Keneilwe Sarah Miffie
Johannesburg - Be careful what you wish for, lest it comes true – or so the saying goes.
Last year, in one of my columns, I bemoaned the challenges faced by women in tourism.
Especially the ones in the informal sector that is, women selling fish at the markets in Maputo, Ghana and Senegal – as well as the women selling fruit and vegetables on Route 66 – Zulu Heritage Route (Eshowe/Empangeni) in KwaZulu-Natal.
In that piece I also mentioned my readiness to join the UNWTO Committee so I could put challenges faced by women in Africa on the agenda.
So, you can imagine my excitement to receive an invitation to participate in the virtual Women in Tourism Leadership Africa Committee (WTLA) this year.
My invitation came all the way from Madrid, Spain.
Guess what, we’re all in the same time zone. A big plus for me though because anything tourism related, even if it meant doing it in the early hours of the morning, is fine with me.
The event is aimed at bringing together women tourism leaders and tourism professionals to discuss the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on women working in the tourism sector in Africa and to integrate gender-responsive strategies for the recovery of the sector in the continent.
This is in line with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, along with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG):
1. No Poverty
2. Zero Hunger
3. Good Health and Wellbeing
4. Quality Education
5. Gender Equality
6. Clean Water and Sanitation
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
8. Decent work and Economic Growth
9. Industry Innovation and Infrastructure
10. Reduced Inequalities
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
12. Responsible Consumption and Production
13. Climate Action
14. Life Below Water
15. Life on Land
16. Peace and Justice
17. Partnerships for the goals
The agenda sets out a global framework to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice and fix climate change until 2030.
Tourism has the potential to contribute to all of the above.
All because in Africa, most households are headed by women and girls, where the woman is the breadwinner and the girl child has to look after her siblings – at times resulting in her dropping out of school due to to the fact that she is playing both roles – being a child and a mother at the same time.
However, achieving the 2030 agenda requires adequate financing and investment in technology, infrastructure and human resources.
Mostly human resources because without people, there is no Tourism.
Next time you travel, do look around. When we travel, who makes up our beds? Who prepares our food? Who cleans our rooms? Who is sitting on the side of the road or at the market trying to sell us something?
The Women in Tourism Leadership event aims to bring together women tourism leaders and tourism professionals to discuss the impact of the pandemic on women working in the tourism sector in Africa, and integrate gender-responsive strategies for the recovery of the sector in the continent.
An Aha! moment for me I must say because I’ve been contributing towards these goals via my mobile phone- because my cellular service provider pays me for recharging my phone and I get to donate the proceeds towards a goal of my choice.
Our programme director, Elcia Grandcourt, UNWTO regional director for Africa welcomed all attendees which included ministers and ambassadors from the different countries as well as representatives from the private sector across the African continent.
Grandcourt reminded us that this was the first event of its kind since November 2019 in Accra, Ghana.
All this prior to voting for the chairperson and vice-chairperson of the Africa Committee.
The Minister of Tourism in Sierra Leone was voted chairperson and Dimakatso Malwela from South Africa as vice-chairperson.
Chairperson of the Africa committee.
Malwela is no stranger to leadership roles.
She is the founder of Women of Value SA (WOVSA), an organisation that received the 2019 Gauteng Premier Inclusive Economy Award for successfully implementing the Women Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development programmes – among other things.
At this event, the UNWTO revealed the recently published Gender mainstreaming Guidelines for the Public Sector and Gender-inclusive Strategy for Tourism Businesses presented by Ben Owen, UNWTO “Centre Stage”, Department of Ethics, Culture and Social Responsibility.
While Lydia Bebe Kum, officer, Regional Department for Africa presented the Repositioning of Women at the Core of Tourism post Covid-19 Sub-Saharan Africa with case studies.
Owen’s presentation was exactly that, Guidelines for Tourism Businesses – it explained gender mainstreaming, the checklist for businesses as well as steps to follow to achieve it.
It was the presentation by Kum that resonated with me. It looked at Women from all spheres including the informal tourism sector.
It promised a tailor-made solution for the women in tourism in Africa. It was so detailed that it outlined the scope, approach and methodology.
Exactly how UNWTO will apply a Human-Centred Design approach to design solutions for women in Africa – not one size fits all.
Because every continent is different from culture, climate, heritage, history, infrastructure… the list is endless.
And here was a solution designed specially for women in Africa – for us.
According to Kum, this project would elevate the tourism value chain and provide new opportunities for women in the continent.
By reskilling and upskilling training for women and youth who form part of the low-skills jobs and therefore make destinations more competitive.
It would also create pathways to more sustainable jobs that mirror the reality of a constantly changing market and enable women to participate, contribute and benefit from sustainable tourism.
Thus, increase women’s self-confidence and autonomy to make decisions for themselves and contribute to the SDG and UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.
At the end of the call we all had to turn on our cameras for a group photo before bidding each other farewell. After the best two and a half hours of my life.
Some form of relief came over me because now I don’t have to complain as here’s an opportunity for me to do something about it. Right?!