Strengthening Cross-regional Cooperation for Gender-sensitive Peace-building and Conflict Transformation Initiatives
Project / Program Summary

I. Basic data

Title: Strengthening Cross-regional Cooperation for Gender-sensitive Peace-building and Conflict Transformation Initiatives
Partners: Africa: Women's Organisations, Governments and NGOs
Asia: Women's Organisations, Governments and NGOs
Focal Countries: Africa: Liberia, Mozambique, Burundi and Somalia
Asia: Sri Lanka, Cambodia, PNC and The Philippines
Duration: Two years
Starting Date: 1999
Possible Support Institutions: UNIFEM, UNDP, the Government of Japan
Program budget: US 1.2 million

II. Project / program description

  1. Objectives
    • To strengthen the capacity of African and Asian women from conflict/post-conflict countries, to engage more meaningfully in processes for peace-building and national reconciliation, through cross-cultural learnings and experience-sharing;
    • To promote gender-sensitive development cooperation amongst African and Asian Governments for post-conflict reconstruction.
  2. Activities
    • Two cross-cultural seminars for women activists and other civil society partners from Africa and Asia to share community-level strategies for conflict transformation initiatives;
    • Development of gender-sensitive training manual on cross-cultural techniques for conflict resolution and the promotion of reconciliation at community levels;
    • Initiation of pilot projects for empowerment of displaced women, and for support to women's participation in peace-building activities within specific countries of Africa and Asia, employing strategies derived from transfer and adaptations of cross-cultural learnings;
    • Seminar for cross-section African and Asian Parliamentarians from countries of conflict, to identify opportunities for enhancing South-South development cooperation in post-conflict situations, with emphasis on civil society empowerment, and women's empowerment.
  3. Expected outcomes / impacts
    • Effective knowledge transfer and improved strategies amongst women peace activists in Africa and Asia, at both community and governmental levels;
    • Increased participation of women in peace-building processes in beneficiary countries;
    • Closer cooperation developed amongst Parliamentatians from conflict/post-conflict countries in Africa and Asia, with a stronger commitment to jointly initiating gender-sensitive programmes for post-conflict reconstruction.

Asia/Africa Cooperation
UNIFEM's Africa Section, in collaboration with UNDP's Asia Bureau, will facilitate this innovative process for promoting cross-cultural learnings and skills to address the peace-building challenges in select countries of Africa and Asia. Women's organisations, NGOs and Governments in the targeted countries will benefit from an enhanced capacity to support gender-sensitive approaches to peace-building.

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