ASWA to host 4 Sex Worker Academies Africa (SWAA) in 2017
The countries invited to attend the SWAA in 2017 are: Benin, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
ASWA members in these countries are asked to consult among sex worker organizations in their countries and collectively nominate 6 sex workers (Female, Male and Transgender) to form a National team who will attend the SWAA in 2017.
Graduates of the academy will share their learning and work with other sex worker activists in their countries in an effort to build strong national movements across Africa.
1. About the Sex Worker Academy Africa (SWAA)
The SWAA aims to strengthen the sex workers’ rights movement across Africa, through building the capacity of sex workers to engage in policy and programme development and implementation and through strengthening sex worker-led organizations and national networks.SWAA is guided by an Advisory Group of sex workers from across Africa.SWAA will be facilitated by a Faculty of Kenyan sex workers who have been trained to implement the curriculum developed through collaboration with Ashodaya Academy and VAMP Institute (sex worker collectives) in India, APNSW (Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers) and NSWP (Global Network of Sex Work Projects).
SWAA has been developed as a Pan-African resource to build the capacity of sex workers and sex worker national movements to influence policy and programming and develop their own services. Each SWAA academy will train 18 sex workers (3 country teams) as community mobilizers during a 7-day workshop in Nairobi, Kenya.
SWAA participants will visit two demonstration site sex worker-led organizations – Bar Hostesses Empowerment and Support programme (BHESP) and Health Options for Young Men on HIV and Aids HOYMAS in Nairobi.
Each SWAA academy will train country teams of sex workers from three different African countries, one of which must be a French or Portuguese speaking country (translation will be provided) and one of which will be Kenya to identify and train future Faculty members.
All sex workers must be nominated as part of the national team and must be able to attend all 7 days of the academy. Participants who graduate from SWAA will be awarded certificates of competence.
2. About SWAA participants
No INDIVIDUAL APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED. However all participants in SWAA require a high level of commitment to the sex workers’ rights movement in their country.
The criteria for selection is as follows:
- Each country must nominate a national team of 6 Sex Workers with a gender and geographic balance within the team.
- Each national team should include sex workers with a desire to build and strengthen the sex workers’ rights movement in their own country and across Africa.
- Each national team should have experience in HIV prevention, treatment, care and support programmes for sex workers and advocacy for sex workers’ rights
- All sex workers nominated must have ability to communicate in English, French or Portuguese – both written and verbal.
- All sex workers nominated must have access to Internet for regular email and Skype communications and mobile phone access.
- All sex workers nominated must have the support of the organization they are affiliated to, including time off to attend the SWAA and to carry out national activities following their graduation from SWAA.
ASWA members are encouraged to submit their national team applications as early as possible, all successful applications will be placed on a waiting list with the top scoring teams being offered the opportunity to attend the next SWAA academy. Applications can be submitted throughout the year, but the cut-off date for applications that will be considered for the four academies is as follows:
SWAA Academy dates for 2017 are as follows:
| Academy dates | DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS |
| 1st Academy – 19- 25th April (Arrival on 22nd and departure on 30th | Monday 22nd March 2017 |
| 2nd Academy – 21st -28th June (Arrival on 20th and departure on 29th | Wednesday 20th May 2017 |
| 3rd Academy – 23rd -30th August (Arrival on 22nd and departure on 1st | Monday 20th July 2017 |
| 4th Academy – 18th 25th October (Arrival on 17th and departure on 26th | Thursday 1st September |
Country team applications must be completed electronically and all 6 nominations must be submitted together by email to the ASWA Secretariat admin@aswaalliance.org
Each country team application must include the passport of the proposed participants.
Note: All national team applications will be reviewed by the ASWA Coordinator and SWAA Advisory Group.
CLICK to download the forms (SWAA Academy -Annual Call 2017) and (2017 SWAA academy Annual call Final French version[1].
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