E-training "Gender equality at the local level"

The Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) organized on Wednesday, November 13^th, an initial e-training meeting for representatives of local self-governments on gender equality, which will be attended by about 120 employees from 50 towns and municipalities in Serbia.

"The training is intended for local self-government employees who will have the opportunity to learn about gender equality principles and standards over the course of five weeks and how they are implemented at the local level", said SCTM Secretary General Djordje Stanicic.

The online training, which will take place from November 14 to December 22, he said, aims to provide support to local self-governments through strengthening their capacity to adopt and implement gender mainstreaming in daily practice.

"Developed local self-government provides services to its citizens and enables them to exercise their rights, and most of them are applied at the local level. Our vision of local self-government is based on the principles of good governance, professionalism, efficiency and effectiveness. We believe that integrating the principles of gender equality not only improves exercising of human rights but also adds to the efficiency and the realization of this vision. There is no good administration that does not hear or exclude the needs of half of its population", he said, adding that local self-governments need their employees to acquire new skills and answers to any changes in administrative behavior.

Head of OSCE Mission to Serbia Andrea Orizio said that local self-governments provide services directly to citizens, which puts them in a unique position to make an impact on society at the local level, and therefore can play a direct role in promoting gender equality in Serbian society.

Orizio pointed out that e-learning is more attractive because it is easily accessible and could be widely distributed.

He added that work in the field of gender equality is common to men and women, and that it is a matter of public interest.

The meeting indicated that the training will provide key information, knowledge and examples of practice relevant for the implementation of gender equality principles in local self-governments, in accordance with the current strategic and normative framework through the following thematic areas: basic concepts in gender equality; gender; gender roles and gender equality, discrimination; a national legal and strategic framework for gender equality; international commitments in the field of gender equality; domestic gender equality policy; institutional mechanisms for implementing equal opportunities policy; ways and methods of gender mainstreaming in public policies; the role of gender budgeting in policy planning; the role of local self-government in achieving the principle of gender equality; good practice examples of gender mainstreaming in various fields.

The training is being implemented within the project "Improving the Implementation of the Principles of Good Governance with a Particular Focus on Local Self-Government" in 2019, implemented by the SCTM and supported by the OSCE Mission to Serbia. It is emphasized that after the training, participants will receive certificates.