Addis Ababa, 10 December 2015: More than fifty officials of the African Union Commission, Pan African University, AU Member State Embassies in Addis Ababa, and PAU partners, have concluded two workshops held at the AUC headquarters in Addis Ababa. The workshops were convened to validate the University’s communications strategy and finalize a study on gender mainstreaming at PAU.

The PAU Communications blueprint, which is a part of the implementation process of the AUC Communications and Marketing Strategy, is a mechanism conceived to attract and sustain the interest, involvement and support of the University’s range of stakeholders; including students, staff, academics, researchers, African Union Member States, Africans in the diaspora, partners, as well as other players in the public and private sectors. The blueprint is also intended to serve as a guide for communicating the PAU’s corporate messages through dedicated tools, methods, channels and platforms. It is the common reference for the University and its network of institutes, as well as the main axle meant to drive and support the PAU’s outreach and publicity strategies, thereby heightening its visibility on the continent and beyond.

Description: Description: C:\Users\user\Desktop\100D5300\DSC_0336.JPGThe validation of the Communications Strategy was followed by a workshop to finalize a gender study conducted to inform stakeholders of the gender landscape of higher education in Africa with special focus on the PAU and its Institutes. The study identified ways of enhancing the capabilities of all PAU actors to fulfill their obligations of promoting excellence and gender equity at all levels and in all University activities. It will also support the PAU’s Institutes and organs in their endeavour to develop recruitment and process criteria designed to ensure equal opportunities for men and women. At the end of the workshop, participants developed a PAU Gender Action Plan and Monitoring Tool which will be the implementing instrument of gender mainstreaming at the University.

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The two PAU events were presided over by the Acting Director of the Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology, Dr. Mahama Ouedraogo, who underscored the immeasurable importance the Africa Union Commission attaches to both communications and gender as integral priorities of the Agenda 2063. He said increased visibility for the PAU and mainstreaming gender within its structures are fundamental to achieving the objectives of the University as an African Union flagship program.