 | Haifa Israel. Pic © David Shankbone |
A comprehensive two-week gender course for trainers of local governments is underway in Haifa, Israel. The course which began on Tuesday is made possible through joint working between UN-HABITAT, the Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training Centre, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Centre for International Cooperation (MASHAV).
Twenty-four participants representing 18 countries, from Albania to Zimbabwe, are participating in the course. The training increases understanding of why gender is important in urban planning, land rights and housing, budgeting and economic development. Links between gender and media, the urban environment, climate change and safety and security in cities are also explored. In recent years, there has been increasing attention on the need to improve women’s representation in local governance. Only about one in five local government councillors is a woman and analysis of 60 countries by the United Cities and Local Governments shows that women represent only nine per cent of mayors. UN-HABITAT promotes gender balance in all aspects of local government programmes and activities. The course will introduce trainers to tools and approaches for incorporating gender perspectives into regular training delivered by local governments. The ultimate goal is to increase the capacity of local governments to promote gender equality in their communities and to ensure that women and men have equal say in how cities and municipalities are organised and managed. Click here for more information on UN-HABITAT’s work on gender and local governance. |
