Gender Trainers Delivered Their First Gender Equality Seminar

On 18 December 2014, four certified gender trainers from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the Republic of Serbia and Serbian Armed Forces (SAF) delivered the first seminar on gender equality to their colleagues in the MoD and SAF. The seminar was organized at the Institute for Strategic Research of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia with the support of UNDP SEESAC.  

The aim of the seminar was to raise gender awareness of ‘persons of trust’ at the MoD and the SAF and advance their understanding of gender equality and its importance for the military .The seminar was opened by Dr. Jovanka Šaranović, Gender Adviser to the Minister of Defence and Director of the Strategic Research Institute. In her opening remarks, Dr. Šaranović emphasized the important role gender trainers have for the Ministry of Defence. Namely, they are in charge of developing and delivering training aimed at raising gender awareness of the MoD staff and members of the Armed Forces.

The interactive seminar covered the following topics: sex and gender, gender roles and gender stereotypes, discrimination, and gender in the security sector reform. An emphasis was laid on the advantages of including gender equality in the MoD and the SAF policies and practices.

The participants rated the workshop as outstanding. They appreciated the open discussions and interactive nature of the seminar and expressed an interest in further education on gender equality.

Gender trainers in the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces are members of the Regional Network, which was established in March 2014, during the Gender Train-the-Trainers Course held in Sarajevo, within the SEESAC’s Gender Equality in the Military Project.

About THE GENDER EQUALITY IN THE MILITARY PROJECT

SEESAC's Gender Equality in the Military: Strengthening of Regional Cooperation on Gender Mainstreaming in Security Sector Reform in the Western Balkans project aims to create a more conducive environment for the advancement of women in the military in the Western Balkans. With this as its goal, SEESAC is supporting the Ministries of Defense in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia in their efforts to ensure better integration, retention and professional development for women in the armed forces as well as stronger participation of women in decision-making and gender sensitive change in their organizational cultures.