The Division of Gender and Social Affairs at COMESA Secretariat conducted a capacity building training workshop on mainstreaming gender into COMESA specialized institutions and programmes.
The participants were equipped with knowledge of basic concepts and skills to enable them engender their programmes, structures and systems.
The Training was designed in a very participatory manner and discussed the following major topics:
· Understanding the Gender Conceptual Framework
· Links between Gender Equality and Development
· Historical Development of Gender Equality, Approaches and Frameworks
· Regional Responses to the Issue of Gender Equality
· Gender Responsive Budgeting
· Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Gender Mainstreaming Progress in COMESA Programmes
It is expected that from this training, participants will be able to undertake gender analysis and programming with a gender lens and become gender sensitive as a way of life. The Director of Gender, Mrs Emiliana Tembo said the training workshop was meant to try and promote a practical approach for engendering all programmes that are advancing regional integration.
She said that COMESA specialized institutions play a very critical role in accelerating the institution’s main objectives and hence they were targeted for the training. “Of much importance is the fact that gender issues should be part and parcel of COMESA in an integrated manner,” Mrs Tembo pointed out. The COMESA Treaty under Articles 154 and 155 recognises the critical contribution of women to the economic and social transformation of the region.
In this regard, the COMESA Gender Policy whose objective is to foster the mainstreaming of gender perspectives into all policies, structures, systems, programmes and activities of COMESA for sustainable socio-economic development was developed in 2002.
The training which was sponsored by the European Union had participants from the African Trade Insurance (ATI), the Alliance for Commodity Trade Exchange for Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA), the Leather and Leather Products Institute (LLPI) and the Federation of Women in Business (FEMCOM) who met in Lusaka from 17 - 21 June 2013. The COMESA-Leather and Leather Products Institute was represented by the Administration/Budget and Finance Head of COMESA-LLPI, Mrs. Tigist H/Giorgis.