Raising Gender Awareness in the Military High School in Belgrade

Together with the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia, UNDP SEESAC organized three gender awareness seminars at the Military High School in Belgrade. Two seminars, held on 16 and 23 December 2015, were organized for students, while a seminar on 24 December was held for the teaching staff at the Military High School.
 

Addressing the participants at the opening of the seminars, Deputy Head of the Military High School Major Miroslav Ćitić, emphasized the importance of raising awareness on gender equality, given that girls started enrolling in the Military High School in 2014 and now represent approximately 30% of the student body.
 

These half day seminars for the students are designed to present the basic concepts of gender equality, gender roles; gender stereotypes; gender based discrimination, its impact; and to discuss how to overcome it.
 

Total of 60 students, 30 boys and 30 girls, participated in two seminars, engaging in a lively discussion about their personal experiences in facing gender stereotypes. Students also developed action points on how each of them can contribute to gender equality in the Military High School.
 

Members of the teaching staff (24) of the Military Highs School attended the gender awareness seminar on 24 December 2015. Topics covered included: concepts of gender equality; statistics on the socio economic position of women and men in Serbia; gender based discrimination; inclusion of gender perspective in the military; UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325; and National Action Plan for Implementation of UNSCR 1325. In addition, experiences and conclusions from the seminars held with the students were shared with the teaching staff, with the aim to discuss ways to contribute to gender equality in the Military High School.
 

The three seminars are part of the series of six planned for 2015 and 2016.