GRÓ GEST Expands Cooperation in Malawi
The Director of GRÓ GEST, Dr. Irma Erlingsdóttir, visited Malawi in November. Her schedule was extensive and filled with stimulating experiences and activities. The GEST programme has collaborated with institutions and associations in Malawi for eleven years, with 34 fellows having graduated from the programme since 2013.
The main purpose of Dr. Erlingsdóttir‘s visit was to attend and contribute to a five-day course on gender and climate change. The short course took place in Mangochi district and was targeted at district level stakeholders. Thirty participants completed the course. The course was implemented by a team of experts from LUANAR, led by Dr. Tasokwa Kakota, Professor at LUANAR University. It is the second of two five-day courses that were implemented this year and which are a result of a fruitful collaboration between GRÓ GEST and LUANAR.
Dr. Erlingsdóttir gave the opening remarks, together with Dr. Daniel Sikawa, Dean of the School of Social Sciences at LUANAR. The team of experts conducting the course included Dr. Harold Chisale, Climate Change Scientist at LUANAR University, and two GEST alumnas, Ms. Lirani Hannah Kaluwa Katutu, from the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, GEST alumna of 2023, and Ms. Yananda Nana Madhlopa, from LUANAR University, GEST alumna of 2014. During Ms. Yananda‘s participation in the GEST programme, she developed a curriculum for the establishment of a Bachelor of Gender and Development Studies at LUANAR, as part of her final assignment. It was a project she subsequently – successfully – implemented upon return home together with her colleagues.
In Mangochi district, Dr. Erlingsdóttir also visited Lilja‘s Fistula and One Stop Center, which provides assistance to survivors of sexual violence. She also visited the maternity ward established and supported by Iceland, contributing to a significant decrease in maternal deaths.
In addition to Dr. Erlingsdóttir‘s visit to Mangochi, she visited LUANAR campus in Bunda. There she gave a lecture at the Gender and Development Studies Program about the GEST programme and gender equality, and then spent an afternoon with the Master's students of the programme, a diverse group of around 20 individuals who briefed her on the many gender-based challenges facing Malawi. The GRÓ GEST programme looks forward to future virtual meetings and collaboration with these students, including teacher exchanges and online courses.
Dr. Erlingsdóttir also had the opportunity to meet with professors from two other universities in Malawi, the University of Malawi and MUST, a technical university, both expressing interest in collaboration.
One of the highlights of Dr. Erlingsdóttir‘s stay was the GRÓ GEST alumni meeting. The discussions revolved around establishing a robust network of former GEST students. The participants gave a presentation on their current projects and discussed possible collaboration among them. As their projects testify to, they have made a huge difference in advancing gender equality in their home country. Their excellent work has already been recognized by the Government of Malawi and was praised in a meeting with Honorable Jean Sendeza, the Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, where six GEST alumni were named for their outstanding achievements in their respective fields. A similar acknowledgment of the work done by former GEST students was made in a meeting with representatives from the Malawi Human Rights Commission.
During the visit, Dr. Erlingsdóttir participated in a UN Women event in collaboration with the Icelandic Embassy in Malawi, addressing gender-based violence. In her intervention, she elaborated on the history of Icelandic women's activism. A former GRÓ GEST fellow, Jessica Madalitso Mandanda, also gave a speech at the event.
The visit strengthened GRÓ GEST cooperation with partner institutions in Malawi, where former GEST students are making real progress in promoting gender equality rights.
