25th African Union Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa |19 June 2015

Gender equality and women empowerment

The Seychelles government has always believed in achieving gender equality and women empowerment.
Winning the ‘Gender Parity Award’ at the 25th African Union Summit held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, is testimony of the importance the Seychelles government attaches to women development and recognition of the country’s efforts to close existing shortfalls through significantly increased investment.

Seychelles was ranked first in Africa for the gender sub-category in the 2014 Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which rated 52 African countries on eight different indicators including gender equality, gender balance in education, women's participation in the labour force, women in parliament, among others.

The award for gender parity presented at the AU summit is in recognition of Seychelles’ efforts to actively promote gender equality and empower women and girls. And this, in different sectors, namely government, health, education, legislature, business, among others.

President James Michel, who led the country’s delegation at the summit, described the recognition as an “opportunity to take stock of what we have done and move forward to do better still to make Africa progress.”

The summit was held under the theme ‘Year of Women Empowerment and Development Towards Africa Agenda 2063’.
Mr Michel explained that this year's theme highlights the importance of empowering women in Africa. He stated that women are a driving force on the continent, that when given the chance, they can bring a lot of transformation.

"It is a theme that is not only of great interest to Seychelles but it also gave the possibility for Seychelles to share with all members of the African Union our success, what we have achieved and we also have some very good examples of what we have done and it was an opportunity for Seychelles to share it with other members of the Union, because we believe in women empowerment, we've done it and we are doing it. We have achieved success, we have achieved a lot by empowering our women and girls in education, health, shelter, development in general and also by giving opportunities to different girls and women of Seychelles for them to move forward and we have seen positive results," said President Michel in an interview with the Seychelles media in Johannesburg.

When he addressed his fellow African leaders, President Michel said: “Women will change Africa. Women will make Africa better. We cannot have economic development, or economic integration, without the active participation of women.”

He said “for women to change Africa we must remove the barriers that stand in their way”.
“It is time we free ourselves from the internal dynamics that are holding us back. Africa cannot stand still; we have to move forward. Indeed, we cannot ignore our culture. But we need to acknowledge that as our societies progress and evolve, so too, does our culture,” said President Michel.

He also said that we must put an end to child marriage, and other cultural practices that are detrimental to women’s development and deny them access to the tools they need.
Education and healthcare are prerequisites, he said.

“We know it because Seychellois women have changed Seychelles. In the spirit of sharing experiences and offering contributions, I am proud to say that in Seychelles, the women empowerment story is a success story. Seychelles has built itself on people-centred development and gender equality is a cornerstone of this philosophy. We cannot have people-centred development if half of the people are discriminated against,” noted Mr Michel.

“With access to education, and maternal healthcare, women have transformed the economic landscape in Seychelles. Beyond the political spheres, where we have strong female representation in our national assembly, we have over 50% of female students in our university, we have women leading the workforce in management positions, and growing in numbers in non-traditional sectors such as our maritime and defence forces, as well as IT and computer sciences, and, when given access to affordable loans, women are demonstrating their entrepreneurship with new and varied enterprises. They are an important pillar of our economy,” added the President.

He explained that “without women, we are trying to build a better Africa with one hand tied behind our back”.
“What would our economic growth be if we put both hands to work? Seychelles would like to call upon fellow member states with a simple challenge – Let’s find out!” said President Michel.
Foreign Affairs and Transport Minister Joël Morgan said “it’s always good to have women next to men” and added that he also feels proud Seychelles has won the gender parity award.
“Women have been surpassing men in Seychelles and we have a lot of women holding key positions in society. This is an admirable feat which we should all be proud of,” Minister Morgan told the Seychelles media in Johannesburg.

Promoting the debt for adaptation swap

Seychelles has commended the African Union for embracing the key priorities of the African Island States as well as the increased involvement of women as key areas of the transformative components of the Agenda 2063.

“These key areas include a strong focus on the development of the Blue Economy within Africa, as an opportunity for all African states; the fight against climate change; the growth and development of tourism; and maritime connectivity sectors as drivers for change and growth. These are all sectors in which women can have an important role to play. But, if we are going to create these opportunities and empower our women and people we need financing,” said President Michel.

He explained that beyond the obvious benefits, the Blue Economy can also open new avenues for innovative financing, particularly for financing marine projects.
Promoting the debt swap mechanism, President Michel said “Seychelles has made headway in this new chapter, whereby our landmark Debt for Adaptation Swap – a proposal for a partial exchange of our debt in return for financing marine action to mitigate against climate change – has been approved by the Paris Club. This has freed up US $30 million of our debt to be used to protect our marine space – our Blue Economy. This landmark financing innovation can provide other African island states and other African countries with a tested model of sustainable financing for development driven initiatives,” said Mr Michel.

The President even proposed the inclusion of this mechanism as part of a financing model in the first ten-year implementation plan.
“We stand ready to work with the African Union on this matter,” said President Michel.

Peace and security

Peace and security are the pillars of world governance and are central to the development and inclusive growth of Africa.
President Michel said in this context, as the chair of the EASF (Eastern African Standby Force), Seychelles will play a lead role in helping to bring about peace and stability in the Eastern African region.

“As a country having a shared interest in peace and security in our region, Seychelles would like to reiterate its commitment to continue enhancing regional cooperation in responding to security threats and ensuring the safety of our seas. Maritime security is our common good and an element of our collective human security.  We therefore welcome the focus on the setting up of a Regional Maritime Security Strategy consistent with Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy 2050,” said President Michel.

Discussions with Dr Zuma

While in South Africa, President Michel also met the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, on the margins of the AU Summit. Their discussions centred on the Blue Economy as well as the inclusion of the concept which Seychelles is actively promoting in the Agenda 2063.

President Michel commended Dr Zuma for her leadership and support shown towards the oceanic agenda, the Blue Economy concept and the importance given to the small island developing states issues.
Both President Michel and Dr Zuma agreed that more should be done to raise awareness in Africa about the potential of the Blue Economy.

"The Blue Economy holds a lot of promise and potential for the development of the African continent. But to achieve its success we must ensure that there's peace and security in Africa, so as to be able to harness its potential. We are setting up an Institute on the Blue Economy which will be part of the University of Seychelles, where both local and international scientists can carry out research and we would also welcome our fellow researchers from Africa,” said President Michel.

The African Union has declared the next 10 years, from 2015 to 2025, Africa’s decade of Seas and Oceans and July 25 as Africa’s Day of the Seas.

Following the summit, President Michel highlighted the importance for the heads of state and government of the African Union to meet and discuss agendas that would help Africa to move forward for the next 50 years.

He said Seychelles has also been able to put forward other points that they feel are important such as tourism, air connectivity, information technology, maritime connectivity and other key sectors that lead to people-centred development agendas.

"Like we have been saying all along, Africa is the continent of the future in terms of its resources, manpower and its capacity to develop and become one with a lot of potential. What is important is that the Union has the conditions that can permit that to happen and this summit has covered all those conditions. It is good to note that in the previous ministerial meetings held before the summit, they have discussed lengthily on those agendas, especially on the first 10-year plan that we will be implementing in a concrete manner in relation to infrastructures, human development, education and other sectors that will bring development towards the Agenda 2063,” said the President.

President Michel noted that for this to happen, Africa will need to have peace, stability which is one of the key components for progress and development, democracy, transparency and accountability.

He said all these are conditions that should make Africa united but he noted that unfortunately some countries on the continent do not yet have those conditions in place.
In relation to the Blue Economy concept and other key agendas, the President said that though there's still more to be done, he feels that the heads of state and government of the African Union are showing the interests and that there's a strong leadership from the AU Secretariat to push forward those agendas.

Meeting Seychellois students

President Michel also met three Seychelles students – Joel Edmond, Wolfgang Germain and Marvin Fanny – who are currently undertaking their studies.  
Edmond is studying public health with the Monarch University, Germain is doing IT application and network with the Monarch University and Marvin Fanny is specialising in pediatric surgery with the University of Pretoria and Steve Biko Academic hospital.

Mr Michel said he feels encouraged when he sees students taking the chance given to them to develop themselves and coming out with good results.
All three students have expressed gratitude to the President and his government for the opportunity given to them and said that they will definitely come back to their country to help in its development.

Two other students who are on the Jj Spirit scholarships could not make it for the meeting due to other commitments.

Compiled by G. G.
Photos: Mervyn Marie