The Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa is excited to invite you to the RISE Africa Action Festival 2021 for a session focused on gender and climate action. The session will be held on Monday, 24 May 2021 at 15h00 CAT.

RISE Africa brings together thinkers, doers and enablers, and promotes art, creative expression and other ways of knowing to Inspire Action for Sustainable Cities. The event is brought together by ICLEI Africa with support from partners and is hosted online from the 24th to the 28th of May 2021.

CoM SSA will be hosting a session in partnership with Network of Locally Elected Women of Africa (REFELA) at RISE Africa, which focuses on gender and climate action. Globally, the impacts of climate change affect women and men differently, and evidence shows that women are disproportionately impacted by the negative effects of climate change, especially on the African continent. It is therefore imperative that climate finance decisions prioritise infrastructure projects that support and promote the upliftment and build the resilience of women in society.

CoM SSA and REFELA acknowledge these challenges and the critical need to promote and accelerate gender-appropriate climate action. By proposing the mainstreaming of gender-inclusivity and climate action into urban policy – and promoting inclusive urban governance – both these initiatives highlight the need to improve gender equality and women empowerment in the operational responses to climate change at the local level. 

CoM SSA, in partnership with REFELA, is organising a high-level event on finance for gender relevant urban climate action in African cities. Join this session to hear experts and political leaders identify gender-relevant actions and solutions to address the urban climate finance gap in African cities. The session will be held on Monday, 24 May 2021 at 15h00 CAT. 

The session will include keynote presentations and solution-orientated expert discussions to define high impact implementable actions in mainstreaming gender solutions for local climate action in Africa . There will be live simultaneous interpretation in English and French.

The focus areas for the session will include:

1. An overview of policy context – current status, process and envisioned targets/outcome in terms of gender-relevant climate actions in cities.
2. Best practices, existing solutions and strategies for guiding climate funds and developing financing mechanisms that favour infrastructure projects that increase gender equality. 
3. An investigation into the feasibility and implementability of proposed funding policies that could facilitate the implementation of gender-responsive climate policies and action.
4. Recommendations on how to further promote and unlock finance for gender relevant actions and solutions. 

The outcome of the dialogue is to develop action-oriented recommendations that will be integrated into the CoM SSA and REFELA initiatives.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mmZL6A-ZR7uJ5W83ZS6wTA?_x_zm_rtaid=B8vYFfh-QC2uV1b5ex6fvQ.1620811484783.e325b3142a605682931e437ef0968e58&_x_zm_rhtaid=879