TRAINING ON GENDER RELATIONS

Representing the women’s interest

From February 15 – 18 in Hotel Panorama in Skopje the first part of the training on gender relations was carried out. Sixteen women, representatives of female non-governmental organizations, took part in it. This kind of training is part of the program for strengthening of female non-governmental organizations’ capacities for health care education, implemented by the Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation (MCIC), along with the Association for Emancipation, Solidarity and Equality of Women (ESE), the Union of Women’s Organizations of Macedonia (SOZM), the Organization of the Organizations of Women in Macedonia (OOZM), The Union of the Albanian Women in Macedonia (SAZM), the Rom Organization of Women of Macedonia (ROZM) Daja, the Organization of Women of Strumica, the Organization of Women of Stip, and the Organization of Women Prestige from Bitola.

The training objective is to strengthen institutionally the female non-governmental organizations and to create human resources that would be ready to promote the concepts of the gender relation and the development of the health care education. This strengthening will contribute to the improvement of the NGO-s capacity to represent the women’s interests in various ethnic groups and to improve the women’s position in Macedonia.
The first part of the training includes: the social origin of the gender relations, developing women and approaches to gender and development, connections between the key components in gender relations, gender relations, stereotypes, norms and values in the society, potential for changes, profile of daily activities, gender distribution of labour/triple role of the woman, profile of the resources/approach and control, balance of power, practical gender needs and strategic gender needs/interests.
The first impressions of the participants were that this approach is a completely new one, and that it is necessary to included it in the development programs of all female NGO-s.
- I learned to recognize the matters – says one of the participants – and I understood that what I learned may be applied in the everyday work.
The second part is a continuation of the first one, and it will include the same participants. By the end of the year, a total of 96 women will be trained on gender and development. Instructors from MCIC and ESE carry out the training.