AFRICA ALLIANCE HOLDS THE SOUTHERN ZONE WORKSHOP  

With the backdrop of leadership crises that has recently afflicted many members of the Zone, the Africa Alliance held a Southern Zone Workshop in Lusaka, Zambia on 27 � 31 July 2005, to deal with the issues of governance and leadership with a view to identifying weaknesses in those areas and the corresponding strategies to address them.

The Workshop also discussed the Global Operating Plan (GOP) strategy of the World Alliance and 2006 World Council meeting scheduled for Durban, South Africa. The main issues discussed at the workshop were as follows:

� Country Update Reports

� Governance

� Early Warning System and Strategy

� Strategies for Self-Reliance and Sustainability

� Youth and Gender mainstreaming

� World Council 2006

1.1 Participants

Participants included representatives (both Volunteers and Staff) from the following National Movements: South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Madagascar. In attendance also were James Gomez, Executive Secretary of Africa Alliance, who facilitated the workshop, assisted by Frank Okuthe-Oyugi, the Associate Executive Secretary (for the full list of participants see appendix 2).

1.2 Workshop Methodology

The meeting was conducted in plenary and work group sessions. Some group sessions were mixed, while others were composed of country representatives. The plenary sessions were a mix of inputs from the facilitators, and open forum discussions on issues and reports from the various group sessions.

1.3 Devotions

The devotions were undertaken by country teams on a rotational basis, with Zambia YMCA leading on the opening day. Madagascar and Zimbabwe led the devotion on the second day. The third day�s the devotion was conducted by South Africa YMCAs. The closing devotion was led by Cephas Chinhengo.

1.4 Opening Session

The opening session was conducted in plenary under the chairmanship of the Zonal President, Mr Cephas Chinhengo of Zimbabwe, the Zonal Chairman.

The opening devotion was led by Zambia YMCA with a reading from Ezekiel. The message underscored the need to trust in God because the success of everything that we do ultimately depends on his grace. We must put God at the centre of all the challenges that we are facing.

by Dr Frank Okuthe-Oyugi - published 10/3/2005