On 16 December, the governments of Catalonia and Flanders signed a foreign aid agreement to work together in Mozambique on a project that will contribute to reducing gender violence.
The Director General of Catalonia’s Foreign Development Aid and Development programme, Mr. Manel Vila, and the Secretary General of the Foreign Affairs Department of Flanders, Mr. Koen Verlaeckt, signed the agreement. The Mozambican ambassador Ms. Ana Nemba, as well as Catalonia´s Permanent Representative to the European Union, Mr. Amadeu Altafaj, attended the signing ceremony in Brussels.
On 16 December, the Government of Flanders granted 2 million € to Doctors with Africa for the 'Programme to Improve sexual and reproductive health in adolescents and women with a focus on enhanced acces to contraception, HIV and STD prevention' in Mozambique.
On 8-9 December 2016, the second edition of the Science Forum South Africa took place in the CSIR Convention Center in Pretoria. The science fair was organized by the South African Department of Science & Technology and brought together 1500 participants from all over Africa and the world, from academics and government officials to industry leaders and students. The theme for this year's edition was "Ignite Conversations about Science".
The General Representation of the Government of Flanders was one of the exhibitors at the Science Forum 2016. At our stall, we highlighted some of the most innovative Africa-focused research projects from Flanders.
The Flemish Children’s Rights Commissioner, Bruno Vanobbergen, visited South Africa and Mozambique from 28 November to 2 December. The visit was aimed at exchanging ideas and experiences on a children's rights policy, the instruments and the monitoring mechanisms. To this end, Mr Vanobbergen held a number of meetings with government departments, ngo's and international organisations. He also went on a number of field visits to see the children's rights approaches of these organisations on the ground.