Dear Mr Nikac,

Dear Ms. Hajdukovic and Ms. Ivanovic,

Dear guests,

Gender equality, as part of the human rights concept and an important development issue, is a key part of UNDP's mandate in Montenegro.

For many years, our activities have been focused on promoting gender equality through efforts to mainstream this principle into the work of institutions, as well as into the processes of creating gender-responsive policies, political and economic empowerment of women, and the fight against gender-based and violence against women.

And that is not all – in order to reconsider the broader social context and norms that lead to gender inequality and its manifestations, we go into different social segments and find innovative ways to ensure that gender equality does not remain within the limits of the known.

On the contrary, by building alliances – with decision-makers, cultural creators, media, activists, communicators, and development partners – we have opened up space to make the issue of gender equality accepting and receptive to all citizens through art, culture, media and public administration, and in this way raise awareness of the importance of this issue.

We must not forget how important the culture of memory is in the process of emancipation and the creation of values, perceptions and attitudes. That is why today we present part of the women's heritage of Montenegro and celebrate the women who made an immeasurable contribution to the development of Montenegro. This is yet another step towards creating an environment that should encourage all of us to take individual responsibility on the road to achieving gender equality.

When it comes to about a gender-responsive social environment, we cannot forget the important role of the institutions of the system. Within their respective mandate, they are obliged and responsible for creating policies and a system that provides all citizens with equal chances and opportunities to live the lives they want.

In this regard, we recognised the Hyman Resources Management Authority as a key link in the process of strengthening the capacity of public administration employees, which entails improving their skills for mainstreaming a diverse perspective into all segments of their work, including gender-responsive communication.

That is why in the previous period, through the process of education, we developed a network of trainers who are ready to share their knowledge on this topic with all public administration employees.

The analysis of gender-responsive communication that we present today is another product of our joint work and a valuable tool for further work regarding the establishment of inclusive public administration.

Based on the results achieved in the context of the project "Communicating gender equality", we continue to engage in gender-responsible communication with the aim of eliminating hate speech, sexism and misogyny, through the project "Promoting dialogue and joint actions to combat hate speech".

We are grateful to the Human Resources Management Authority for being part of the UNDP Gender Equality Seal for Public Administration, a standard that demonstrates the understanding and importance of mainstreaming gender equality into its work and creating a conducive environment for achieving this goal. They contributed to our dedicated work, and I believe that today's discussion will be a good platform not only for mapping the situation, but also for defining specific recommendations that we will work on together in the future.