UNESCO Dar Es Salaam Newsletter

July—September 2015 Issue

Education UNESCO supports Tanzania with the

Education Sector Analysis through

learning by doing

Empowering out of school young mothers

through Education

UNESCO hands over the reviewed ICT

Competency Standards for Teachers in

Tanzania

Natural Sciences East Usambara Biosphere Reserve

population learn to grow mushrooms

Tanzania hosts international workshop to

address artisanal and small-scale mining

challenges in Sub-Saharan African

countries

Culture Leather craft training benefits Maasai

women

Communication and

Information Promoting financial management and

entrepreneurship for women through

radio: Sengerema testimony

The nation vows to promote tolerance and

harmony on the International Day of

Peace

Multi-Sectorial

Interventions From circumciser to community educator

Responsiveness of socio-cultural

approach in protecting PWA: The case of

a traditional healer

UNESCO Representative joins UN,

government and development partners in

celebrating 70 Years of UN by planting

trees in Kilimanjaro,

Mobilizing religious leaders to accelerate

implementation to end the AIDS epidemic

by 2030 in Eastern and Southern Africa

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Message From the Head of Office, UNESCO Dar es Salaam

Dear Friends, colleagues and

partners,

Quarter 3 at the UNESCO Dar es

Salaam Office was a very busy

time:

The support for electoral and

civic education was

complemented with the

launching of a peace campaign

during International Peace Day

(21 September).

At the same time, the socio-

cultural approach used for

mobilization of the communities for the protection of People with Albinism is

already paying off, as reported by one of the Traditional healers who was able to

help the police to arrest a trafficker in human body parts.

Maasai girls may start breathing at peace as traditional circumciser shuns away

Female Genital Mutilation practice and joins UNESCO as ambassador against

those practices. And what about Maasai illiterate women learning about tanning

and leather processing, opening new pathways for their socio-economic

empowerment and contribute to a richer creative industry in the country?

The successful review of the ICTs Competences of Teachers framework is also a

step forward towards the completion of the first teachers Competences Framework

Tanzania is starting designing.

And in Natural Sciences, population of the East Usambara Biosphere Reserve grow

and taste mushrooms for the first time, discovering a new green avenue for income

generation that goes hand in hand with the forest and bio-diversity conservation.

And there is more that we hope you will enjoy reading in this 3rd Edition of the

UNESCO Dar es Salaam Newsletter. We hope for feedback to enrich our

programme and actions.

Kind regards,

Zulmira Rodrigues

UNESCO Dar es Salaam Head of Office and Country Representative

Ms. Zulmira Rodrigues, UNESCO Dar es Salaam Head of

Office and Country Representative

2

UNESCO supports Tanzania with the

Education Sector Analysis through

learning by doing

Under the overall coordination of the UNESCO Dar

es Salaam Office and the technical leadership of the

UNESCO International Institute for Education

Planning (IIEP) the quarter started with a workshop

for consolidation of the Education Sector Analysis

that incorporated inputs emanating from stakeholders

consultative meetings on the key sub-sectors

preliminary findings from previous undertakings.

The activity is part of a key exercise entrusted to

UNESCO by the Ministry of Education and

Vocational Training (MoEVT) and the Development

Partners in Education in Tanzania, whereby the

Education Sector Analysis will lead to the

development of the new Education Sector

Development Plan.

This exercise, initiated in April 2015, takes a

capacity building approach, whereby 27 national

experts from three education assigned ministries

(Ministry of Education and Vocational Training,

Prime Minister’s Office-Regional Administration

and Local Government, and Ministry for Community

Development, Gender and Children) work hand in

hand with UNESCO experts from the key Education

Institutes, IIEP, the UNESCO Institute of Life Long

Learning (UIL) and the UNESCO Institute of

Statistics (UIS). The learning by doing approach has

so far enabled a better understanding on

identification of quality data and information to feed

the analysis as well as the introduction of the notion

of building up a simulation model that will enable a

more accurate and realistic planning.

The workshop was attended by the Deputy Director

of IIEP, indicating the high level of importance

UNESCO places in this endeavour.

Some members of the Core Team in one of the sessions

Ed

uca

tion

149 out of the originally targeted 220 teenage

mothers have seen a dream came through when after

2.5 years of investment they finally graduated.

Funded by the UNESCO/Japanese Funds-in-Trust,

the project “Provision of alternative learning

opportunities for adolescent girls forced out of

school due to teenage pregnancies” was

implemented by the Institute of Adult Education

(IAE) and supervised by the UNESCO Dar es

Salaam Office. The programme enabled the

establishment of 10 training centres in Shinyanga,

Kahama and Msalala Districts, where drop out of

girls in secondary education due to unplanned

pregnancy is rampant. The training consisted of two

separate courses: the first was meant to strengthen

the girls foundation abilities by reinforcing their

literacy and numeracy skills, added by

entrepreneurial and life skills development. The

second part consisted of vocational training in

different trades identified by the learners: tailoring

and needlework, batik making and tie & dye, soap

making, production of petroleum jelly as well as

cookery.

Empowering out of school young mothers through second chance

education

Dr. Noriko Tanaka buying batik from teenage mothers in

Segese during the graduation ceremony

3

Besides accomplishing the training and having

acquired their certificates, the young mothers will

now enrol in a 2 years Open and Distance Learning

(ODL) programme offered by IAE, after which the

learners will undertake a qualifying test to allow

them to take Form IV national exams. Attainment

of the Form IV exams, will enable them re-enter the

formal education system, if they so wish and hence

realise their educational dreams. The Ministry of

Education and Vocational Training of Tanzania

Mainland, decided to set up this programme after

the great results of the UNESCO JFIT project.

In addition, district authorities, inspired by the

success of the programme are linking the newly

graduates with micro finance services, supporting

the young mothers in the further development of

small businesses and generation of income to

sustain themselves and their children.

The graduation ceremony took place in August

2015 and was attended by the Director of Non

Formal and Adult Education of the MoEVT, Mr.

Salum Mnjagila, the representative of the

Ambassador of Japan, Dr. Noriko Tanaka, the

Director of the IAE, Dr. Fidelis Mafumiko, and

Regional and District authorities, who all expressed

their appreciation for the substantial results of this

project.

The project is already informing policy formulation

by the government in support of re-entry of drop out

girls into the education system.

One of the young mothers who graduated from the program

proudly displaying her certificate

Empowering out of school young mothers through second chance education

Some of the graduated teenage mothers with their children during the graduation ceremony in Iselemagazi, Shinyanga

4

UNESCO hands over the reviewed

ICT Competency Standards for

Teachers in Tanzania

The reviewed ICT Competency Standards for

Teachers was presented and handed over to the

Ministry of Education and Vocational Training

(MoEVT) on the 10th September 2015. In this event

the Head of Office and Representative for UNESCO

Dar es Salaam Office, Ms Zulmira Rodrigues

submitted the document to the Tanzania

Commissioner of Education, Professor Eustella

Bhalalusesa. Witnessing the event were Professor Liu

Yun, First Secretary of the Embassy of China in

Tanzania, representing the Ambassador of the

People’s Republic of China, high level officials from

Tanzania Institute of Education, the National

Commission for UNESCO Secretary General as well

as other officials from MoEVT and the media.

The ICT Competency Standards for Teachers defines

the competency outcomes, and the supporting

knowledge and skills that are needed to utilize ICT in

performing the job roles related to teaching. It

provides the performance indicators to evaluate the

level of knowledge and competence of teacher to

apply ICT in the educational setting. Specifically, the

set of competencies aims to prepare teachers to

become users of various ICTs to help both the

students and enable them benefit from the technology.

The review process took place under UNESCO’s

guidance, involving specifically the UNESCO

Regional Advisor of Communication and Information

in the Nairobi Office and the UNESCO Dar Es

Salaam CFIT Project Officer, working together with a

review team from the MoEVT.

As stated by the Education Commissioner, this

document, aligned with UNESCO ICTs Competency

Framework, forms and important step towards the

formulation of the entire competency framework for

teachers standards in the country.

This exercise was promoted within the context of the

UNESCO funded Chinese Funds-in-Trust (CFIT)

Project that aims to promote Teachers Education in

Tanzania through ICT innovation. The Project will

further support the validation of the ICT-CSTT in

Tanzania to ensure integration of the Standards in

teaching and learning Science and Mathematics

subjects and improve the delivery of hard to teach

concepts.

UNESCO Dar es Salaam HoO Ms Zulmira Rodrigues handing over the

reviewed ICT Competency to Tanzania Commissioner of Education, Professor

Eustella Bhalalusesa

Members of the review team in a group photo with Ms Zulmira Rodrigues

and Professor Eustella Bhalalusesa during the ceremony

5

East Usambara Biosphere Reserve

population learn to grow

mushrooms

On September 19th, 2015, women of East

Usambara harvested their first mushrooms, one

month after their technical training in mushroom

farming.

Mushroom farming is one of the new alternative

livelihoods that UNESCO is promoting in the

Biosphere Reserves as a means of supporting the

communities to undertake green businesses that

sustain the bio diversity of the East Usambara

Biosphere Reserve (EUBR).

The training encompassed the building of locally

made shelters, the seeding and later the harvesting

and packaging of the mushrooms, ensuring direct

links to the market and farmers associations, while

providing entrepreneurial training and developing

systems of revolving funds; enhanced the capacity

of the farmers in managing their own businesses,

in developing self-financing mechanisms and in

making use of the benefits of scale.

During the training, they did not only learn how to

grow mushrooms, but also how to cook them, as

mushrooms were prepared for lunch after the first

harvest. Some of the trainees tasted Oyster

Mushrooms for the first time in their lives, and

were very pleased.

During the revolving fund training, Ben

Mwambele of the ILO supported association of

Start and Improve Your Business Association

(SIYB), asked the trainees:

“Today, UNESCO Dar es Salaam and KOICA are

here to help you, but how about tomorrow? If we

keep waiting for the help from government and

foreign donors, and meanwhile do nothing, all we

can expect is poverty.”

This was followed by a long and heavy silence.

The UNESCO Dar es Salaam Office representative

asked the beneficiaries. “Do you think you are

poor?”

“Yes.” All the trainees answered.

“Just look around yourselves. Look at the forest,

land, water, food and this weather. You have never

been poor. You are rich. UNESCO is not here to

bring you money, but it to provide you with skills

to make better use of your own resources and value

what you already have”

In the second day of the training, the trainees, who

on the first day complained that there was no per

diem provided, even brought their neighbours to

the class. The training benefited around 700

participants, grouped in 56 groups. A 70 years old

retired soldier, Mr. Humford from Kuze explained:

“My entire life, I have never thought about how I

can develop my business by myself. Today, I feel

like I was re-born with new ideas and

possibilities”.

With this approach, UNESCO Dar es Salaam

expects to see many more such positive changes

and results.

Na

tura

l S

cien

ces

UNESCO Dar es Salaam HoO, Ms Zulmira Rodrigues receiving a

pack of mushrooms grown in EUBR from Myoung Su Ko, UNESCO

project officer. Witnessing are Jennifer and Nancy, colleagues

from the UNESCO Dar es Salaam Office

A group of beneficiaries in Zirai village, East Usambara

purchasing shares after the revolving fund training

6

Tanzania hosts an international

workshop to address Artisanal and

Small-Scale Mining (ASM) Sector

formalisation challenges in Sub-

Saharan African countries

18 African countries representative’s, NGOs and

academia have benefitted from a four-day’ workshop

organized by the UNESCO Nairobi Office on

Formalization of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in

Eastern and Southern Africa (ASM).

The workshop took place from 2 - 5 September 2015

in Arusha, aimed at improving the contribution of

ASM to the formal economy and rally support from

government authorities to provide incentives to

improve the artisanal mining sector, improving the

working conditions for better productivity, safety and

environmental care.

Complementary to the workshop, the participants

visited two Tanzanite mining sites in Arusha where

they could observe part of the key messages of the

meeting in real life, e.g. the low status of the mining

safety due to lack of protective gears, the considerable

waste of minerals due to low technology levels of

production and disorderly organized loads of row

excavated mineral materials which ultimately may

have a negative impact on the environment and

ecosystems.

It is expected that the workshop results will inform

policy makers and the public on the way forward for

the ASM sector in Sub-Saharan African countries in

order to increase productivity and efficiency in the

mineral sector. The meeting was possible thanks to the

generous financial contribution from the Swedish

International Development Agency (SIDA).

Piles of debris around the mining sites in Mererani, Arusha

East Usambara Biosphere Reserve population learn to grow mushrooms

Empowering people through knowledge acquisition, provides the hope and possibilities to people; it

goes beyond the proverbial say “Do not provide me

with the but with the fishing rod, it goes further at it

is indeed about strengthening people capacities…

even if it means growing mushrooms!

The mushroom farming activities took place under

UNESCO’s Green Economy in Biosphere Reserves

(GEBR) project funded by Korea International

Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The project has been

implemented since November, 2013, focusing on five

green business modalities; spice farming, beekeeping,

mushroom farming, fish farming and butterfly

farming. The training benefited around 700

participants, grouped in 56 groups.

A newly constructed mushroom shelter in East Usambara

Biosphere Reserve

7

Leather craft training benefits

Maasai women

Ms Langiishu, age 17, a mother of one and a fourth

wife, is one of the 31 women attending leather craft

training in creativity and innovation in Ololosokwan

Village in Serengeti. Though illiterate, she is very

optimistic and happy of her newly acquired skills and

knowledge. She said shyly, with a wide smile that

“she will be able to send her child to school while

earning an income”. Her dream is to form a leather

craft enterprise group with other young mother’s

from her ward.

In the outskirts of Ololosokwan Village in Serengeti

National Park; it is the exquisite group of women

from five wards attending leather training, who take

the centre stage. Most of the village men stopped by

the training centre, curious to know what the women

are learning. As tourists get mesmerized seeing

Maasai women wrapped in their bright traditional

outfit learning to sew for the first time.

Leather craft training is one of UNESCO Dar es

Salaam Office initiatives to promote alternative

livelihood and income opportunities to the Maasai

community through the Community Art Space

Project. The main objective of the program is to

ensure that Maasai young girls and women have the

opportunity to engage in economic activities to

improve their quality of life, obtain vocational

knowledge and skills needed for their development in

becoming economically independent. The training

also provides Maasai community with appropriate

training to remould and sharpen with a range of skills

associated with entrepreneurship.

In Maasai land, women are faced with implausible

responsibilities of providing for their families,

livestock and themselves. Unfortunately, their low

status in their societies does not allow them to own

cattle, hence making them completely dependent on

their husbands. Moreover, the effect of climate

change continues to pose severe responsibilities to

already exhausted women.

The leather craft training can make sustainable use of

Maasai community cultural and natural resources,

empower the women by developing their skills and

improve their access to the tourism market and

contribute economically and socially to their families

instead of depending solely on their husbands’

livelihoods.

The CAS project is co-funded by the EU Delegation

in Dar es Salaam.

Cu

ltu

re

Sewing star, Ms Laangiishu, (first right) working on a machine

while others are looking

Maasai women busy sewing

Some of the products produced by the Maasai women

A Maasai woman lining the lanes

8

Promoting financial management

and entrepreneurship through local

radios benefits women: Sengerema

testimony

Rosemary Mattu is among community members

who have benefited from financial management

and entrepreneurship trainings through local

radios given by UNESCO under the ICT funded

project by the Swedish International Development

Agency.

The trainings aimed to give community radios

capabilities to eliminate the dependence on

financing and economic independence.

‘My status as a woman entrepreneur has improved

a lot after taking part in the trainings, my

businesses have improved and expanded, I am

very proud of it’’, said Rosemary Matu Directors

and owner of Rosemary Day Care Nursery School

in Sengerema, Mwanza.

Apart from other businesses, she has established a

kindergarten given the lack of early childhood

care facilities in rural areas. Rosemary, who

serves as Chair of Sengerema Telecentre Board,

says the kindergarten has in addition created five

jobs: two female teachers, one cook (a widow), a

driver and watchman (males). “We are quite

happy because we get job satisfaction, we are

provided with transport to and from work, lunch

and a good pay,” said a newly employed female

teacher at St. Rosemary Nursery Day Care Centre

which has 40 children.

The Day Care Centre also contributes to

Sengerema Telecentre income through community

radio promotional adverts at a minimal rate of

TZS 20,000.00 to 30,000.00 prime time. Adverts

have attracted more children to join the

kindergarten reaching 40 from six children since

2012. Another plan to benefit the Telecentre is

introduction of computer classes for the children.

Sengerema Community Radio is one of the nine

community radios supported by UNESCO and

the first local radio in Tanzania managed by

women. It has always placed the women

development agenda at the forefront.

Com

mu

nic

ati

on

& I

nfo

rmati

on

Rosemary Mattu, Directress of Rosemary Day Care Nursery

School in Sengerema

Children in a classroom at Rosemary Day Care Nursery

School

9

A nationwide vow to promote

tolerance and harmony on the

International Day of Peace

As the world marked International Day of Peace on 21

September 2015, UNESCO, Inter-Religious Council

for Peace in Tanzania (IRCPT), national leaders and

local leaders in Mwanza gathered at Nyanza Primary

School to discuss peace building measures in

Tanzania in the run up to the elections.

The one-day event, co-hosted by UNESCO and

IRCPT, was the first of its kind in Mwanza, a region

where electoral conflicts are prone to occur. Key

stakeholders graced the event, including the Registrar

of Political Parties, the Islamic religious leader of

Mwanza Region, the Chairperson of the Association

of Bishops, Regional Commissioner, Regional Police

Commander, media representatives (TV, print media

and community radios) as well as representatives

from women, youth groups and people with

disabilities.

The event enabled an open dialogue on the

importance of peace, especially in the context of the

upcoming general elections. While religious leaders

called upon keeping the long-cherished tradition of

peace in Tanzania, they also pleaded for politicians to

refrain from using slogans that could divide the

country. Young people on their side called for more

investment on peace education and capacity building

trainings for the youth, stating that, “Many conflicts

can be mitigated in this way. In addition they also

requested the Police Commander support to advocate

for police to restrain resorting to violence as this could

escalate conflicts. Media representatives as the

Executive Director of Union of Tanzania Press Clubs

of Mwanza reflected upon the malpractices among

certain media personnel who take political bribery and

urged the media to adopt an ethical code of conduct in

their electoral reporting.

The Registrar of Political Parties, Judge Francis

Mutungi, congratulated the organizers for choosing a

school for this peace advocacy, referring in his speech

that indeed it is in the minds of young children where

the seeds of peace need to be planted.

The ceremony was closed with a petition for peace,

signed by the more than 150 persons present, followed

by an endearing plea of a young girl and boy

requesting the grownups to ensure that they may grow

up in peace.

The event was widely broadcasted with the attendance

of eight community radios, five nationwide

newspapers, as well as ITV and Star TV who ensured

broad national broadcasting featuring the event twice

on the 21st September. Furthermore, all 28 DEP

participating radios, under COMNETA, received and

broadcasted news features on the Celebration of

International Day of Peace in Mwanza throughout

Tanzania.

International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by

the United Nations to strengthen the ideals of peace.

The meeting held in Mwanza was part of the

worldwide commemorations in Tanzania that aimed

to increase public awareness of peace.

Here is the like to a peace video from UNESCO Dar

es Salaam office: https://www.facebook.com/

unescodar/videos/429846603806792/

Primary school students performing during the celebrations in

Mwanza

The Registrar of Political Parties, Judge Francis Mutungi speaking

during the event

10

From circumciser “ngariba” to community

educator: Socio-cultural approach has

transformed a senior female genital

circumciser to a community SRH educator

“UNESCO has changed my life; now people who will

be visiting me will benefit from my new role as an

educator. Now I am able to help and communicate

information related to sexual and reproductive health

including better way of passing our young girls to

adulthood rather than mutilating them”, said

Norkiramati Kurandai (a senior ngariba) while

attending socio-cultural workshop in Ngorongoro,

September 2015.

Norkiramati Kurandai is a renowned and senior ngariba

in Ngorongoro district. She started her work as

“ngariba” in 1998. The first person to mutilate was her

own child aged 15 years. At the age of 53 years,

Norkiramati has performed FGM to a large number of

girls in her community. Speaking during the workshop

Norkiramati said “I cannot remember correctly the

number of girls whom I mutilated but it is more than

100”.

“I got information about UNESCO while attempting to

perform FGM to one of the girls in our community, a

girl escaped to Ngorongoro where she met with

UNESCO staff and other community leaders”, said

Norkiramati. She said they later got information about

UNESCO mission in supporting communities to

change bad cultural practices related to a girl child.

Since she is also a traditional midwife, “I decided to

follow-up on UNESCO’s work through one of my

neighbours who underwent the UNESCO training and

told me about health risks associated with female

genital mutilation. The sessions have been very useful

to me and now I declare to you all that I will not

perform FGM again but use my position as midwife to

educate fellow “ngaribas” and those who will be

visiting or consulting me for service”, said Norkiramati.

Since May 2015, UNESCO Dar, under the direct

leadership of the UNESCO Head of Office, has been

engaging actively in supporting community

engagement for the promotion and improvement of

sexual and reproductive health status of adolescents and

young girls in Ngorongoro. UNESCO’s socio-cultural

approach aims at strengthening existing social and

cultural structures and make effective use of traditional

leaders, tradition healers, religious leaders, women

groups and experts to address sexual and reproductive

health challenges that are facing young girls and

women within the Masaai communities in Ngorongoro

district. The program has been increasingly gaining

support from the communities whereby senior Masaai

traditional leaders, respected traditional healers,

religious leaders and currently “ngariba” have joined

the initiative and serve as community educators after

receiving training on SRH.

UNESCO’s approach encourages traditional leaders to

use their platform to educate people on risks associated

with FGM and teenage pregnancies.

Mu

lti-

Sec

tori

al

Inte

rven

tion

s

Norkiramati Kurandai, a former senior ngariba in Ngorongoro

Norkiramati (back right) participating in a group discussion

during socio-cultural workshop in Ngorongoro, September 2015

11

Responsiveness of socio-cultural approach

in protecting PWA: The case of a

traditional healer

The strength of the socio-cultural approach in taking

action against the killings, violence, and abuse of

people with albinism is demonstrated by a traditional

healer actions which lead to the arrest of a dealer in

trading of body parts of people with albinism.

Nyanda Bangili, a traditional healer, says he managed

to arrest the culprit while he was in his charm

activities when an unknown person approached him

and asked whether he was interested to by the

ingredients from him. "The man came; he had hair and

bones of people with albinism and asked me if I was

interested to buy them, I told him yes. “

After negotiating the deal Nyanda Bangili told his

client that he would buy the ingredients and he would

call his brother to bring money. Instead of

communicating to this brother, the traditional healer

had been in contact with the village chairman, who

without delay phoned the police, who arrived at the

scene and arrested the suspect.

His courageous initiative was the direct a result of

trainings undertaken by UNESCO in the village of

Nyakasungwa, Sengerema District to engage the

community in the protection of people with albinism

against violence. In the training, community members

from various levels were involved and came up with a

plan for implementing in a collaborative manner to

prevent, protect and take action against violence,

abuse and discrimination of people with albinism.

Similar trainings were also conducted in Shinyanga,

Mwanza and Bariadi, areas of reported high

incidences of atrocities.

Among the measures against the practices is to

identify those involved, help in apprehending

criminals involved in murder, violence, abuse and

bring them to justice, to testify in court and monitor

the proceedings. The community commended the

traditional healer saying it is the power of socio-

cultural approach in protecting PWA, as well as the

commitment and responsiveness of the trainings

organized by UNESCO that enabled persecution.

A strong message has been sent throughout Tanzania

that discrimination and unlawful practices towards

people with albinism are taken seriously. However, is

has been noticed that the crimes are now spreading to

neighbouring countries as the protection in Tanzania

yields results, indicating that efforts to safeguard

people with albinism need to continue also at a

regional level, and with open inter-state dialogue.

Nyanda Bangili, a traditional healer in Sengerema District

A social-cultural workshop organized by UNESCO Dar es

Salaam in the village of Nyakasungwa, Sengerema District

12

UNESCO Representative joins UN,

government and development partners in

celebrating 70 Years of UN by planting

trees in Kilimanjaro, one of the World

Heritage Sites

On the 19th of August 2015, UNESCO Dar es

Salaam Head of Office and Country Representative

Ms. Zulmira Rodrigues, joined the UN Resident

Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Mr

Alvaro Rodriguez, UNFPA Representative Dr.

Natalia Kanem, the then Acting Country Director

UNDP, Mr. Titus Osundina, Government officials,

Development Partners, UN staff members and the

community around Kilimanjaro in a tree planting

ceremony at Maruwa Village on the slopes of Mount

Kilimanjaro in an effort to protect the mountain that

has been heavily affected by climate change.

Scientific studies shows that the snows of Mount

Kilimanjaro may soon be falling on bare ground as

the mountain ice cap is melting at a faster pace than

at any time over the past 100 years, due largely to

climate change.

The ceremony was graced by Minister of State Mr.

Binilith Mahenge, representing the Vice President’s

Office (Environment) and included the planting of

over 2000 trees, sending an important message to the

community around the mountain on the importance

of reforestation.

Addressing the participants the Manager of the

Kilimanjaro World Heritage Site reminded all that

the preservation of the forest started with UNESCO’s

nomination of the National site to World Heritage in

1987. In that time the site comprised only the

mountain above the tree line and six forest corridors

stretching down through the montane forest belt. The

main pressures affected mostly the forest reserve

which acted as a buffer zone to the park. Following

the 2005 extension, the park now includes more

areas of montane forest. Current threats to the World

Heritage Site include increasing and

cumulative stress from sources such as adjacent land

uses, downstream effects of air and water pollution,

invasive species, fire and climate change. The

glaciers of the property are vulnerable to retreat, and

are cited as a feature of particular vulnerability to

global climate change.

The tree planting ceremony was in that sense a very

symbolic gesture for reminding the nation on the

importance of preservation of the environment, hence

quite representative for the goals for which the UN

stands for.

Children of today investing in the green planet of tomorrow

Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and a World

Heritage Site ©WHC

13

Mobilizing religious leaders to accelerate

implementation to end the AIDS epidemic by

2030 in Eastern and Southern Africa

Over 65 Religious Leaders, youth representatives,

representatives from UN Family, Government entities

and other partners from 17 Eastern and Southern Africa

Countries gathered in a high level stakeholder

consultative meeting, in Dar-es-Salaam Tanzania, early

September 2015 to deliberate on their role towards fast

tracking the ending of HIV and AIDS by 2030 and the

implementation of the Eastern and Southern Africa

(ESA) commitment. The meeting organized by UNESCO, UNAIDS and the International Network of Religious

Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV & AIDS (INERELA+), provided an opportunity for religious

leaders to engage in a dialogue. The forum resulted into the development of INERELA+ draft plan of action for

religious leaders on the various strategies to be employed at country level towards mobilizing of the communities

and stakeholders for important goal.

UNESCO Dar Es Salaam Newsletter is published quarterly to highlight the activities of UNESCO in Tanzania.

Contributors: UNESCO Dar es Salaam staff members

Pictures: Zainul Mzige

Design: Leonard Kisenha

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Rev. Mabizela Phumzile, Executive Director for INERELA+ speaking

during the meeting

Participants of the consultative meeting in a group photo at the end of the meeting