ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, January 6, 2016/APO (African Press Organization)/ --

When:                        25-26 January 2016

Where:                       African Union (AU) Headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

                                   

Who:                          Organised by the Directorate of Information and Communication (DIC) of the African Union in collaboration with OXFAM International Liaison Office, Ethiopia.

Why:                          As people centred Organisation and in line with its Communication, Advocacy and Marketing Strategy 2-14-2017, the AU has embarked on extensive sensitisation campaigns together with its partners. For several years now, OXFAM International and the AUC have been organising joint workshops at the margin of the AU Summit bringing together members of the CSOs and the media, to enlighten and educate them on the various activities, missions and flag ship projects of the Union.   In this regard, heads of organs of the AU will be invited to speak on the implementation of their respective programs and projects, with a view to familiarizing participants with the mandate, vision and functions of the different AU Organs with particular emphasis on entry points for civil society organizations.

Objective:                 The overall objective of this annual training is to familiarize African Union Stakeholders working including the media with the philosophy and orientations of the African Union, its fundamental law, the Constitutive Act, current issues on the AU Agenda of the 26th AU Summit, techniques and tips for engagement with the AU,  the implementation of Agenda 2063 and the theme of the year:  “ 2016: African Year of Human Rights with particular focus on the Rights of Women”.

Specific Objectives:

The specific objectives include the following:

To Acquaint the media and communications practitioners and CSOs, human rights activists, with the mandate, structures of AU organs and its decision making process
To explore and provide a better understanding of the AU, the theme of the year “Human rights with specific focus on women’s right”
Familiarize the trainees with the realities of the policy making processes of the African Union and enhance knowledge on the AU, in order for them to be sufficiently informed as multipliers of information to the African citizens.
Enhance the opportunities for networking between participants, the African Union Commission experts and member states.

Expected outcomes:  The Participants will among other things be briefed on the four years achievement of the current AU Commission under the leadership of H.E Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, First woman to chair the AU Commission since the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963 up to the now AUC. The Participants will be updated on the Ten Years Implementation Plan of the AU Agenda 2063. They will also be given the opportunity to participate and cover the 26th AU Summit

Participants:            Participants of the workshop will include:

Representatives from the Civil Society Organisations
Press Attaches and Communication focal persons at AU Member States Embassies based in Addis Ababa,
media representatives from the five regions of Africa, and
AU-DIC staff

Background:           One of the key objectives of the Constitutive Act of the African Union is to build a strong and united continent through a ‘partnership between governments and all segments of civil society, in particular women, youth and the private sector in order to strengthen solidarity and cohesion among our peoples’.  The desire to build a people-oriented and people-centered institution is the main distinguishing feature between the African Union and its predecessor organization, the Organization of African Unity which was largely state focused.

In line with the African Union’s mission to build an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven and managed by its citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international arena, the Department of Communication and Information (DIC) of the African Union Commission and Oxfam International Liaison Office to the African Union (OIAU) jointly organize an annual training workshop on understanding the African Union its structures and decision making process to target journalist/media practitioners and leaders of African Non-Governmental Organizations.

This year, press attachés and media liaisons of AU member States’ embassies will also participate in the training. The training workshop will be held in the framework of the 26th AU Summit .The training will cover a general introduction and historical background, the structures and policy process of the AU, current issues including the Agenda 2063 as well as avenues for engagement and contributions by non-state actors including the media.

Methodology:          The workshop will be conducted with two sets of facilitators. The first set will consist of people from within the African Union systems. There will be presentations on the decision-making process of the Union as well as the Peace and Security related challenges of the continent. The second set of facilitators will be drawn from civil society and the media. There will be discussions on the opportunities and challenges arising from interaction with the African Union.

In order to ensure effectiveness of the training, the number of participating CSOs will be limited to 25-30.

Participants will undertake a written evaluation at the end of the training in order to measure the extent of their commitment to the programme and evaluate their understanding of the training.

A certificate of attendance will be given to those who are successful in the evaluation test.  .

JOURNALISTS ARE INVITED TO MASSIVELY COVER THE EVENT.