Engendering Municipal Awareness by Research and Education Network for Action (short: “Engendered Municipal ARENA”) | Association for Cooperation with Nordic Countries “NORDEN”

Даты:

15 Oct 2009 - 15 Oct 2010

Project aimed to introduce a model of interaction network of municipal officials, women’s NGOs and gender researchers/academicians to implement the gender Mapping on municipal level in St.Petersburg.

On the basis of analysis will eb carryed on training program for awareness municipal and local/regional authorities, decision- and policy-makers, involving Nordic countries experience.

Project supported by the Information Offiice of Nordic Council of Ministers at St.Petersburg.

Concrete problems to be addressed in the project

· Lack of gender education for municipal government and local level officials

· Lack of interaction between academia, women’s NGOs and decision makers on municipal level

· Lack of knowledge, competence and experience on how to create effective mechanisms for implementation of the gender mainstreaming policy on municipal level

· Lack of gender-based research of the local problems/situation in order to develop Action Plans to its improvement

Target groups:

§ Municipal and local authorities (focus on heads of local government districts & municipal gender commissions members);

§ Decision and policy makers on all levels in St.Petersburg (focus on heads of Committees in regional administration)

§ NGOs and women’s rights organizations and their networks (indirect);

§ Journalists (indirect)

Short Description of the project:

Project is directly relevant and oriented on municipal authorities’ capacity building and strengthening via networking components, involving all agents of local development such as local authorities, academia, civil society organizations, business community, media, etc. Researchers and experts involved in order to generate innovative advocacy strategies, to assist governmental and non-governmental institutions to establish collaboration (Municipal Commissions and NGOs) for further activity and attempts to educate relevant stakeholders. Project development is based on innovative and creative approach allowing to use and to create the Action Plans for municipal sustainability with focus on gender equality and antidiscrimination, involving applied research for “gendered problems mapping” and NGOs best practices. Have been chosen approach in general, which allows to elaborate training on basis of concrete municipal situations of existing gender-based discrimination. Focus on development of existing (innovative itself) municipal institutions and sharing analytical tools and mechanisms, will help for building capacity of actors who can directly influence on support both personal re-habilitation or re-socialization of discriminated persons. Training will change policy-makers’ opinion on the gender issues, using Nordic experience and native research data knowledge. Project supposed to have a sustainable institutional building effecton the municipal territories of the project.

Activities

Forms of project activity: applied action research; education program implementation, based on work-shops/seminars/training for municipal officials and agencies; consultations by expert-researchers on gender problems though Mapping-analysis and recommendations producing for Action Plans development; interaction with mass media; translation of Nordic materials; and publishing Manual Book.

Partners:

Leading partner (administrative & organizing of public events) - Association for cooperation with Nordic countries “NORDEN”

Associated partners: St.Petersburg Committee for Labor & Social Affairs and Women NGOs Round Table.

Co-partners (expert and trainers team) – Gender Section of St.Petersburg Association of Sociologists (SPAS) with team of 15 academicians, experts and researchers from universities of Petersburg: coordinator - The Higher School of Economics St.Petersburg Branch - Tatiana Barandova (methodology, political science), European University at St.Petersburg – Anna Temkina, Elena Zdravomyslova (sociology); Nevsky Institute of Language & Culture - Irina Yukina (sociology and history), Tatiana Meleshko (cultural science, media and PR dimension), Natalia Zidkova (political science); North-West Academy of Public Service – Marina Kashina (public service); State Pedagogical University – Irina Klyotsina (psychology); St.Petersburg State University – Svetlana Yaroshenko (sociology, social work), Ivanovo State University – Nina Isaeva (legal science), University of Economics & Finances – Elena Piskljukova (economy), St.Petersburg Crisis Center for Women "Alexandra" – Eugenia Smirnova (law).

International partners (approved interest in participation in events): Finland-Russia Society, Union of Finnish Women (NYTKIS), Latvian Crisis Center for women “MARTA”.