Grand Port District Council is a model on gender and is setting the pace for other localities

Grand Port participated in the Summit 2013 and came back to Mauritius with the first price and as runner up too. Grand had shown incredible progress and tangible and measurable outcomes. Grand port was contacted to participate in the pre-summit meeting and they came to see how best they could be part of the 2014 summit. Since the Action Plan was approved by Council, the Grand Port District Council has grown into a gender sensitive locality which is indeed a model for all localities of Mauritius. There have been some great achievements this year with more time and money is being invested in Climate change. The council has taken the responsibility to take care of the district and have decided to plant 5000 trees this year. They are doing a big campaign on clean drains and clearing of waste land. The campaign is not solely about keeping the environment clean but also about a communication campaign where the inhabitants are told to keep their surrounding clean and how they have the responsibility to keep a clean environment.The council is putting a lot of effort in helping women to do businesses. They are giving courses free of charge and employing quite a few women as inspectors, women chief cleaners, security guards. There is a budget for Gender Links for the 16 days campaign. The Librarian of the Council participated in cyber-dialogue training and participated in the 16 days campaign on the GBV indicators. The council was inspired by the Peace Begins at home campaign and did a beautiful project whereby all the villages (24 in total) were given a positive word to describe it. The words peace, integrity, courage etc were used.The council did a Mock Council Meeting which was a follow up of a workshop facilitated by Gender Links on Women in politics. The Council wanted to make sure that women trained will have the knowledge, techniques and skills to sit at Council table and participate in Council meetings.Six years have passed since the historic adoption of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development. Less than two years from now, governments will have to account for actions taken to meet the 28 targets of this unique sub-regional instrument that brings together existing global and continental commitments to gender equality. The MDG targets also have a 2015 deadline. MDG Three concerns gender equality. There is already a lively debate on the post 2015 agenda. Pressure needs to be mounted to press home the gains in the SADC region, especially in light of the ten elections taking place in the region over the next two years. In line with global developments, it is also critical that the SADC region redefine its priorities post 2015. The SADC region has much to offer, and much to gain, from these global debates.Gender Links, the Southern African Gender Protocol Alliance, local government associations, and the Gender and Media Diversity Centre will host the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Summits to