Gender Trainers in MoDs and AFs in the Western Balkans Develop Gender Awareness Cards

First drafts of gender awareness cards were developed by seven members of the Regional Network of Gender Trainers in the Ministries of Defence and the Armed Forces from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Republic of Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia at a meeting held on 18 February 2016 in Vrdnik, Serbia.

The cards will serve as a training tool for the Gender Trainers in their future training and seminars. The cards will present basic terms and definitions related to gender equality, brief overview of international and national legal standards, as well as the importance of integration of gender perspective in the military.

In addition to this, gender trainers also shared information on gender awareness activities conducted since October 2015 and informed each other about activities in the forthcoming period.  The gender trainers organized gender awareness briefings for around 600 representatives of MODs and members of Armed Force since the last regional meeting held in October 2015. The meeting was organized as part of the 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, Montenegro, Republic of Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in their efforts to ensure better integration, retention and professional development for women in the armed forces; stronger participation of women in decision-making; and gender sensitive change in their organizational culture.