Strengthening gender equality the CHANGE way

CHANGE (Capitalising on the Human Dimension Mandate to Advance Gender Equality) - this year’s winner of the OSCE’s Gender Project Award – is an ongoing quest to find new and better ways to promote gender equality.

The project aims to use the entire human dimension mandate of the OSCE’s Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to promote and improve gender equality. This is done in a variety of ways, from strengthening mechanisms and other institutions working on gender equality, to increasing women’s participation in politics, the electoral process, the judicial sector and the security sector.

“CHANGE won this year’s Gender Project Award for ODIHR, and we could not be prouder,” says Sanja Nikolin, CHANGE Project Officer. “With this project, we are strengthening both individual and collective influence on democratic institutions, policies and social norms to advance gender equality, fundamental rights of women and their safety. The fact that this work has been recognized and rewarded has made us even more enthusiastic about the project and its impact.”

Countries that are part of the project have already benefited from tailor-made training courses, consultations, leadership events, exchanges, study visits and newly developed toolkits.   

The agent of change: building on past work

It is no coincidence that the project proudly carries the name CHANGE. ODIHR colleagues with a wide range of expertise came together and discussed how to change approaches, develop new tools, and wield influence in a different way: the CHANGE way.

The project builds on ODIHR’s past and present work on gender equality. It includes the strongest features developed by in-house experts, and embeds them in a fresh approach by engaging new allies and developing novel methodologies.

“The essence of this year’s Project Award Winner is synthesis and synergy,” says Kateryna Ryabiko, ODIHR’s First Deputy Director. “We knew that to be successful, we needed to try something innovative. By harnessing all our existing capabilities and strengths, we put together the many individual components into one innovative output. This is truly a case of ‘Better Together’”.

CHANGE is born

ODIHR developed the CHANGE concept as a holistic gender equality implementation tool. “Experts from across ODIHR brought their own skills and experience, positioning CHANGE activities into ODIHR’s broader work on gender equality,” says Sanja.

She emphasizes that it was intended to be effective, direct, dynamic, and strong; just like the women who made it happen. A marketing tour de force.

“ODIHR has a very specific mandate and role that is not filled by any other organization or institution. Within this framework, the CHANGE project brings together the strongest and best among existing approaches and develops new ones where needed,” says Sanja. “The project is an example of co-creation that opens ODIHR’s innovation process up to a wide range of voices and ideas.”

CHANGE in the real world

One of the key human factors of CHANGE is creating a dialogue between people and organizations that might never otherwise have come together: under-represented groups, male allies, religious communities, human rights defenders, and national institutions working towards greater gender equality.

“CHANGE is the perfect example of enabling different viewpoints in a safe space,” says Kateryna. “We give the most under-represented a chance to speak to decision-makers, creating an opportunity to empower.”

For example, in North Macedonia, CHANGE brought together leaders from the five constitutional faiths with gender experts and civil society representatives. The specific objective was to enhance understanding of the potential synergies between faith-based communities and the wider human rights framework. It provided a unique platform to discuss opportunities for male allies to support gender equality and establish networks for this purpose.

The exchange gave all sides a sense of engagement and empowerment.

“CHANGE taught me how to better plan different self-advocacy steps that will help me achieve my goals, and I now understand how important it is to take opposing views into consideration,” says Vanesa Hazir, I-CHANGE training participant from Roma community in Skopje, North Macedonia.

Charting New Frontiers

CHANGE has big plans for 2024 to further increase its outreach and impact.

“CHANGE is a project for the whole OSCE area,” says Kateryna. ”I’m certain the legacy of this project will help us as an organization to improve the implementation of our activities. In the future, I would love to see our in-depth data analysis becoming a new standard.”

Based on its achievements so far, CHANGE has set a strong benchmark for success.

Starting in 2019, the CHANGE project foresaw a total budget of EUR 3,420,814 and is still actively looking for resources. The project has been made possible by the generosity of donors including Germany, Finland, France, Norway, Spain, and Sweden.