Gender & Dignity
Session 1 @ 8:00 UTC
Human rights, livelihood and dignity of small-scale fishers
This event will showcase how the livelihood and dignity of small-scale fishers is a human rights concern, through case stories from several countries. We will discuss how human rights standards and mechanisms can be used in practice to address livelihood issues in fishing communities, and improve their dignity and standard of living. We will identify actions needed, and explore how the 2030 Agenda can serve as leverage for human rights-based governance of the small-scale fisheries sector.
Language: English
Format: Live presentation & discussion
Duration: 90 minutes
Additional information about the session can be found here.
Organized by: The Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), COAST Trust & BILS
Session 2 @ 10:00 UTC
Investing in young fishers
This video titled ‘Investing in Young Fishers’ highlights a reality experienced by the fishing sector in various countries – the ageing fisher population. We take a look at the stories of Maltese fishers and fish hawkers of different ages and genders with a focus on their opinions and views on the ageing fisher population and their suggestions on how the participation of young fishers can be improved. It also features comments from a Fisheries Department officer, a Maltese Fisheries advisor, and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal Rights where they explain the ministry’s efforts in tackling this issue.
Format: Pre-recorded video
Language: English
Duration: 30 minutes
Organized by: Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Malta
Session 3 @ 11:00 UTC
African food systems, gender dynamics and SSF perspectives
Click for additional details
Small-scale fisheries (SSF) forms an essential part of the African food system as they contribute to high quality protein and micronutrients that is often consumed with tomatoes to increase the nutritional value for many poor and vulnerable populations. Yet, there are many interlocking factors that prevent SSF to play a more significant role in feeding the poor and vulnerable – such as, the legislation supporting industrial fisheries and large-scale aquaculture, proclamation of MPAs in SSF fishing grounds, overfishing, Marine Spatial Planning of blue economy and now the Covid-19 pandemic. We invited three civil society organizations (NETRIGHT -Ghana, EMEDO- Tanzania, and Masifundise – South Africa) who formed part of an IDRC funded research on African Food Systems during Covid 19 to give their perspectives on how the Covid 19 regulations impacted on the fish flow, prices of fish, and gendered dynamics in SSF. In this session we will unpack the interlocking factors influencing the flow of fish, the supply chain, the demand, the volumes, and the prices pre-Covid 19.
Chair and discussant: Moenieba Isaacs, University of Western Cape
Speakers:
- Patricia Patricia Blankson Akakpo, Network for Women’s Rights NETRIGHT, Ghana
- Maia Nagel, Masifundise Development Trust, South Africa
- Editrudith Lukanga, Environmental Management and Economic Development Organization (EMEDO), Tanzania
Language: English
Format: Live presentation & discussion
Duration: 60 minutes
Organized by: Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS)
Session 4 @ 12:30 UTC
Girls who fish: gender equity, empowerment, and the importance of laws
Women are actively involved, to a varying degree, in various aspects of the fish chain and play key roles in the communities, contributing to the safety net and other fabrics of the society. Yet, women suffer numerous challenges in fisheries. In addition to working double-shifts (in and outside their homes), women are usually not well integrated in the system, and some face significant barriers to participate in fishing and decision-making. Considerable efforts, behaviour change, and institutional reform are required to enhance women’s participation in fisheries. It is also fundamental to understand how the existing legal and policy framework of a country secure women’s rights and provide for their protection. The session showcases an example of innovation through the ‘Girls who fish’ program, pioneered by Fishing for Success, a community-based organization based in Petty Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and the sister program in Japan. A rapid appraisal framework to identify key small-scale fisheries issues in laws and policies, with an emphasis on gender, will also be presented, including the related findings concerning the assessed 25 countries.
Moderator: Ratana Chuenpagdee, TBTI Global
Speakers:
- Kimberly Orren, Fishing for Success, Canada
- Yinji Li, Tokai University/TBTI Japan
- Julia Nakamura, University of Strathclyde Law School, UK
Format: Video and panel presentation & discussion
Language: English
Duration: 60 minutes
Organized by: TBTI Global
Session 5 @ 14:00 UTC
Unpacking the SSF Guidelines: Mainstreaming gender for SSF development strategies
In 2014, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) endorsed the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) and outlined a series of core objectives to protect and enhance the impact of small-scale fisheries around the world. The SSF Guidelines call for equal participation of women and men in organizations and in decision-making processes. The webinar aims to promote the vital role of women in small-scale fisheries, equal rights and opportunities acknowledging the importance of gender equality and equity as fundamental to any development. Invited guests and speakers from different parts of the globe will share their experiences while highlighting the role of women in Small-Scale Fisheries Sustainability.
Language: English
Format: Webinar
Duration: 90 minutes
Organized by: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Session 6 @ 16:00 UTC
Fishing communities behind the lens: Photovoice as a participatory research approach
Shannon presents a photovoice effort with two fishing communities in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Two goals for this work were: 1) to understand what aspects of the participants’ lives were most important to them; and 2) to understand how they conceived of the past, present, and future. Emi introduces participatory transmedia workshops with youth from SSF communities in India, Vietnam, and Peru. Objectives were for rural students to explore their ancient oceans and ancestral villages as researchers and utilize impact storytelling techniques, tools, and community-based research approaches to illustrate SSF’s challenges and contributions to ocean-human health and sustainable futures.
Session organizers: Shannon Switzer Swanson & Emi Koch
Format: Live presentations
Language: English
Duration: 60 minutes
Organized by: Beyond the Surface International
Session 7 @ 17:30 UTC
Responsible fisheries, gender equality and youth participation in Venezuela
A general description and characterization of artisanal fisheries in the northeastern part of Venezuela is presented. The main aspect that stands out is the performance of women in this activity, going from being housewives to be an integral part of the productive circuit, incorporating themselves as processors, marketers and also as managers of the family productive unit by participating more frequently with the youth in the fishing task considered a traditionally male labour. As a cultural manifestation, two musical genres are identified: the “joropo cumanés” and the “galerón”.
Format: Prerecorded presentation that combines interviews and videos
Language: Spanish with English subtitles
Duration: 30 minutes
