OSCE Mission to Montenegro organizes two-day workshop on gender equality for municipal gender focal points
In order to promote gender equality at the local level, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, in co-operation with the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights, organized a two-day workshop on gender equality for municipal gender focal points on 28 and 29 March 2019 in Podgorica.
Seventeen participants from 15 Montenegrin municipalities learnt about the National Action Plan for Gender Equality as well as how to plan and measure the achievement of gender equality at the local level and apply a gender perspective in the development of municipal budgets. The workshop was an opportunity to exchange good practices, evaluate accomplishments and activities, and share challenges and views on gender-related issues.
In welcoming the participants, Lia Magnaguagno, OSCE Democratization Programme Manager, said that the Mission supported the establishment of the Municipal Gender Focal Point Network in 2013 and continues to support the development of its capacity as an important tool for promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women at the local level. “We are well aware that you are facing numerous challenges in your daily work, but we are also convinced that, as a network, you can come up with innovative solutions and ideas,” said Magnaguagno.
Biljana Pejović, Head of the Department for Gender Equality at the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights, presented a draft National Action Plan for achieving gender equality and an overview of the implemented activities in the past year. She emphasized the importance of gender-responsive budgeting, and an allocation of resources in order to meet the needs of women.
Human rights expert Slavica Striković said that even a superficial analysis of both local and state budgets shows that taxpayers’ money is spent in a way that deepens gender differences. Therefore, it is necessary to undertake more concrete steps in order to introduce gender-responsive budgeting, she concluded.
The OSCE Mission will continue reinforcing the endeavours of the network by providing expertise, facilitating training events and co-ordinating between stakeholders, said Magnaguagno.