Human rights are essential to achieving sustainable development that leaves no one behind and is central to all its three dimensions (social, environmental, and economic). This is reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which seeks “to realize the human rights of all” and is firmly anchored in human rights principles and standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international human rights treaties.

Driven by the link that exists between the two, UNA Tanzania organized the SDGs and Human Rights Capacity Building Session that provided comprehensive knowledge on SDGs and Human Rights to 30 youth from different regions in the country and created a platform for sharing experiences among youth that are working on such areas.

The session enabled the youth to increase their capacity and knowledge of SDGs and Human Rights. It enhanced the mechanisms to link and align their work on SDGs with Human Rights through the SDGs/Human Rights reporting tool. Furthermore, improved SDGs and Human rights advocacy capacity of the trained youth by devising advocacy messages that will be amplified in a one-month social media campaign using the social media pages of UNA Tanzania and some of the trained youth. Follow the campaign to learn more about the association of SDGs and Human Rights, as well as the advocacy messages from the youth through the hashtag #SDGsAndHumanRights

UNA Tanzania, a recurring steering committee member of the annual Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Week in Tanzania for 5 years, actively engaged in the 2023 CSOs Week in Arusha from 23rd to 27th October 2023. The 2023 CSO Week was themed Tech & Society: Then, Now and Beyond and explored the transformative power of technology in society. The week created a space for robust discussions on harnessing technology for positive societal change. The aim was to foster collaboration by bringing together around 500 attendees from Mainland Tanzania, Zanzibar, and East Africa, encompassing civil society organizations, policymakers, technologists, media, and other stakeholders.

On the second day of the week, UNA Tanzania organized a thought-provoking session titled “Internet & Society: Moon-shooting in line with Youth, Digital Technologies, Elections, and Democracy in Tanzania.” The session expounded on the fact that in Tanzania, millions use the Internet for freedom of expression. Yet, the Cyber Act, meant to counter online crimes, has sometimes been used to silence dissent and critique of government actions. This session aimed to engage youth with other stakeholders from CSOs to discuss these challenges, especially with upcoming elections, offering insights into the electoral landscape, promoting collaboration, exploring digital opportunities, and charting the way forward.The session was organized in collaoration with VOICE, WILDAF ad Restless Development.

Baruani Mshale from Twaweza Tanzania presented an insightful reflection on the dynamic interplay between society, democracy, and technology. He highlighted key themes, such as citizen participation, transparency, accountability, equality, the rule of law, freedom, and human rights. He emphasized that technology serves as a reflection of societal behaviors and underscored that a non-democratic society cannot leverage technology for democratic progress. He prompted attendees to consider where to begin in harnessing technological advancements to enhance democracy and foster societal development. This session offered a thought-provoking exploration of the impact of technology on critical aspects of governance and civil society in Tanzania.

Moderated by Lucas Kifyasi; The Head of Programs at UNA Tanzania, the panelists, included Maxence Melo (Jamii Forum), Tony Alfred (The Chanzo), Anna Kulaya (WiLDAF), and Badru Juma Rajabu (Restless Development), delved into the impact of digital technologies on Tanzanian youth, upcoming elections, and democracy. Maxence Melo emphasized the personalization of online content, stating, “What you see online matches your behavior. The content you encounter aligns with the calls you make, the websites you visit, and more. When you’re online, you’re the product.” Tony Alfred underscored the need for citizens to actively shape digital laws; “Despite the digital space’s rapid expansion, citizens have often been sidelined in the decision-making processes concerning digital regulations.”Anna Kulaya stressed the importance of digital platforms in promoting inclusivity, stating, “We should look at how we utilize our platforms to advocate for the involvement of women, youth, and individuals with disabilities in democracy and digital usage.”

Panelists from left;Maxence Melo (Jamii Forums), Anna Kulaya (WILDAF), Badru Juma (Restless Development) and Tony Alfred (The Chanzo)

Key takeaways included;

• The importance of good governance in ensuring the proper use of technology. Good laws promote responsible technology use.
• Technology mirrors our societal behaviors, and online democracy reflects our community engagement beyond technology.
• The need to empower youth with digital skills and encourage their active participation in matters that concern them.
• The importance of citizens having control over the digital space and not facing restrictions on their full online participation.
• The significant role of CSOs in educating communities about their civic rights and responsible digital usage to foster an informed society for active democracy.
• The importance of  citizens to understand their rights, as it makes it easier to defend and uphold them, particularly in relation to the Constitution.

An engaging moment emerged when an audience member, Kamala Dickson voiced a compelling thought: ” It is crucial for the government to develop a digital voter registration system, that will make it easier for young people to exercise their right to vote in local and general elections without jeopardizing their livelihood.

Kamala Dickson contributing during the discussion

UNA Tanzania’s session at the 2023 CSO Week proved to be a hub of insightful discussions, offering diverse perspectives on technology, society, and democratic participation in Tanzania. The event successfully fostered an environment for dialogue, innovation, and collaborative efforts to harness the transformative power of technology in the country.

UNA Tanzania is implementing the climate resilience project in Mpwapwa District which aims to pilot a 7-pillar regional resilience model in Tanzania to strengthen the ability of communities to cope with and regulate the effects of climate change. The 7 pillars model focuses on engaging the communities to drive their nature-based solutions which can help create sustainable living conditions in their villages. The 7 pillars are natural resources management and environmental sustainability; community health and water; governance and human rights-based approaches; economic empowerment; peace building, safety and security; infrastructure development as well as education empowerment. The project is conducted in partnership with IAS Kenya and LM in Tanzania.

Agriculture, livestock rearing, and a few, small-scale industries make up the largest percentage of Mpwapwa District’s economy. In the Council, more than 80% of the workforce is still employed in the agricultural industry. The majority of farmers practice subsistence farming, which results in poor production in terms of both quantity and quality thus low revenue. In rural Wards of the District, crop production is a vital economic activity, followed by livestock rearing. Major food crops are maize, millet, beans, paddy, and sweet potatoes whereas major cash crops are groundnuts, onions, Sesame, and sunflower.

On the 14 and 15th of September, UNA Tanzania conducted training on rainwater harvesting, food preservation, and enhancing the crop value chain to 50 villagers from all the villages within Ngh’ambi Ward, Mpwapwa District. Day one of the training was dedicated to rainwater harvesting. The villagers were trained on effective means of trapping rainwater, conservation measures, costs & benefits of rainwater harvesting. This is an important aspect of enhancing climate resilience in the ward. The conserved water has the ability to remain available for usage and crop cultivation even during long periods of droughts. This reduces the distance and  time spent to fetch water thus avoiding risk of violence. This is crucial, especially in improving security for women as they are mostly in charge of collecting water in households.

Ms. Haika Simon, Climate Resilience Officer at UNA Tanzania displaying to the participants how to create a ground catchment systment for rain water harvesting.

Day 2 of the training was devoted to food preservation techniques and enhancing the crop value chain. The training focused on utilizing local, cost-effective methods that villagers can afford to preserve their food for consumption and to add value to their crops for business. This approach is particularly beneficial for small-scale farmers, as it can significantly increase their income. Apart from that, it ensures availability of food at household even during unfavourable seasons.

Christina Msanjila from Kazania Village on a feedback interview after the training.

“As a mother this training has helped me a lot. I am now aware of varous methods of rain water harvesting that I can use to ensure water availability at home for cooking, washing clothes, drinking and even to grow vegetables. To add up, the food preservation techniques and methods to add value to crops will help me to harvest nutritious crops with the best quality”, says Christina Msanjila from Kazania village.

UNA Tanzania is implementing the climate resilience project in Mpwapwa District which aims to pilot a 7-pillar regional resilience model in Tanzania to strengthen the ability of communities to cope with and regulate the effects of climate change. The 7 pillars model focuses on engaging the communities to drive their nature-based solutions which can help create sustainable living conditions in their villages. The 7 pillars are natural resources management and environmental sustainability; community health and water; governance and human rights-based approaches; economic empowerment; peace building, safety and security; infrastructure development as well as education empowerment. The project is conducted in partnership with IAS Kenya and LM in Tanzania.

On 13^th September 2023, UNA Tanzania facilitated a strategic advocacy meeting between CSOs & CBOs working within Mpwapwa District with duty bearers to propose recommendations aimed at enhancing climate resilience in the District.

Ms. Ummilkher Yassin, Advocacy and Communications Officer at UNA Tanzania facilitating the strategic advocacy session.

The meeting was attended by Hon. Noel K. Abel; Acting District Executive Director, Bahati D. Magumula; The District Community Development Officer, and included 25 participants including representatives from CSOs and CBOs such as HakiElimu, Federation of Associations of People With Disabilities (SHIVYAWATA), The International Small Group & Tree Planting Program (TIST), Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT), Mpwapwa Development Society, LEAD Foundation and Action Girls Foundation. The meeting began with facilitating a session on lobbying and advocacy, leading the participants to formulate a presentation of smart recommendations to propose to the duty barriers. The participants had an opportunity to present their recommendations followed by a constructive dialogue on how the recommendations can be implemented but also the responsibilities of the community towards building resilient communities in Mpwapwa. The key recommendations focused on;

• Enhancing awareness raising on climate change by focusing on the impacts, alternative means to combat, and resilient measures among the community
• Enforcing strict environmental protection laws and regulations
• Effective governance of all departmental budgets involved with the environment sector i.e. water, natural resources, land & agriculture departments

Ayubu Luhunga, representative from Mpwapwa Development Society presenting the recommendations to Hon. Noel K. Abel; Acting District Executive Director on behalf of the CSOs & CBOs.

Facilitating strategic dialogues between duty barriers and key community stakeholders like CSOs and CBOs is essential in order to lay the foundation for the community to have meaningful planned interactions with their duty barriers through facilitated procedures, this promotes accountability and enhances long-lasting change.

On 11^th September UNA Tanzania conducted The High-Level Multistakeholder Dialogue On The SDGS Summit, a pre-event ahead of the SDGs Summit. The theme of the dialogue was ‘Tanzania’s Readiness For Transformative Action Towards Achieving SDGs’. The main aim of the dialogue was to mobilize collective actions and promotion of high-impact initiatives in order to mark the beginning of a new phase of accelerated progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals with high-level political guidance on transformative and accelerated actions leading up to 2030. The dialogue brought together stakeholders from the Government, The UNRCO Office, the Private Sector, and Civil Societies in Tanzania for a transformative dialogue and forging commitments to escalate collective efforts towards achieving the SDGs.

The dialogue was graced by a keynote speech from the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Tanzania Mr. Zlatan Milsic, “I urge each of you to take this moment as an opportunity for a personal and collective reflection. The journey towards the SDGs is not just national or global, it is the journey of individuals, communities & nations united by a shared world vision”, he emphasized.

Mr. Zlatan Milisic, United Nations Tanzania Resident Coordinator presenting keynote speech during the dialogue

A stimulating panel discussion accompanied the dialogue, deliberating on fast-tracking SDGs in line with Leave No One Behind with panelists Ruth Minja from The National Bureau of Statistics, Nesia Mahenge; The Country Director of CBM Tanzania, Stephen Chacha; Co-Convener of The Tanzania Sustainable Development Platform and Marsha Yambi; The Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Tanzania Chapter.

The dialogue concluded with commitments and key action points from The Civil Societies in Tanzania;

• Improving capacities to collect, generate, and use of data. CSOs need to have proper data storage for future use and have someone who is responsible for data generation and storage.
• Enhance capacity building to local communities to monitor the implementation of SDGs by promoting the use of friendly language Swahili language, braille language, and picture/symbols
• Increase efforts to reduce extreme poverty in rural and urban areas among vulnerable social groups
• Recurring consultative and follow-up sessions involving CSOs, the Private Sector, Communities (through Social Accountability Monitoring – SAM), and Government stakeholders. These meetings will serve as essential forums for the systematic review of our progress, the exchange of best practices, and the proactive resolution of emerging challenges