The 2019 Conference on Land Policy in Africa ended in Abidjan Friday November 29th with academic institutions pledging to work with traditional leaders in coming up with solutions to land governance challenges on the continent in an effort to root corruption out of the land sector.

Stakeholders attending the five-day conference made various calls at the end of the meeting but perhaps the most profound one was by the continent’s traditional leaders who made a commitment to review cultural practices and beliefs that have long denied women access to land.

At the Women Deliver conference in Vancouver in June, Dr. Monica Mhoja made an impassioned case for land ownership rights for women.

"We understand that land is life," Mhoja, the Tanzania Program Director for Landesa, told the crowd gathered. "Land is dignity. Land is destiny. Land is hope. Land is empowerment of women and equality. And land is power. The power to prosper. To thrive."

Developing the tools or methods for securing land rights for all, especially for the youth and women, is a primary objective of responsible land management and land administration. Understanding the challenges women and youths face (and possible ways of resolving these challenges) in their quest to access, use and secure land resources, is vital for knowledge building for achieving tenure security for all. However, a broad knowledge gap exists on the land–women–youth–policy nexus of land management study and practice.

Innovation Programme Call for Proposals 2019. The Cities Alliance has launched a Call for Proposals to award small grants for innovative ways to improve tenure security, land and property rights in African cities.

The Secure Tenure in African Cities initiative

Dozens of private jets flew into Switzerland in late January for the 2019 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF), which convened more than 100 governments and 1,000 businesses in the Alpine ski resort of Davos to discuss globalization’s future.

Yet, climate change and inequality were two of the issues that dominated the event.

We are looking for young people with new ideas and fresh perspectives.

If you have a passion for innovation, the ability to devise new solutions to old problems, and a willingness to challenge the established orthodoxy, then we want to hear from you.

Partnering towards access to land and secure land rights for inclusive development

ULAANBAATAR - In a damp, single room in a disused bathhouse in the Sansar area of eastern Ulaanbaatar, 90-year-old Yuule Vandan cares for her disabled son and worries how he will survive without her.

Yuule moved out of a shared flat in an old Soviet barracks over three years ago while it was redeveloped but the project was shelved and she now struggles to pay 100,000 tugrik ($42) rent from a state pension of 250,000 tugrik for their one room.

Monrovia - Catholic Bishops Conference of Liberia (CABICOL) has said that the Land Rights Bill is crucial and should properly be reviewed before it is passed into law.

CABICOL said the bill must protect the rights of women and youth to own, manage and transfer land; contain accountable safeguard for community land ownership.

By: Magdalena Mis and Isaiah Esipisu

Date: August 22nd 2016

Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation

Around the world, farmers are ageing as the sector fails to attract younger talent who head instead to cities in search of work

ROME/NAIROBI, Aug 22 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - For Kenyan farmer Pauline Wafula, there was never a question that her children would have to get their hands dirty and learn how to grow their own food.