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Abstract: “African Transformation” is a participatory tool that enables men and women to examine critically gender and social norms, including masculinity, and how they affect their well-being; to overcome gender barriers in their own life: and to work on eliminating harmful gender norms and supporting positive ones. “African Transformation” is an adaptation of the successful “Arab Women Speak Out” (AWSO) model... more
Abstract: “African Transformation” is a participatory tool that enables men and women to examine critically gender and social norms, including masculinity, and how they affect their well-being; to overcome gender barriers in their own life: and to work on eliminating harmful gender norms and supporting positive ones. “African Transformation” is an adaptation of the successful “Arab Women Speak Out” (AWSO) model to the African context. The key component of AWSO is a series of video profiles showing positive role models of women from relatively low socio-economic status who overcame gender barriers and reached goals they had determined for themselves. The profiles are shown during a participatory, facilitative training, whereby participants review these women’s stories, and explore resources and strategies they can use to attain their own goals.|The nine profiles in this video collection portray women, men, and couples from Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia who by their actions have become role models in their communities. Their stories feature the challenges they faced and overcame when dealing with issues ranging from traditional and cultural values and reproductive health to violence between partners, networking, and life skills. The profiled people include a single-parent father raising and supporting his daughters; a young woman working as a taxi conductress; a widow who fought for her rights to bury her husband and inherit his properties; a sick woman with a husband who supports her, and their family which they have jointly chosen to keep small by using family planning; an HIV positive man and his HIV negative wife who joined a discordant couple's club to help deal with their situation; a woman who was a victim of domestic violence and now is involved in extensive activism and support for women victims; a woman who started a tie and dye business with the financial help of her husband, and who also started a women's club; a couple who operate a diverse business together; and a woman who started an influential women's group in her husband's small village that helped establish a school, petitioned for 2 village boreholes for water, and facilitated training of villagers as local health workers. The video profiles are designed to be used along with the African Transformation Facilitator's Guide (PL AFR 302), but can also be used as a tool to promote dialogue between men and women. less
Notes: Part of KT AFR 19. See also: Facilitator's Guide (PL AFR 302); 22 x 28 b&w photos of profiled subjects; Audio Profiles (TA AFR 43 - 2 tapes); Written Profiles (PL AFR 303).
Behavior Change Theories: Empowerment, Social Learning
Formative Research: Following a series of Focus Group Discussions in six different African countries that confirmed the AWSO model was appropriate for adaptation to Africa, a Regional Design Workshop was held in January, 2004, in Kampala, Uganda, to determine what that would look like. The meeting was attended by (primarily) professional women working on gender and women’s issues from across Africa. Participants represented... more
Formative Research: Following a series of Focus Group Discussions in six different African countries that confirmed the AWSO model was appropriate for adaptation to Africa, a Regional Design Workshop was held in January, 2004, in Kampala, Uganda, to determine what that would look like. The meeting was attended by (primarily) professional women working on gender and women’s issues from across Africa. Participants represented a cross section of specialties, including health, education, domestic violence, eliminating harmful traditional practices, and law. An important outcome of that meeting was the recognition that while AWSO focused exclusively on women, African Transformation would need to engage men in order to be effective. A second regional meeting was therefore held in July, 2004 to conceptualize a more comprehensive, inclusive project, building on the original design. Participants included several members of the Technical Advisory Group that had been selected in January, along with men from five different countries with experience in gender, development, and/or men’s projects. less
Pretesting: As part of the “Africa Transformation” project, a five-day training of community facilitators was conducted in June 2005 in Uganda. During the training, the curriculum was pre-tested together with the video among 27 participants who were all community trainers in different community based organizations (CBOs). The workshop participants represented organizations involved in community activities such... more
Pretesting: As part of the “Africa Transformation” project, a five-day training of community facilitators was conducted in June 2005 in Uganda. During the training, the curriculum was pre-tested together with the video among 27 participants who were all community trainers in different community based organizations (CBOs). The workshop participants represented organizations involved in community activities such as HIV/AIDS, Health, Agriculture, Microfinance, Domestic violence and Human rights. less
Summative Evaluation: In 2 African Transformation Workshop participants and 224 non-participants were interviewed; preliminary findings include that participants expressed a significantly more equitable view of men’s and women’s roles than was true of non-participants, and male and female participants alike reported talking with a wider range of people about family planning use than did non-participants. Participants... more
Summative Evaluation: In 2 African Transformation Workshop participants and 224 non-participants were interviewed; preliminary findings include that participants expressed a significantly more equitable view of men’s and women’s roles than was true of non-participants, and male and female participants alike reported talking with a wider range of people about family planning use than did non-participants. Participants were significantly more likely to agree that both men and women can clean, cook, collect water, and shop for household goods compared with non-participants. Holding age, sex, and educational attainment constant, participants were 1.5 times more likely than were their non-participant counterparts to have taken actions related to community improvement. less
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