Select Projects
Examples of projects by theme (as of 2005):
Gender & the
MDGs
Macroeconomic Frameworks
Information & Communications Technology (ICT)
Women’s Political Empowerment and Democratic Governance
Knowledge Management
Multilateral/Bilateral
Collaboration
Each
project was carefully selected for its innovative approach and strategic
importance while being fully anchored in the realities and opportunities
for change that each country offered.
"I have been able to overcome the shyness that was
limiting my leadership… Now I feel more secure in my beliefs and can
defend them firmly."
-
Yolanda Mendez, Ecuador, one of the beneficiaries of the UNDP/JWIDF
project,
Women’s Leadership and Citizenship in Ecuador
Gender
& the MDGs
Global Project
Gender and MDGs
($286,667).
A multi-donor project funded by the JWIDF, the UNDP Poverty Thematic
Trust Fund, and the UK
Department of International Development (DFID), and executed by
UNIFEM. Its main
objective is to build knowledge and experience in engendering MDG
processes through five pilot countries – Morocco, Cambodia, Kenya,
Peru and Kyrgyzstan – in view of further replication. The projects
are implemented with strong partnerships on the ground within the
UN system and among government partners, civil society organizations,
bi-lateral donors and media. Interesting and tangible results to date
include:
-
Kyrgyzstan: The development and adoption
of harmonized gender indicators for monitoring commitments to
the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW), Beijing
Platform for Action and MDGs has led to the engendering of
the country’s second MDG Report and Poverty Reduction Strategies
(PRSPs).
-
Cambodia: Strengthened efforts toward
mainstreaming gender into Cambodia’s National Strategic
Development Plan (NSDP) and expansion of gender indicators on
employment in Cambodia’s National MDG report to be incorporated
into the NSDP.
-
Peru: Increased public awareness especially
among women’s networks, youth, academia, local and regional public
officials; production of a study geared toward policy makers at
the national and local levels on links between MDGs and national
commitments to women’s human rights.
-
Morocco: Launch of the country’s first
engendered national MDG report in October 2005 and application
of gender responsive costing of the MDGs for the government’s
implementation.
-
Kenya: Results from poverty dialogues
with grassroots women have fed into government initiatives on
PRSPs, the UN Country Team on the Common Country Assessment (CCA)/United
Nations Development Assistance Framework and the Millennium
Project’s costing exercises; workshops with grassroots women on
MDGs and links between MDGs, CEDAW, and Beijing
Platform for Action, have led to the development of gender
and MDG action plans in Kisumu and Rachuonyo districts.
Back to
top
Macroeconomic
Frameworks
Global Projects
Gender Sensitive Budget: GSB Training of Trainers’ Workshop
in Moscow
Gender Sensitive Budgets: Investing in Poor Women
to Reach the MDGs ($495,000).
Gender Sensitive Budgeting (GSB) is a method for
analysing how public resources are allocated, and how they benefit
men and women differently. It is a tool that can help a government
effectively use its limited resources for reducing poverty and for
achieving the MDGs. GSB also advocates a participatory budget-making
process to ensure that the contributions made by women are accounted
for, and their voices are heard when making decisions on public investments
that make a great impact on women’s socio-economic conditions and
well-being. To date, the main achievements of this project include:
- Capacity building at the regional/national levels through regional
Training of Trainers’ Workshops organized in Moscow, Manila, Dakar
and Cairo.
- Production of Training Manuals in English and French.
- Production of CD-Rom: Gender
& Budgets: Cutting Edge Pack in partnership with Bridge,
UK.
Country-Specific
-
Mongolia:
Capacity Building for Gender Sensitive Budgeting
($126,000).
Mongolia: "Capacity Building for GSB"
In
direct partnership with the Ministry of Finance, the project has
made an impact on national budgetary processes while building
technical capacities to conduct GSB. Moreover, it 1) raised awareness
on GSB concepts within the Ministry of Finance and among civil
society organizations; 2) produced research/analytical papers
by national research institutes on gender-specific impact of donor
assistance, employment, and social security and welfare. Overall,
it succeeded in supporting the country to mainstream gender into
its fiscal decentralization efforts.
-
South
Africa: Assessing the Impact of South Africa's Anti-Poverty Policies
by Gender and Race ($166,696).
With the assistance of the Ford Foundation and the University
of Utah, this project supported the development of a practical
and user-friendly macro-economic policy analysis tool to engender
macroeconomic policies through examining implications of social
policies on different groups of people. It
also
drew
on a larger framework of UNDP-led initiatives on engendering macroeconomic
and international economic policies. These policies advanced thinking
on gender, macroeconomics and international trade issues. Through
those activities, this project brought together cutting-edge experiences
to link gender, macroeconomics, and poverty reduction; and strengthened
the development of the community’s technical capacity for gender
and poverty policy analysis.
-
China:
China’s Accession to WTO: Challenges for Women
($315,000).
The project supported the world’s first country-level study on
the impact of WTO entry on employment patterns and conditions
of poor women who are engaged in agricultural and industrial sectors.
The study not only produced remarkable research papers and policy
guidelines on socioeconomic impact of China’s accession on women
and men, but also helped China’s researchers and economists to
look at the macroeconomic picture from a different angle – that
of vulnerable, poor working women. It also serves as important
baseline data to track changes over time. The project contributed
to international discussions and initiatives as it provided one
of the first case studies on the differential impacts of WTO on
women and men.
-
Chile:
Gender-Sensitive Employment Policies in Chile ($100,000).
This project facilitated the inclusion of a gender perspective
in public policies and programmes for poverty alleviation and
employment generation in Chile. The tripartite Consultative Council
was set up in 2003 with the government, labour unions, and businesses,
which have promoted knowledge-sharing and debate. A
gender-sensitive intervention model was also
developed
to assist policy makers in designing gender sensitive poverty
eradication and/or employment policies and programmes. Other important
achievements are: 1) capacity building and raising awareness among
key policy makers, programme managers and civil society actors;
2) generation of a knowledge base containing policy-oriented diagnoses
and evaluations; 3) dissemination of information on the project’s
objectives, components, methodological approaches through publications
and website; and 4) knowledge sharing and discussion with Argentina.
Back to top
Information
& Communications Technology
-
Ukraine: Sustaining Women Farmers in Ukraine
($190,800).
Ukraine is an agrarian country, and women make up the majority
of the farming population. This project introduced Information
and Communication Technologies (ICT) to strengthen the capacities
of the Women Farmers Union. It focused on building an online network
and providing women with knowledge and training in agricultural
business management and marketing through ICT. The introduction
of informational centres equipped with Internet access had a positive
impact: it helped them enhance their capabilities, raise their
access to useful knowledge and information, and improve their
entrepreneurial and managerial skills. Moreover, these positive
changes in women’s networking skills led those women to facilitate
and voice their opinions and needs in legislative and political
arenas. One of the results was the adoption in 2001 of the national
plan of action for improving the status of women and achieving
gender equality.
Eight informational centres created in 1999-2000 continue to function
actively. These centres have expanded their sphere of services;
nowadays, not only do the centres provide access to information
and support to the women’s network, but they also serve as resource
centres for the development of villages and youth.
-
Bhutan: E-commerce for Women Entrepreneurs
and Handicraft Producers in Bhutan ($212,180).
Bhutan: "E-commerce for Women Entrepreneurs and Handicraft
Producers in Bhutan"
Handicraft production in which producers are
predominantly female is a major source of income for many households
in rural areas where poverty persists. ICT is applied as a means
to improve rural women’s access to information and to build their
capacities for business management, in order to increase marketability
of their products and efficiency in production management. The
project also built capacities of female entrepreneurs in handicraft
sale to team up with women producers so as to benefit from wider
market opportunities. It also advised the Ministry of Trade and
Industry to develop policy for e-business that would take into
account the needs of rural female producers.
-
Rwanda: Bridging the Gender Digital Divide
in Africa through Strategic Partnerships: Pilot Initiatives in
Rwanda ($236,500).
Under the partnerships with UNIFEM, Global Advisory Committee
for the African Digital Diaspora, and the Kigali Institute of
Science, this project supports the capacity building of Rwandan
women’s business organizations in the use of ICT. A telecentre
was established to provide ICT training to female entrepreneurs.
The project facilitated business linkages with successful African
entrepreneurs who resided abroad and wished to assist women in
Africa. At the national level, the project succeeded in enhancing
women’s participation and influence in ICT policy formulation
and implementation.
India: "Building Capacity of Women Micro Entrepreneurs
in the Informal Sector through ICT" -
India:
Building Capacity of Women Micro Entrepreneurs in the Informal
Sector through ICT ($315,000).
Women who work in the informal sector are offered
little security and no formal access to credit or financial services.
While working with SEWA (Self-Employed Women’s Association of
India: an Indian NGO that supports women members who are poor
and work in the informal sector), this project supported the 1)
creation of an online platform for SEWA to better connect with
remote, rural areas; 2) establishment of community telecentres
and a web-based information source to improve rural members’ livelihood
security and business development opportunities; 3) development
of software applications to manage production systems as well
as to increase efficiency of microcredit service operations; and
4) development of a training programme in the effective use of
ICT to teach women members how to better manage their mictro-entreprises
and production processes.
Back to top
Women’s Political Empowerment and Democratic
Governance
-
Ecuador: Women’s Leadership and Citizenship
- Actions for Their Empowerment ($313,760).
Ecuador saw lack of opportunities and capacities for women to
exercise political leadership and act on the issues that affect
them. UNDP/JWIDF supported the nationwide women’s network to push
for the Quota Law and create a cadre of female leaders and candidates
to run for office. Through this project, more than 2450 women
were trained in the different seminars/workshops. Policy and advocacy
tools were developed to promote implementation of the laws that
encouraged women's participation in political life. Finally, national
campaign was conducted to create awareness for women’s political
participation and to generate a strong movement to voice women’s
needs and concerns in political and legal frameworks.
-
Uganda:
District Development Programme 2: Gender Mainstreaming ($300,000).
Uganda has seen major progress in implementing two gender policies
at the central government level. However, little has been done
at the local council level to either reflect these policies in
legal frameworks, or to strengthen institutional capacities to
implement them. As such, the project supported to develop policy
alignment and coherence between the National Gender Policy and
local development policies and legal frameworks. It developed
policy tools for mainstreaming gender in local governance and
development processes. Finally, the project promoted gender sensitive
budgets as a tool to incorporate gender perspectives into local
development policies and programmes.
-
Bosnia and
Herzegovina: Partnerships for Promoting Gender Equity in Post-Conflict
Bosnia and Herzegovina ($275,000).
In 2003, the Parliament adopted the Gender Equality Law that addresses
issues such as education, participation in decision-making, and
violence. This project assisted the establishment of effective
mechanisms to implement this Law. It supported the founding and
built capacities of the state-level gender agency. It also initiated
gender budgeting training across the country. Furthermore, the
project helped 1) prepare guidelines for the implementation of
the Gender Equality Law; 2) prepare a strategy and form working
groups on the main thematic areas covered by the Law; 3) integrate
the Law into legal processes and procedures to ensure actual enforcement;
4) conduct public advocacy to raise awareness on the Law; and
5) support civil society.
-
Republic of Congo: Promoting Equity between
Women and Men ($298,874).
The objectives of the project were to promote the participation
of women in politics and to raise awareness about women’s rights.
In order to achieve these goals, the project 1) conducted nationwide
awareness campaigns on democracy and women’s rights, and voters'
education on the electoral process and how women can participate;
2) supported female candidates for local legislative and senatorial
elections to equip them with the skills and knowledge necessary
to run for office; 3) supported the translation of gender-related
legal provisions into actual practices and norms; and 4) established
legal clinics in major cities to provide advisory services. In
the 2002 election, the percentage of women in the National Assembly
and in the Senate both rose by seven percent.
Back to top
Knowledge Management
-
El Salvador: Knowledge
Management Platform on
Gender Equality in Latin America and the Caribbean
($330,420).
El Salvador: "Knowledge Management Platform on Gender Equality
in Latin America and the Caribbean"
Latin America has produced a large amount of research,
methodologies, tools and experts on gender issues. Even so,
large segments of society are still unaware of this information
and argue that they lack the tools for putting gender perspectives
into practice. Therefore, this project aims to systematize these lessons so that we can learn
from their successes and failures. The Platform will furnish specialized information, provide technical assistance,
create venues for analysis and discussion, and build capacities
through knowledge management.
UNDP El Salvador is the platform coordinator for the first phase
of the project. Work during the first phase has focused on establishing
contacts and collaboration with national gender machineries and
other institutions to build a sustainable mechanism that will
facilitate greater advocacy and visibility. The principal activities
in this stage include:
-
Dissemination
of information on the project throughout the region.
-
Creation
of Web portal
at www.americalatinagenera.org
(Spanish).
-
Identification
of countries that will participate in the project.
-
Follow-up
and advice for preparing gender assessments and strategies for
UNDP offices in Latin America.
-
Establishment
of a project monitoring system.
Back to top
Multilateral/Bilateral
Collaboration
Guatemala:
Support to the Programme on Girls' Education ($310,000).
Guatemala: "National Seminar on Education of Girls"
This project is an excellent field-level
example of multilateral/bilateral cooperation between UNDP/JWIDF and
the Government of Japan. The Peace Accords, signed in 1996 after 36
years of internal armed conflict, expressed the urgent need to reform
the educational system of the country and improve equal educational
opportunity regardless of ethnicity, gender and geography, in order
to build a sustainable culture of peace. It also offered an opportune
moment for UNDP/JWIDF and the Government of Japan to work together
on the ground. While UNDP/JWIDF supported the Ministry of Education
at the policy level in the design and development of the National
Strategic Plan for Girls' Education 2003-2007 and relevant capacity
building initiatives, the Government of Japan dispatched educational
experts and Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers throughout Guatemala
to train teachers on administrative and pedagogical issues. UNDP/JWIDF’s
policy-level interventions and Japan’s support to human resources
development translated to a more comprehensive support extended to
Guatemala in its plight to eliminate gender gaps in primary education.
|
Back to UNDP/JWIDF main page |
Visit
the UNDP/JWIDF website in Japanese |
