NGO training completed

UNJP has passed another important treshold

Non-govermental Orgizations capacity enhancement program completed at the meetings organized in Şanlıurfa on June 1-2, 2006.

           An essential part of the programme is the capacity enhancement of the NGOs to encourage engagement of women in politics in greater numbers.

          The Association for Training and Supporting Women Candidates or KA-DER Ankara, a leading women’s association,  conducted training programmes in six cites in partnership with the UN.

         Workshops organized by  KA-DER Ankara focused on inspiring women's associations operating in the programme cities  (namely İzmir, Kars, Nevşehir, Şanlıurfa, Trabzon ve Van) to be more active in creation of gender sensitive policies and informed them on the latest reforms in the Turkish legal system in regards to women's rights. NGOs were also encouraged to cooperate with each other in creating advocacy plans and in drafting projects  to help improve the lives of the women and girls in Turkey.

         KA-DER Ankara also conducts a campaign, "Act Today For Tommorrow", to make local governments more gender sensitive, to encourage women friendly local action plans, to seek the ways to enhance the cooperation between local governments and the women's associations.

        Workshops orginized by KA-DER Ankara within the framework of the UN Joint Programme, were very instrumental to outline the problems and increase the capacity of the women's associations to make them part of the solution for women issues.

KA-DER Ankara officials point out that experience of the women's organizations differ from one city to another and that in addition to well organized and active women's associations some of them do not have sufficient background and resources to operate effectively.

The outcome of the workshops tells us that scope of most of the women's organizations on issues related to gender is very limited. Their activities generally involve in prevention of violence against women, unemployment. However, women do not pay sufficient attention into urban problems and participation in the local politics. KA-DER Ankara workshops also witnessed that many women's rights associations actually operate as charity organizations.

          Workshops focused on outlining the problems and challenges and to find desired solutions to the problems faced by the female population.  Another important focal point was to attract the women's associations into advocacy programmes and enhance their capacity for future participation in projects related to the Joint Programme.

          Joint Programme also forsees a training programme for local government officails to outline the responsibilities of the governors' offices and municipalities to facilitate women's more active participation in the decision making process. 

          Output of these capacity increase efforts will be finalized when the Local Action Plans will be prepared by NGOs and local governments with the participation of private sector companies.