RESEA Project Kick-Off Meeting: Collaboration Between Mission Inclusion and Women Fund Tanzania
By WFT-T
15 November 2024
From October 15th -23rd, Women Fund Tanzania (WFTT) participated in the kickoff meeting for the Regenerative Seascapes for People, Climate, and Nature (RESEA) project, organized by Mission Inclusion’s Regional Hub. The meeting took place in Tanga, Tanzania.
Funded by Global Affairs Canada, the RESEA project seeks to enhance the physical and socio-economic resilience of coastal communities, particularly focusing on women and youth in coastal regions of Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Madagascar, and Comoros.
The primary goal of the coordination meeting was to align approaches for the RESEA project's objectives, emphasizing gender-responsive conservation, climate change adaptation, and women’s economic empowerment within the Tanga-Pemba seascape. The meeting also aimed to foster a shared understanding of partnership dynamics, collaboration, communication, and coordination strategies among the key stakeholders responsible for implementation: Mission Inclusion, IUCN, and WFTT.
As a feminist organization, WFTT will lead the integration of a feminist movement approach within the RESEA project.
During the meeting, participants focused on building a comprehensive understanding of WFTT’s feminist perspective and how it aligns with the project’s framework. Key aspects of Pillar 1 – Blue Planet and Pillar 3 – Blue People, including approaches, outcomes, outputs, targets, and activities, were thoroughly discussed. Participants also reviewed the tools that will be utilized in Pillar 3.
Additionally, WFTT and other implementing partners explored one of the blue economy value chains identified during a TechnoServe assessment (May-July 2024): mud crab farming. During a visit to the Machui Aqua-Culture Centre in Tanga City, the team engaged with key stakeholders along the value chain, including producers, off-takers, and service providers. This interaction provided WFTT with a preliminary understanding of women’s and youth’s participation in the value chain, the challenges they face, and the opportunities available to them.
This engaging session also allowed the Tanga-Pemba Seascape team (Mission Inclusion and IUCN) to familiarize themselves with the newly added WFTT team at the Seascape office.
WFTT’s participation in the RESEA project marks a significant milestone in embedding feminist principles into the project and ensuring that all activities foster inclusivity and gender responsiveness.
In Tanzania, Mission Inclusion implements the project in partnership with IUCN and WFTT, both of whom act as technical partners for environmental actions that promote gender equality, particularly for women and young people. The project follows a cross-cutting approach to gender equality and inclusion across its three pillars, covering the Tanga-Pemba seascape intervention area.
