Posted October 2000

FAO supports the Nineteenth Congress of the International Federation for Home Economics

The Nineteenth Congress of the International Federation for Home Economics took place in Accra, Ghana, from 24 to 29 July 2000 under the title "A new century: Focus on the future". More than 600 participants from all over the world attended the Congress, which was officially opened by His Excellency, the President of Ghana, Flight Lieutenant J.J. Rawlings.

FAO actively contributed to the Congress, which is held once every four years. The high-level delegation participating throughout the Congress included Dr Sissel Ekaas (Director, Women and Population Division, Sustainable Development Department), who was representing FAO Director-General Dr Jacques Diouf. Ms Diana Tempelman (Regional Officer, Women in Development) and Ms Caroline Brants (Associate Professional Officer) represented the Organisation's Regional Office for Africa. Furthermore, FAO sponsored the participation of three participants (one from Poland and two from Cameroon) working on the development of a training manual on Household Resources Management in collaboration with FAO. Finally, FAO prepared five presentations on different subjects of interest to home economists.

The third day of the Congress focused on "The expanding role of home economics: Advocacy for families and households". As requested, FAO prepared three presentations covering theme-related issues at field, national and global levels:

• Dr Ekaas stressed the importance of linking advocacy for families and households interventions to the process of national development in a framework of globalization and emphasized the need for home economists to incorporate this perspective into their training and field programmes.

  Go to the complete presentation: "Rural households and the global village: The expanding role of home economics in advocacy for families and households"

• Ms Tempelman presented an example of FAO's support at the household level illustrating the results of an innovative training programme on numeracy and simple bookkeeping for illiterate adults. The programme specifically aims to strengthen women's capacities to manage their economic activities.

  Go to the complete presentation: "Enhancing women's managerial skills for small scale business enterprises through numeracy and simple bookkeeping training"

• Ms Tempelman also discussed the Socio-Economic and Gender Analysis (SEAGA) training package developed by FAO and its sector guide on Household Resource Management as an example of interventions aimed at strengthening the institutional level through the use of modern training packages.

  Go to the complete presentation: "Socio-economic and gender analysis (SEAGA) training tools in support of household resources management"

On the fifth day of the Congress, presentations were made by Ms Nwafo Wandji, Ms Pentang and Ms Sawicka on training and extension activities in the field of home economics in Cameroon and Poland.

Go to a summary of presentations: "Re-orientation of home economics: Case studies from Poland and Cameroon".