An informational session titled "Gender Mainstreaming for Regional and Local Strategies" took place in an online format, organized with the support of the UN Women Office in Ukraine in collaboration with the Department of Family, Youth, and Mass Events of National Patriotic Education of the Donetsk Regional State Administration.
Representatives of local self-government bodies of territorial communities in the Donetsk region, who are concerned with the implementation of gender policy, participated in the event.
The aim of the event was to raise awareness about the integration of a gender approach at all stages of the development and implementation of public policy at the local level.
The event was opened by a representative of the Dnipro Office of UN Women, project coordination analyst Oksana Targoni, who addressed the audience with a welcoming speech and emphasized the importance of adhering to the principles of equality and non-discrimination in strategic planning processes.
Also, with welcoming words, spoke Natalia Kyrkach, head of the board of the Charitable Foundation "Slovianske Heart," advisor to the head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration on issues of ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men, and Liliya Zolkina, head of the Department of Family, Youth, and Mass Events of National Patriotic Education of the Regional State Administration.
They thanked UN Women for fruitful cooperation and emphasized the importance of this event for all participants who implement gender policy in Donetsk region, and highlighted the role of advisors on issues of ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men in local self-government bodies.
"This is a channel through which communities receive relevant knowledge, support, and advocacy opportunities. I hope that the information received will be another step towards making gender equality a part of the culture in the communities of Donetsk region!" - noted Liliya Zolkina.
The speakers of the informational session, Kateryna Ilikchiyeva, national consultant of UN Women, and Olga Romaniuk, national consultant of UN Women, presented an overview of Ukraine's commitments in the field of gender equality, focusing on legal foundations, international standards, and key national documents, shared practical tools for gender mainstreaming in Ukraine, and discussed the integration of a gender approach in the policy-making process at the level of territorial communities, emphasizing the importance of considering the needs of women and men in local development strategies.
The concluding part of the event was dedicated to a question-and-answer session, during which participants received clarifications on practical aspects of implementing gender equality.
The informational session was another step in the consistent implementation of gender-sensitive governance at the local level, contributing to enhancing the capacity of communities in Donetsk region to implement fair, inclusive, and effective policies.
The recording of the informational session can be found at this link, Passcode: a@ft1412.