Author: Afr-ik430

Young people as agents of change

Young people as agents of change

Those who are disadvantaged and excluded face limitations in their personal development and are unable to unlock their full potential for the benefit of society.

Young people aged between 15 and 35 represent the generation of the future. Yet, they are too often excluded from decision-making processes and bear the heavy burdens of incomplete implementation of social and political rights, misguided investments, and indebted state finances.

At the core of our work is giving young people in southern Africa the opportunity to identify the societal challenges that affect those under 35 the most, and to highlight the areas of strategic importance for their development throughout their lives and for future generations.

We empower young people, as ‘agents of change,’ to engage in creative and innovative youth development, transforming social structures. Additionally, we support initiatives in the education sector that demand and improve access and participation for the disadvantaged.

Active youth engagement for a just and sustainable future

Training opportunities for marginalised youth

Das hölzerne Spielhaus in der Vorschule von Dangwe mit Kindern und Betreuer:innen aufgereiht und in schönsten vielfarbigen Kleidern

Right to early childhood support for all

Women’s rights and gender equality

Women’s rights and gender equality

Most people face gender-specific disadvantages due to the persistence of patriarchal structures in many parts of the world, including southern Africa, which adversely affect gender equality.

We enable local actors in souther Africa to analyse these structures, highlight their negative impacts, and identify target groups and strategies for achieving greater gender equality.

Our focus is on empowering girls and women within their communities, so they can assert their rights, act independently, and drive a sustainable transformation of gender roles. To achieve this, we support active citizens and foster collaboration among activists, informed target groups, communities, and institutions.

Through this programme area, fepa contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality. We work to ensure that gender equality and the rights of girls and women are realised. Additionally, we integrate gender equality as a cross-cutting issue across all our activities.

Stop gegen geschlechterspezifische Gewalt

Women’s rights and gender justice: Activism at the grass roots

Smart Girls Nest: Safe space for change and empowerment

Clean Girl: With liquid soaps against early marriage

Access to land and agroecology

Access to land and agroecology

fepa helps local communities secure access to land, especially in politically or legally unstable situations.

We empower workers and those dependent on the land to assert their needs, concerns, and rights. Additionally, we promote resource-efficient production that improves the livelihoods of everyone who relies on the land.

Agriculture and ecological turnaround: Future thanks to agroecology

Ein älteres Paar Landarbeiter:innen sitzt im Inneren ihres Hauses. Der Mann schaut uns direkt an. Die Wände scheinen russgeschwärzt, man sieht Armut aber auch Liebe zum Heim.

Farm workers overcome marginalisation through self-help

Internal Controls Committee

Internal Controls Committee

The Internal Controls Committee, consisting of Blanca Steinmann and Herbert Schmid, accompanies fepa on its journey. They review fepa’s work, identify critical points, and work together with fepa to develop possible solutions.

Blanca Steinmann

Luzern

Blanca Steinmann is actively involved with the Internal Controls Committee of fepa and leads the Reading Mentorship project for the city of Lucerne, supporting around 80 children. She began her career as a primary school teacher, spending ten years teaching in the canton of Lucerne and at the Ecole d’Humanité in Hasliberg. While studying communication and social anthropology at the University of Zurich, she traveled to Namibia and South Africa, where she developed an interest in the development of southern Africa. After graduating, she worked at Heks in Zurich on youth projects in Asia and a small reconstruction program in Mozambique following the 2000 cyclone. She then spent eleven years with Fastenopfer in Lucerne, working on a savings group program in Madagascar. In her free time, she enjoys meeting friends, family, or her book club, hiking, swimming in the lake, and practicing Eastern European folk dances.

Herbert Schmid

Biel

Herbert has been part of fepa since 2018 and serves on the Internal Controls Committee. An economist by training, he brings extensive experience in international cooperation. Before retiring, he spent 30 years working for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and, prior to that, for the Ministry of Agriculture in Mozambique. He coordinated Swiss development programs across three continents (Mozambique, South Africa, Macedonia, and Cuba) and remains convinced that he couldn’t have chosen a more exciting career path. In his free time, he stubbornly pursues learning Arabic, sings in a classical choir, organizes public philosophical discussions with friends, and indulges his passions for reading and cooking.

fepa journal no 1 2024 and annual report 2023

fepa journal no 1 2024 and annual report 2023

The journal is here. It also contains an annual report. Due to workload at the moment we can only provide a deepl AI translation with a number of issues.

But at least you get access to the key information on recent work with young people in South Africa and our annual report.

We will provide a better version in July.

the German original can be found here.

Artist Hope Masike

Hope Masike

Sängerin und Poetin Hope Masike im Porträt, schwarz-weiss Foto

Masike is known for her modern and unique Afrofusion style. She is called “The princess of Mbira” because of her fiery voice and mbira sounds. She is a singer-songwriter as well as a dancer, a visual artist, an advocate for education and women, and also a poet.

In her poems, she addresses the question of when the oppression of women began and how society can break away from this notion.

Find Masike online on her Webseite or on Instagram and Twitter.

artist jeremy david ambrose kupfuwa

Jeremy David Ambrose Kupfuwa

Kupfuwa, who is now 22 years old, takes photographs under the name “Remy shoots”. He wants to tell stories with his pictures. The quality of his camera is not important to him. In 2019, he was nominated for the youth competition of the Sony World Photography Award.

Remy’s path led him to Johannesburg, where he is pursuing his dream career as a photographer and youth advocate.

Find Kupfuwa on Social Media: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram.

Artist Tamary Kudita

Tamary Kudita

Kudita was the first female photographer from Africa to win the Sony World Photography Award in 2021. She won the award with her series “African Victorian”, in which she addresses her mixed heritage. In her work, she focuses on “bodies that have been overlooked until now”.

She wants to encourage others to challenge themselves and try new things.

Find Tamary Kudita online on Instagram.

Artist Rachael Ncube

Rachael “Voko” Ncube

Poetin, Spokenword-Künstlerin, schwarz-weiss Foto

Ncube is a multi-award winning poet and spoken word artist. With her poems, she fights against gender-based violence and the oppression of women.

Her poem “Betrayal” addresses femicide against international women environmental activists.

Find Ncube online on Facebook.