Start Date : 17 Nov 09   End Date : 19 Nov 09 Location: Naivasha, Kenya

UN-HABITAT and the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) are piloting a training programme for professionals working on land administration to improve gender equality and grassroots participation through good land governance.

Training is needed to build capacity of land professionals in governments and in civil society around gender equality, grassroots participation and good governance for land administration. The poor are particularly vulnerable to the effects of weak governance because they lack the ability to protect their rights to land and other natural resources.  In turn, the lack of secure land rights for great numbers of the urban poor undermines social and economic development of towns, cities and, indeed, of countries.

The three-day pilot training targets government and civil society representatives from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.  These include surveyors, administrators, planners, policy makers and community advocates on land and housing.  Representatives from academic institutions are also attending to help improve the training package.

The pilot is based on a draft training package and two existing publications published by GLTN and UN-HABITAT, Not About Us Without Us, which suggests twelve criteria for ensuring and assessing quality grassroots participation, and Gendering Land Tools.  Material from a third publication being developed in partnership with the Food and Agricultural Organisation will also be used.

The completed training package will strive to:

• Facilitate an understanding of land governance and its pivotal role in improving access to land and security for poor women and men;
• Show how better land governance could lead to improved land rights for both women and men, as well as increased participation of grassroots communities in land matters;
• Define and explore competencies that can contribute to improving land governance.