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Morocco, Rabat - 07.12.2011. Within
the UN Women project “Supporting the monitoring of aid effectiveness
from a gender perspective” a capacity building and knowledge-sharing
workshop with Non-Governmental Organizations was held on December 07th
at the Hotel Texuda in Rabat. The workshop was organized by the national
project consultant team in cooperation with l’Espace Associatif. The
participants included 17 representatives from civil society
organizations and research institutions, as well as representatives from
governmental institutions. A representative from the Belgium embassy,
one of the main donors of gender equality in Morocco, also participated
in the workshop.
The purpose of the workshop was to share
and validate information and national data on aid flows targeted to
gender equality. The main issues discussed were the gender module
results of the OECD survey 2011, the current framework for political
dialogue in Morocco and the output of the Busan Declaration.
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| The workshop began with welcoming remarks by Mr Yassir Ouchen, representative of l’Espace Associatif and by Ms Nouzha Lamrani, national project coordinator who gave a brief overview on the UN Women project and explained the purpose of the workshop.
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The first session, by Mr Anas Hasnaoui,
representative of the civil society organizations in Busan, focused on
the declaration signed at the 4th High Level Forum in Busan and its
incorporation of gender, as well as the opportunities and challenges
concerning gender equality promotion within the aid effectiveness
context.
The next speaker, Mr Said Tounsi,
national project researcher, focused the first part of his presentation
on aid flows to Morocco and the current challenges in determining how
much money is being spent on gender equality. The second part analysed
the results of the 2011 OECD survey on aid effectiveness in Morocco.
The third presentation was held by Mr
Herman Boonen, representative from the Embassy of Belgium who explained
in detail the reforms and modernisation that the Belgium international
development budget underwent lately. He then focused on the gender
interventions by Belgium in Morocco and explained the different
approaches and programmes that Belgium is currently implementing. |
| The workshop concluded with the recommendation to the present institutions to engage in aid effectiveness as one tool to influence the national gender agenda.
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Phnom Penh, Cambodia - 30.11.2011. The Knowledge-Sharing Workshop for the UN Women project "Supporting the Monitoring of Aid Effectiveness from a Gender Perspective" was held on November 30th at the Comme a la Maison conference room in Phnom Penh. The workshop was attended by 28 representatives of civil society organizations and institutions with experience in gender and/or aid effectiveness. The participants included leaders/directors of the leading gender/women’s empowerment organizations and networks, gender focal points in key international organizations working on gender and women’s empowerment, as well as representatives from academic institutions.
The objectives of the workshop were:
• To share knowledge on aid effectiveness and the commitments of the RGC, particularly regarding gender and women’s empowerment
• To establish the current levels of engagement of women’s organizations and networks at both national and sub-national level in the aid effectiveness processes and in monitoring aid flows from a gender perspective
• To identify the opportunities and challenges and possible entry points and tools to increase the involvement of CSOs in aid effectiveness dialogue and monitoring
• To identify capacity development needs of the CSOs at both national and sub-national level, which will allow them to better influence the aid effectiveness processes and ensure gender equality and gender concerns from both national and sub-national level are addressed
The workshop began with a welcome by the ActionAid Cambodia study team and an introduction to the UN Women project.
The participants then divided into three groups that discussed topics such as:
• National mechanisms for civil society participation in monitoring aid effectiveness
• CSOs current involvement in monitoring aid effectiveness and gender
• Gender equality and women’s empowerment in the national aid mechanisms
• Recommendations on how women’s groups
and networks at national/sub-national level can be more involved in
setting the agenda and monitoring the processes
After the group work, the main points from their discussions were presented, followed by a question and answer session. The following plenary discussion focused on the involvement of women’s groups and networks at national/sub-national level in setting the aid effectiveness agenda and monitoring the process to ensure gender is included. The capacity building needs of civil society organizations to actively participate in monitoring aid effectiveness were also discussed.
Finally a wrap up session was held to summarize the key issues raised during the workshop. It was noted that the participants had raised some very important issues and challenges that need to be addressed to ensure more active and effective CSO involvement in monitoring aid effectiveness from a gender perspective. The study team stressed that some of these challenges can be addressed through capacity building support, but some also required a review of the processes and mechanisms of aid effectiveness to be more inclusive on CSO participation and to develop more comprehensive and coordinated mechanisms for ensuring the mainstreaming of gender.
The workshop concluded with the study team outlining the next steps of the research process, in particular the provincial workshops that are to be held in Battambang and Svay Rieng in early December.
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Phnom Penh, 2nd November 2011. The meeting for the launching of the UN Women project, Supporting the Monitoring of Aid Effectiveness from a Gender Perspective in Cambodia was held on Wednesday, November 2nd at the Cambodiana Hotel in Phnom Penh. The project, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, is being implemented by ActionAid in Cambodia and is part of a wider six-country study that will document how effectively gender considerations are being factored in to the aid management process and how well Civil Society Organizations are able to monitor aid flows and hold government and development partners accountable. The meeting was attend by over 50 participants including representatives from the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), donor partners, NGO networks, NGO support organizations, research institutions with experience on gender and/or aid effectiveness issues, and members of the press.
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The objectives of the event were:
1) To introduce the UN Women study to government, development partners and civil society.
2) To provide a brief overview on the
current status of monitoring aid effectiveness from a gender
perspective, the opportunities and the challenges identified.
3) To initiate a discussion on the
opportunities, challenges and recommendations for strengthening aid
effectiveness from a gender perspective and broadening the engagement of
civil society, including gender advocates and women’s rights
organizations, in new aid modalities. |
| In her opening remarks, Ms. Wenny Kusuma, Country Director of UN Women Cambodia, noted that as the World prepared for the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, attention was focusing on the progress made in achieving the five guiding principles of the Paris Declaration. Ms. Kusuma explained that at the international level, there have been many achievements, including the Accra Agenda for Action, which succeeded in bringing in the concerns of gender and civil society. She concluded by telling the participants that UN Women, in partnership with ActionAid Cambodia would be seeking their inputs and participation throughout the study so that this agenda can be taken forward beyond Busan.
Mr. Juan Pita, General Coordinator of the Spanish Cooperation in Cambodia, noted that women’s rights and gender were important issues for the Spanish government, and hence this meeting to launch the UN Women project on gender and aid effectiveness is very significant for Spain. He noted that Cambodia was in a special position as it has a good history of focusing on gender issues, political willingness and a specific Ministry responsible for women’s affairs, in addition to a growing number of gender specialists. He noted that there were still gaps and weaknesses in addressing gender equality and that it is not enough to be aware and know of gender, but there is a need to act, to change attitudes and to work together in an effective way to reach the common objectives.
Ms. Nhean Sochetra, Director of the Gender Equality Department of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA) welcomed the introduction of the UN Women project in Cambodia. She noted that in terms of aid effectiveness Cambodia has faced many challenges, but a lot of progress has also been made. She highlighted the role of the Council for the Development of Cambodia and Ministry of Planning in taking the lead in managing aid in Cambodia and that the Royal Government of Cambodia, through MOWA, has played a significant role in mainstreaming gender. She concluded by noting that the UN Women project, implemented by ActionAid, is very timely as it can contribute to identifying the challenges and providing recommendations which can assist the government to strategically plan for gender mainstreaming through government plans and policies.
Ms. Caroline McCausland, Country Director of ActionAid Cambodia then gave a presentation on the history of aid effectiveness since the Paris Declaration in 2005, and highlighted the concerns voiced by women’s organizations and gender advocates for the inclusion of gender equality and the greater involvement of CSOs in the process. She noted the challenges with regard to the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the aid management process and outlined how the UN Women study would help to address some of these challenges. The study methodology and Cambodia study team were introduced to participants and the presentation finished with a request for stakeholders to remain responsive and accountable to the people, and to work together in a collaborative way to achieve the goals.
Next, Mr. Im Sour, the Director of the NGO Department of the Cambodian Rehabilitation and Development Board of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CRDB/CDC) gave a presentation on the RGC perspectives on aid effectiveness and gender equality. Mr. Im Sour outlined the priorities in Cambodia’s aid management work since 2005 and progress towards the achievement of the Paris Declaration goals. He noted that following the Accra Agenda for Action, CSOs have been increasingly involved with the RGC. He provided an overview of the alignment of development cooperation to government development plans, noting that in some sectors it was better aligned than in others. In terms of gender, he highlighted the importance and commitment of the government to implement a Programme Based Approach within MOWA.
Ms. Cheryl Urashima, ActionAid Consultant for the UN Women project gave a presentation on the challenges and opportunities in aid effectiveness mechanisms in Cambodia from gender and inclusiveness perspectives. She outlined the key actors and processes at sectoral level and in relation to gender equality and women’s empowerment, and then highlighted some of the weak links in the process, noting that the mainstreaming of gender cannot be done unless the aid effectiveness mechanisms are working well.
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Following the coffee break, round table
discussions were held to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the
aid effectiveness mechanisms in Cambodia from gender and inclusiveness
perspectives. The participants also generated some initial
recommendations to address the challenges and build on the
opportunities.
A final presentation by Ms. Ruth
Bottomley, ActionAid Consultant for the UN Women project, provided
information on the next steps in the research process and reiterated the
request for the participation and involvement of all stakeholders.
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Chimaltenango, Guatemala - 23.09.2011.
As part of the UN Women project "Supporting the monitoring of aid
effectiveness from a gender perspective," a workshop was held in
Chimaltenango, Guatemala on September 23 in the offices of the
Association of Community Health Services ASECSA. The workshop’s main
objective was to present the framework of aid effectiveness and gender
related issues. The event was also an opportunity to validate the
preliminary findings of the country research on aid flows and the
measurement of gender results according to the Paris Declaration
principles.
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The workshop was attended by 30 participants, including
representatives of local municipalities, the Bureau of Women and
Non-Governmental Organizations located at Chimaltenango and
Sacatepéquez.
Ms. Ingrid Merck,
from the National Women's Forum welcomed the participants followed by a
presentation on the context of aid effectiveness from a gender
perspective and the project research methodology by Ms. Rossana
Cifuentes, national coordinator of the project research team.
Ms. Mirna Montenegro, member of the
national project research team, spoke about the effectiveness of aid and
the new aid modalities, highlighting the challenges for Guatemala to
promote gender equality through these new forms of aid.
The
third presentation was given by Mr. Pablo Franky, also member of the
project research team. He presented the preliminary results of the
research, and explained monitoring tools such as the facultative gender
module of the survey of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development OECD. | Some of the main topics stakeholders highlighted during the plenary discussions included:
- Lack of knowledge by civil society and governmental representatives on the Paris Declaration and the new aid modalities
- Lack of knowledge of civil society and women organizations on amount and destination of international aid flows to Guatemala
- Lack of accountability mechanisms to monitor gender results for civil society both at central and departmental level
- Challenge of sustainability of
contributions by the international development cooperation agencies
which are currently supporting the inclusion of gender equality through
financial contributions to the national budget without knowing if at
some point in the future these resources will be maintained by the state
budget
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Rabat, Morocco. 15.09.2011. On September 15, 2011, the national project team of the UN WOMEN
research project, “Supporting the monitoring of aid effectiveness from a gender
perspective,” held a workshop at the Hotel IBIS Agdal in Rabat. This workshop
was organized in partnership with the civil society organization “L’Espace
Associatif,” and aimed at raising awareness, disseminate information and
strengthen the capacity of civil society associations involved in advocacy for
gender equality and women’s rights on aid effectiveness and the monitoring of
gender results. The workshop counted with the participation of 18 representatives of civil society associations and 1 representative
of the Spanish Agency for Cooperationand Development (AECID).
After
opening remarks by Mr Yassir Ouchen, representative of “l´Espace Associatif”,
Ms Nouzha Lamrani, the national project coordinator, gave a brief overview on
the research project.
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The
national project researcher, Mr Said Tounsi, explained the conceptual framework
of Official Development Assistance (ODA), the aid effectiveness agenda as well
as its impact on gender equality to all participants. Mr. Tounsi also talked about international
commitments to aid effectiveness as expressed at international summits and
forums such as the High Level meetings, the Paris Declaration and the Accra
Agenda for Action. He explained their
impact on gender equality and the monitoring of their implementation through
indicators. Participants
stressed the important role of
CSOs in this new dynamics and
emphasized the need to abandon the paradigm of aid effectiveness and move to the
paradigm of development effectiveness.
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After that Ms. Lamraniexplained that in Morocco ODA accounts for less than 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and that the amount
that goes directly to NGOs is very low, hencethe need to
refocus the debate on the issue of financing for development and its corollarydevelopment effectiveness.
In her presentation, the representative
of AECID made emphasis on the mainstreaming of
gender equality through programmatic supportand the risk of excluding civil society
from the process and of delaying gender results. She
noted that assistance channeled throughthe national budget in the form of programmaticsupport may indeed displace the participation of civil society and women in the development,
control and monitoring of global
strategies.
During her presentation, Ms Lamrani focused on the strategies and initiatives for gender
mainstreaming in the process of
development financing by NGOs including
their preparation for the Bussan Forum on Development
Cooperation in July 2012. She began by explaining that gender in general was not explicitly taken intoaccount at international summits,
forums and high-level meetings dedicated to aid
effectiveness. She also presented requests from organizationspromoting women's rights that call for the inclusion of gender equality within the new aid
structure. Finally, she explained the contents of the Global
Call For Action on Financing Gender
Equality (Kigali, July 28, 2011)
highlighting that development partners and partner countries should commit to taking bold and
concrete measures to increase financing for gender equality.
The fourth session was dedicated to the dynamics of
Moroccan NGOs on the issue of aid effectiveness. Mr Ouchen stressed the role of
civil society organizations in the subject of development as actors, donors,
partners and aid recipients, delivery of social justice and evaluators of their
own effectiveness on the rights and lives of marginalized populations. He also presented
the aims and content of the open forum, and went on reviewing the national
consultation requests: to allow more CSOs to express themselves; to foster
dialogue with donors and governments at the national level; and to identify the
key elements of a common framework for development effectiveness.
In the end, participants agreed to build
on the topics covered at the workshop and confirmed to
have a better understanding of the concepts and content of international and national commitments to the
issues of financing for development, aid effectiveness and gender equality. In addition, the participants adhered to the idea of efficient CSO
Development.
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