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Community Building
The policy framework for regional cooperation was strengthened through the signing of
four protocols: Energy; Trade; Transport, Communications and Meteorology; and
Combating Illicit Drug Trafficking. The Summit agreed to speed up the ratification
process, and noted with appreciation the involvement of the non-state sector such as
NGOs, researchers, academics and private sector in various aspects of community building.

SADC Media Awards
The annual SADC Media Awards were launched in 1996 to raise awareness about SADC
and promote community building, as well as to promote journalism excellence in the region.
The winners are presented with prizes during the annual Summit of Heads of State and
Government while the runners-up receive their prizes at events in their respective countries.

SADC Chairperson and Deputy
The current three-year term for the SADC Chairperson and Deputy ended in
August 1996, and the Summit elected President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela of
South Africa and President Joaquim Alberto Chissano of Mozambique as
Chairperson and Deputy respectively, for the next three years. President Sir
Quett Ketumile Joni Masire of Botswana had chaired SADCC and SADC since
its formation in 1980, as requested by Member States and returned four times
through re-election, providing stability and support in the formative years. The incoming
Chairperson commended him for the high standards and confidence established during
his service to the region. 37

Stability and Development
The first Summit of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security following its
launch in June was held on 2 October 1996, hosted in Angola by President José Eduardo
dos Santos and chaired by President Robert Gabriel Mugabe of Zimbabwe. While
expressing satisfaction that peace and stability, and political reforms in the region have
attracted the attention of international investors, the Summit noted that the prevailing
situation in Angola is still an obstacle. The Summit made a strong appeal to Unita to fulfil
its commitments to the Lusaka Protocol and UN Security Council Resolution 864/93, and
called on the international community to continue to provide material support to the peace
process to facilitate the demobilisation and integration exercise.

World Trade Organisation
SADC Trade Ministers and the SADC Secretariat attended the inaugural ministerial
conference of the WTO in Singapore in December 1996.

SADC Gender Programme
The Council of Ministers approved the SADC Gender Programme in February 1997
following a series of workshops across the region. This is a comprehensive programme to
mainstream and institutionalise gender issues in SADC, cutting across all structures and
programmes. A related Plan of Action was adopted through SADC’s Gender Task Force.

SADC Today
The first edition of SADC newsletter SADC Today was published in February 1997 Vol. 1
No.1 with factual, current analysis to build a base of knowledge about SADC, broaden
public awareness of SADC objectives and activities, and contribute to community building.
Co-published by SADC and the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre
(SARDC), the publication was officially launched in September 1997 at a function during
the 17th SADC Summit in Malawi, and reached Volume 23 by December 2020, in print
and online, as a real-time narrative of progress toward regional integration.