 |
| |
| Fast
Facts: |
| • Project
Document |
| Location: |
National |
| Duration: |
January
2005- April 30th 2008 |
| Focus
area: |
Democratic
Governance |
| Donors: |
The
Netherlands |
| Total
Funds Available: |
US$
2,757,859 |
| Partners: |
The
Ministry of International Cooperation
The Ministry of Social Welfare,
Women and Child Affairs. |
| Delivery
for 2007:
|
US$
469,194.57 |
| Contact
person in UNDP: |
Tomoko
Noda, Programme Officer, tomoko.noda@undp.org
|
|
Background
Good governance is about the equal participation
of all citizens - men and women, young
and old - in public and political life.
Equality between men and women constitutes
an indicator of success in good governance.
With a total population of approximately
37 million in Sudan, women account
for nearly 50% of the population.
Despite their active role in the society,
their socio-economic situation is
still precarious. For decades they
remained marginalized both economically
and socially, and sidelined in the
political sphere. Legislative councils
at all levels and traditional authority
and customary law mechanisms, are
generally dominated by men.
Addressing the inequitable political
participation by promoting the political
inclusion of all segments of society
is crucial in today’s post-conflict
Sudan. In fact, the active participation
of women at the grass-roots and national
level, in traditional structures and
modern governance and rule of law
institutions, is essential to promoting
a society that is conducive to the
recovery, reintegration and reconstruction
efforts. To this end, concerted efforts
are needed to raise the public’s
awareness of this issue, and to ensure
that women are equipped with the necessary
skills, knowledge and competencies
that allow them to substantively contribute
to sustainable peace and development.
Building the capacity of women and
promoting partnerships between women
and men contributes to achieving the
political reform that was emphasized
in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
(CPA). In addition, the Joint Assessment
Mission (JAM) stressed the need to
promote public participation and political
accountability, and increased representation,
participation and inclusion by women
in the legislative and constitutional
systems and their participation at
all decision-making levels in conflict
resolution, peace-building and post-conflict
reconstruction.
In an attempt to turn these principles
and recommendations into a reality,
UNDP, with the support of the Netherlands
Government, launched the project “Good
Governance and Equity in Political
Participation in Post Conflict Sudan”
in September, 2005.
Objectives
The main objective of the project is
to contribute to good governance based
on partnerships between men and women
in the political sphere – partnerships
that are instrumental in realizing human
rights and achieving sustainable peace
and development.
The specific objectives are:
• To enhance the capacities
of potential Sudanese women leaders
and institutions impacting women’s
political participation;
• To raise the awareness of
the Sudanese public regarding good
governance principles and the importance
of the political participation of
women;
• To improve the conditions
for gender-sensitive policy reform
and formulation in order to achieve
political participation by women.
Snapshots of the project's major achievements
• In collaboration with several
national and international institutions,
the project conducted the 6 following
studies: 1) Leadership Training Needs
Assessment in 2005; 2) Survey of Attitudes
Studies in 2005; 3) Study of Key Government
and Civil Society Institutions (CSOs)
Impacting Women’s Political Participation
in 2005; 4) Study of Civic and Voter
Education in 2005; 5) Study of Budgeting,
Planning and Social Service Delivery
in 2005; and 6) Study of Political Parties
Structures and Programmes.
• Developed materials and modules
targeting different groups to be trained
on the principles of good governance
and the importance of gender equity.
• Trained 240 men and women on
gender sensitization, including the
importance of political participation
by women, in the states of Red Sea,
Kassala, South/North Kordofan, and North/South
Darfur.
• Sent 6 Sudanese women to participate
in the regional seminar on “Gender,
Good Governance and Citizenship”
that was held in Beirut between 23 April
and 4 May 2006. The participants included
women active in the political and public
sphere, as well as a representative
from each of the two UNDP project offices
in the North and the South.
• In November 2006, organised
two training sessions on gender for
98 participants representing the Ministry
of Social Welfare; the Ministry of Labour;
gender focal points in different ministries;
and several civil society organizations.
• In January 2007, organised a
workshop on “Gender, Good Governance
and Strategic Planning” for 30
participants representing government
ministries.
• In May/June 2006, developed
the training materials and then conducted
two gender training workshops for 50
participants from the Mutawinat Group,
a national institution working on women’s
legal aid.
• Supported the participation
of 25 people at the “True Leadership
and Persuasive Presentations”
workshop held in February 2006, in Khartoum,
by renowned performance trainer.
• In February 2006, established
a committee to guide and oversee the
content of the training modules, to
offer technical assistance to training
institutions, to ensure expert quality
control of all materials and training
implementation, and to evaluate the
training packages delivered.
• Developed a Leadership Manual
which was used to train 240 participants
from 8 national institutions, the legal
profession and political parties.
• In cooperation with Ahfad University
for Women, conducted a training of trainers
course for 16 participants. The trainers
formed a leadership facilitators’
forum and started raising their own
funds.
• Established six forums where
women and men from different political
parties, the legal profession, the media,
civil society, youth, and leadership
facilitators meet on a regular basis:
1) Youth Forum; 2) Media Forum; 3) Women
in Major Political Parties Forum; 4)
Women Legal Professionals Forum; 5)
Women in Civil Society Forum; and 6)
Leadership Facilitator Forum.
• Funded a five-month training
course for 50 students from journalism
departments, student unions, and the
members of the Youth Forum, by Teeba
Press, the journalism training centre.
Young men and women were trained in
all the skills of the trade: writing,
editing, computer use, photography,
image treating, and management, in addition
to undertaking a one-month in-house
training with a major Sudanese newspaper.
• As a result of the journalist
training, students founded and produced
Manbar Al-Shabab (the Youth Forum),
the first monthly newspaper by Sudanese
youth in Sudan that encapsulates the
principles of good governance. For each
issue, Teeba Press printed 5,000 copies
of the free newspaper and ensured their
distribution in Khartoum State’s
schools, universities, youth NGOs and
cultural centres.
• Helped women from political
parties, legal professions, civil society,
youth and students and media forums
to attend tailored English courses.
• Developed a strong partnership
with the Sudanese media, and is currently
supporting a series of TV and radio
programmes covering topics such as good
governance principles, women’s
political participation, women and media,
and the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs)
• In contributing to enhancing
capacities of women in leadership and
political participation, a dialogue
platform for Political Parties' and
Leadership Facilitators' Forum was formed.
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