Information, experiences, ideas, strategies/Informations, experiences, idees, strategies.

• Position: About femnet/Informations generales sure FEMNET

The African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) was set up in 1988 to share information, experiences, ideas and strategies among African women's non-governmental organisations through communications, networking, training and advocacy so as to advance women's development, equality and other women's human rights in Africa.

FEMNET aims to strengthen the role and contribution of African NGOs focusing on women's development, equality and other human rights. It also aims to provide an infrastructure for and a channel through which these NGOs can reach one another and share information, experiences and strategies so as to improve their input into women's development, equality and other women's human rights in Africa.

FEMNET is governed by a Constitution and the following governance and administrative structure:

* national focal points in African countries whose representatives attend a tri-annual programming conference and General Assembly;

* an elected 12 member Executive Board which includes two Board members per sub-region and a Chairperson. In addition, there are two Ex-Officio Board members (immediate past Chairperson and the Executive Director);

* an elected six member Board of Trustees to oversee FEMNET's assets; and

* a Secretariat which implements FEMNET's programmes and is headed by an Executive Director.

FEMNET's specific objectives include:

* exchanging experiences in planning, implementing and evaluating women's programmes and projects through interaction with NGOs, development agencies and relevant regional and international intergovernmental bodies;

* promoting women's activities in Africa through the strengthening of existing organisations and the establishment of new ones as may be needed;

* playing vanguard and catalytic roles in the treatment of feminist issues which cannot be handled by government gender mechanisms due to the threat that such issues pose to patriarchal states;

* promoting the better utilisation of African women's NGOs by development agencies and regional and international intergovernmental organisations such as the AU and the various UN agencies;

* mobilising resources for African women's development, equality and other women's human rights by local, regional and international sources; and enabling collective action by African women's movements in order to tackle regional gender issues.

Since its inception in 1988, FEMNET has played a leadership role for African women's NGOs at regional and...