CGIAR Gender News

‘Seeds of Change’ update – Day 1

Seeds of Change participants Photo: Patrick Cape/ACIAR.

On this first day of the conference, the nearly 300 participants were directly invited to attend one of the 6 ‘practice workshop’ sessions that were on the menu.

In the presentation on practical matters of qualitative and quantitative aspects of pro-WEAI, engaging small group work brainstorming about sample pairs of questions that could be asked in different scenarios.

In the workshop on ‘Using the project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index‘, more than 50 people attended a dynamic presentation on practical matters of qualitative and quantitative aspects of pro-WEAI. They engaged in small group work brainstorming about sample pairs of questions that could be asked in different scenarios.

In the workshop on ‘Developing Gender-responsive Plant and Animal Breeding Programs: Principles, methods and tools‘, about 50 people attended a panel conversation about the challenges and opportunities of gender and breeding before breaking into a group exploration of three different tools used: 1000 minds, social targeting and the Gender+ Product Profile.

In the workshop on ‘Gender inclusive learning/research activities: The Family Farm Teams approach‘, Professor Barbara Pamphilon from University of Canberra and her colleagues introduced the Family Farms Team approach in depth and in a practical manner.

The workshop on ‘Community partnering for local development‘ brought about 50 people and unraveled the concept of assets mapping (vs. the more conventional needs-based assessment and the SWOT analysis). Professor Katherine Gibson (from Western Sydney University) had all participants engage in assets mapping and consider the informal economy that is typically happening in the communities we work in/with.

More than 50 people attended the workshop ‘A gender transformative approach in agrifood systems: What, Why and How?‘. It focused on the Why, What and How of the Gender Transformative Approach (GTA), followed by a presentation of key case studies of (in aquaculture, nutrition programming and Participatory Action Research). Attendees then participated in a World Cafe, discussing measurement, challenges and other key learning points for GTA. Organizer Cynthia McDougall emphasized that this approach is beyond the use of tools, and rather is about sparking critical consciousness through a social learning process.

Last but not least, ‘Integrating gender into agriculture-nutrition research‘ brought more than 40 people. The presentations included aspects to consider and to watch out for. These were followed by a robust question and answer session, while discussants then grappled in small groups with issues relating to integrating gender into agriculture-nutrition research.

The day was concluded with a welcome dinner at the National Gallery.

The first key note will be given live on Wednesday by Katherine Gibson, Professor at Western Sydney University, on the topic of ‘Building gender equity from the bottom up in agricultural communities’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0NkUI4LZKI

Keep watching – the next two days will be particularly rich.

Engage with us: #SeedsofChange19, #GenderinAg, @CGIARgender @ACIARAustralia @UniCanberra.