more importantly, stakeholders who historically only rarely talked to each other have started to engage in joint activities”. When asked about the reason for the short-term success, Dima smiles: “I think we really have started to change mindsets by working against

dominant stakeholder-donor expectations in which donors provide funds as an incentive for proactive behaviour.” To realise the first gender initiatives, the GSVC philosophy demands and builds on human, financial, and network resources of the local stakeholders to motivate them and build self-confidence and further action. The achievement so far are: Starting a Quality Circle: The Quality Circle focuses on educational visits by informal and small formal business owners to larger technology-advanced companies. Setting up a coaching and training programme: A coaching and training programme for the formal and informal businesses, including men and women, was possible through four training sessions held by Irada (a programme promoting micro-, small and medium entreprises) and the Directorate of Health, with follow-up training and coaching activities by Irada. The first two initiatives provided a prerequisite for the articulation and identification of a critical mass of demand-oriented trainings.

The Quality Circle’s visit to a large factory.

Setting up an Awareness Campaign: The awareness campaign on standards is still in process. It started with the design of a self-evaluation checklist for quality requirements for all formal cheese-producing companies and will continue with a visit campaign and an awareness day at the end of November. “With these initiatives, we have created a key success criterion for future steps: we have developed first trusting relationships between non-cooperating actors through concrete joint and results-oriented action” says Kholoud Abuzaid, one of the two consultants supporting the GIZ and PEM/Mesopartner in the facilitation of the progress on the ground.

2) GSVC Project on Dog Rose in Zaghouan, Tunisia

In the GSVC analysis of dog rose in Zaghouan, three main measures were supported by EconoWin-Tunisia

throughout September and October.

A fact sheet for the cultivation of dog roses: A workshop was held on September 20, 2012 in the ESAM (Higher School of Agriculture Mograne, Zaghouan) for the presentation and discussion of a fact sheet for the cultivation of dog roses. The next step is to adapt the content of this fact sheet to provide support for its dissemination in favour of the dog rose farmers. “Essential oils made out of dog rose: a myth or reality?” To answer this question, a round table was organised at ESAM on September 27, 2012 in partnership with APIA (Agency for the Promotion of Agricultural Investments) in which two main topics were discussed, “the upgrading of PAM (aromatic and medicinal plants)” and “extraction of dog rose EO: realities and perspectives”. At the end of the meeting, a draft for an association emerged, “Development Association of Dog Rose”, following a declaration of intent by its founding members to boost the reputation of dog roses.

Farmers participating in the awareness day on the importance of creating an organisational structure, Bir-Zaghouan Hlima, October 4, 2012.

Producers of dog roses in the region of "Bir Hlima" in Zaghouan are advised on the launch of a conjunctive structure: An awareness day about the importance of group work and possible legal forms of consolidation was held on October 4, 2012 by the CRDA Zaghouan (Regional Commissary for Agricultural Development) for farmers of the “Bir Hlima” region in Zaghouan. At the end of the day, some participants concluded the session by making a request to the CRDA for the creation of a GDA (agricultural development cooperative) to get the necessary support for the implementation of their structure.