ADDIS ABABA: The 21st Session of the GIMAC – Gender is my Agenda Campaign – will be held in Addis Ababa on 22 and 23 January 2013 starting at the United Nations Conference Center (UNCC). GIMAC hosts special guests such as Hon. Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland and President of the Mary Robinson Foundation-Climate Justice (MRFCJ), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission and Ms. Zainab Bangura, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. About a hundred African women leaders are attending the 21st session of GIMAC to address the theme “The Role of Women in Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance." Other important topics shall focus on women, peace and security and the role of women in agriculture. The conference will hear the experiences of women from countries in conflict like Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic. The GIMAC is a platform coordinated by the NGO, Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), and consisting of more than 55 women's organizations from civil society across the continent. Since 2005, the GIMAC meets twice a year on the sidelines of the Summit of Heads of States and Governments of the African Union to defend the rights of women and monitor the implementation by States of the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA). A press conference will be held January 23, 2013 at 16:00 in the Press Room of the African Union with Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Hon. Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland and Mrs. Bineta Diop, President of Femmes Africa Solidarité. BN
