The Women in Politics Conference has opened 14th June 2010, at Speke Resort Munyonyo. Attended by over 100 women politicians, civil society representatives and other partners from all parts of Uganda the conference is slated to end on Wednesday 16th June 2010 with an agenda for political accountability to women. 

Her Excellence Johnson Sirleaf the President of Liberia and the first female president on the African continent officially opened the conference this morning via satellite. She hailed Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) for the tremendous effort in advocating for gender equality in decision making.

The cultural organization STADTWERKSTATT Linz arranged together with partners from development cooperations, art and science, the international festival TREFFPUNKT AFRIKA.  The 2010 Festival which took place from 20th to 22nd May 2010 in Linz Austria, was partly held at a ship (the MS Negrelli) on the bank of the river Danube and focused on a two-day symposium with topics on "African-European developments" and "African Networks".

ACFODE was privileged to attend the Women in Politics Conference at Speke Resort Munyonyo. ACFODE is celebrating its Slver Jubilee this year and one of its core areas is Advocacy for Women's Effective Participation in Politics and Decision Making.

In her address, Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf congratulated Uganda for the progress on women's issues and cautions all of us as the general elections draw near. She mentioned the dire state at which Liberia was when she was elected and marked a positive contribution for the years ahead. In an interesting twist, we learnt that Her Excellency suffered a lot of rigging during the electoral process of Liberia at the time and even had to change parties. Her resilience paid off.

Action for Development (ACFODE) speaks out against Child Labour. Joining the passionate voices of International Labour Organization (ILO) and other organizations on World Day Against Child Labour, 11 June 2010, ACFODE strongly condemns any form of child labour. It is a gross violation of their rights. Working closely at the grassroots, ACFODE understands the difficulty of sensitizing and raising awareness at that level but chooses to continue advocating for the rights of all children, and those of women.

Celebrating 25 years this year, ACFODE emphasizes the importance of education for children and protection against all forms of violence. This Silver Jubilee Celebrations will also be a platform for envisioning ways of unmasking the opportunities for women and girls for a better future for everyone.