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SARAJEVO, November 26 (FENA) - At the beginning of the month, the "Inception Workshop: Setting Priorities and Activities" was held online, which launched the beginning of the project Gender Equality Facility – BiH in the EU without Gender Stereotypes.
The project is financed by the European Union and implemented by UN Women together with project partners.
The main objective of this project is to support gender institutional mechanisms in the country in order to better meet and comply with international gender equality standards and the EU gender equality acquis.
The inception workshop brought together representatives of the project partners including the Agency for Gender Equality of BiH, the Gender Center of the Federation BiH, the Gender Center of Republika Srpska, and the Directorate for European Integration.
The total value of the project is 550,000 EUR, of which the European Union has provided 500,000 EUR in grants; activities will be implemented over the next two years, with the support of project partners, announced the UNWOMEN in BiH.
According to the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) Index for Gender Equality 2020, gender equality progresses one percentage point every two years.
Continuing at this pace, the European Union will reach gender equality in 60 years, in 2080.
"In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the wait will be even longer to reach the same gender equality levels. The aim of the GEF project is to work towards decreasing the number of years to achieve gender equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina,"it is said in a statement.
The inception workshop was opened by Mr. Gianluca Vannini, Head of Operations Section for Social Development, Civil Society and Cross Border Cooperation of the European Union Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina who said that they expect that this project will help to improve the fulfilment of gender equality policies in the country and ensure that gender is fully included in decision making and IPA programming processes.
"We want to ensure that women and girls participate fully in all aspects of society because only jointly we will be able to achieve sustainable development for all. Respect of gender equality in all spheres and fulfilment of international and EU standards, in particular, will have to be ensured and our joint work and cooperation will be crucial in the country’s approximation path towards the EU," said Mr. Vannini.
Mr. David Saunders, UN Women Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, stated that this project is special because it is designed to help the authorities maximize their use of EU financial investments in women and men, girls and boys, is what makes this project unique. Whether it’s public transportation that needs to prioritize getting children to school early in the morning or investments in rural communities where women produce and sell homemade products.
"The project will help ensure that EU sector investments meet the different needs of all citizens, especially women and girls, or people who live in more remote communities, as much as they support men and boys or people living in urban areas," said Saunders.
The workshop focused on determining the next steps of the project and identifying the sectors that the project will first target. The initial chosen sectors will be those of considerable importance to the socio-economic situation of women and men and to women’s rights in BiH.
While the project will concentrate on a sector approach, emphasis will also be on gender mainstreaming in priority reform areas, UNWOMEN in BiH reported.
(FENA) A. B.
