African Women's Development and Communication Network

FEMNET

Formation	1988
Type	INGO
Purpose	Promote women's development
Location	Nairobi, Kenya
Official language	English, French
Chairperson	Emma Kaliya
Executive Director	Dinah Musindarwezo
Website	www.femnet.co

FEMNET, also called the African Women's Development and Communication Network, is an organization established in 1988 to promote women's development in Africa. FEMNET helps non-government organizations share information and approaches on women's development, equality and other human rights.

FEMNET was originally set up in 1988 by national women's networks to co-ordinate African preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China in 1995. The organization is based in Nairobi, Kenya. FEMNET has worked with the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, the World Conference against Racism and the African Union (AU). Areas of focus with the AU have included the protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council and the New Partnership for African Development.

FEMNET ran its first gender-training workshop in 1990 in Kenya, working with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The workshop helped to train trainers, and FEMNET refined the approach and developed material based on results. FEMNET ran training sessions in the 1993-1999 period in Swaziland, Zambia, the United States and Malawi. They were supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNICEF and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). FEMNET ran Train the Trainers sessions in 2000 for partner organizations in South Africa, Uganda and Ghana. Gender-based trainers have worked in many other countries in Africa.