The Division of Gender and Social Affairs at COMESA Secretariat conducted a capacity building training workshop on mainstreaming gender into COMESA specialized institutions and programmes.
The participants were equipped with knowledge of basic concepts and skills to enable them engender their programmes, structures and systems.
The Training was designed in a very participatory manner and discussed the following major topics:

·    Understanding the Gender Conceptual Framework
·    Links between Gender Equality and Development
·    Historical Development of Gender Equality, Approaches and Frameworks
·    Regional Responses to the Issue of Gender Equality
·    Gender Responsive Budgeting
·    Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Gender Mainstreaming Progress in COMESA Programmes

It is expected that from this training, participants will be able to undertake gender analysis and programming with a gender lens and become gender sensitive as a way of life. The Director of Gender, Mrs Emiliana Tembo said the training workshop was meant to try and promote a practical approach for engendering all programmes that are advancing regional integration.
She said that COMESA specialized institutions play a very critical role in accelerating the institution’s main objectives and hence they were targeted for the training. “Of much importance is the fact that gender issues should be part and parcel of COMESA in an integrated manner,” Mrs Tembo pointed out. The COMESA Treaty under Articles 154 and 155 recognises the critical contribution of women to the economic and social transformation of the region.
In this regard, the COMESA Gender Policy whose objective is to foster the mainstreaming of gender perspectives into all policies, structures, systems, programmes and activities of COMESA for sustainable socio-economic development was developed in 2002.
The training which was sponsored by the European Union had participants from the African Trade Insurance (ATI), the Alliance for Commodity Trade Exchange for Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA), the Leather and Leather Products Institute (LLPI) and the Federation of Women in Business (FEMCOM) who met in Lusaka from 17 - 21 June 2013. The COMESA-Leather and Leather Products Institute was represented by the Administration/Budget and Finance Head of COMESA-LLPI, Mrs. Tigist H/Giorgis.

The International Workshop on Sustainable Production in Leather Processing Industry that was jointly organized by  TUBITAK-BUTAL, TIKA and UNIDO, took place from 28th May – 7th June 2013, in Tubitak-Butal, Bursa, Turkey.  The workshop that was attended by a total of 20 participants (14 male and 6 female) from 13 countries and COMESA/LLPI was represented by its Programs Coordinator,  Mr. Zewdu Kebede.

The COMESA, Leather and Leather Products Institute held a successful Seventh Core Team Meeting in Khartoum, Sudan on the 25th to 26th June 2013.

Khartoum - The meeting of the COMESA/LLPI's Core/Team to develop leather products in COMESA countries is one of the most important achievements of the COMESA/LLPI and the leather sector is capable of boosting the African economy, said Osman Omer Al-Shareef, Minister of Foreign Trade.

Sudan is one of the world's largest cattle exporters in addition to Kenya and Australia and that is why this area of the economy is the concern of the three different ministries of agriculture, industry, and trade, added the Minister.

Read More at Sudan Vision Daily

Twelve footwear and leather goods artisan graduated amid fun and pomp at Moba Hotel in Kitwe, Zambia on 10th of May 2013. The occasion was graced by Dr Mwinyikione Mwinyihija who is the director of the COMESA/LLPI, who sponsored the course.

THE Government on June 13, 2013 launched the Zimbabwe Leather Sector Development Strategy expected to make the country’s leather sector a vibrant and internationally competitive industry. Officially launching the strategy at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre in Bulawayo, Industryand Commerce Minister Professor Welshman Ncube said the strategy constituted private-public platform for action.

Read More  from Chronicle or bulawayo24

Copperstone University on May 31, this year, signed the (MoU) with COMESA/LLPI, an autonomous institution of COMESA mandated to coordinate the regional development of the leather industry.
The core strategic objectives of COMESA/LLPI are to provide cooperation in the training of personnel for the leather industry at various levels of the value chain, spearhead research and development in the area of materials and technology, facilitate investment and trade promotion, as well as information dissemination and extension.

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“Workshop on Strengthening Regional Supply Chains in Leather Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa”
June 6, 2013
Nexus Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The COMESA-Leather and Leather Products Institute (COMESA/LLPI), in partnership with UNCTAD, Commonwealth Secretariat and African EXIM Bank, is hosting a two-day Workshop on Regional Leather Supply Chains in Sub-Saharan Africa.

DATE: 26 TO 29 MAY 2013

VENUE:  SIYAVONGA, ZAMBIA

The COMESA/LLPI is holding a Workshop to be attended by Government, Private Sector and technical institutions who are involved in improving the performance of SMEs in the leather value chain. The objectives and expected outputs of the workshop are as follows:

A Team of three Investors namely Mr. K. O Kane (former Director of TATA-India), Mr. Glory Chen and Mr. George Chen were invited by COMESA-Leather and Leather Products Institute (COMESA/LLPI), as part of the activities of the Institute to enhance investment and trade promotion in the region, arrived to Ethiopia on May 6th, 2013, met the Minister and senior dignitaries both in the public and private sectors to be appraised on the opportunities available in the country.