On 7-9 July 2021, EU-UN Spotlight Initiative held a three-day workshop in Ermera Municipality on the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) responsive budgeting for the 2022 Annual Action Plan the Ermera Municipality. The event was organized by the Spotlight Initiative’s Municipal Gender Specialist in collaboration with the Director of the Ermera Municipal Autority’s Planning  Agency , Ministry of State Administration (MSA), Secretary of State for Equality and Inclusion (SEII), Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit (UPMA) and PARTISIPA. 65 individuals (20 female; 45 male) participated in the workshop, composed of Directors and Chiefs of Department of the Financial and Planning Unit of the Municipality Authority and CSOs.

The objectives of this workshop were threefold 1) to increase the knowledge of participants on GESI-responsive budgeting and the National Action Plan for Gender-Based Violence (NAP-GBV), 2) to apply the GESI-responsive budgeting approach in the Municipality’s 2022 Annual Action Plan, 3) to gather inputs on the ToR for a rapid assessment of municipal service delivery in response to and in prevention of gender-based violence and for small grants (LVG) for civil society organizations.

In his opening remarks, the President of the Ermera Municipal Authority – Mr. Eusebio Salsinha stressed his appreciation for the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative. He advised that this workshop should also focus on the suco and aldeia levels because of both high prevalence of domestic violence and lack of access to information for women in rural areas. 

The Director General Finance, Ministry of State Administration – Mr. Agustinho da Costa thanked the Spotlight Initiative for this opportunity and hoped that each relevant ministry would review their plan and allocate budget for the elimination of violence against women and girls, in addition to reflecting on GESI in the multi-sectoral Annual Action Plan 2022 of the Emera Municipality. 

UNDP Head of Democratic Governance Unit – Mr. Youngchan Kim congratulated the new President of Municipality Authority for Ermera and thanked for the collaboration and partnership under the Spotlight Initiative, reiterating their commitment to support the elimination of violence against women and girls in collaboration in Ermera with the Municipal Authority.

During the workshop, all participants reflected on the GESI and the NAP-GBV and on how to integrate those into the multi-sectoral Annual Action Plan 2022 of the Emera Municipality. The two key results of the workshop are: 1) the production of an adjusted GESI-responsive budgeting for the Annual Action Plan, and 2) the gathering of recommendations, including the need to continue increasing the knowledge of Directors in the Municipal Authority as well as of CSOs on GESI Responsive Bugeting, Planning and Reporting as well as on the prevention of and response to violence againt women and girls.