SEESAC Takes Part in the Workshop on Teaching Gender to the Military

Over the course of the years, invaluable knowledge and best practices on the integration of gender in the curriculum has been accumulated by various military academies and Ministries of Defence of NATO and Partner countries. In order to facilitate the exchange of this information, the Partnership for Peace (PfP) Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes working groups on Security Sector Reform (SSRWG) and Education Development (EDWG) organized a four-day workshop entitled “Integrating Gender in the Curriculum – 3rd workshop on teaching gender to the military” on 9 December 2013 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Approximately 30 participants from national defense academies and MoDs of NATO and Partner countries as well as NATO personnel took part in the workshop. The specific focus of this workshop was on building skills and formulating strategies, including personal action plans.

SEESAC’s Project Officer Ms. Danijela Djurovic presented a joint initiative by SEESAC and the Military Academy in Belgrade to organize a series of four (4) one-day Basic Gender Awareness Seminars.

The seminars, all of which took place at the Military Academy from October to December 2013, were implemented within the framework of the regional Gender Equality in the Military: Strengthening of Regional Cooperation on Gender Mainstreaming in Security Sector Reform in the Western Balkans project. Furthermore, Ms. Djurovic indicated that the trainings were tailored specifically for cadets and that the oral and written feedback showed that they want to continue to learn about gender equality.

ABOUT THE GENDER EQUALITY IN THE MILITARY PROJECT

SEESAC's Gender Equality in the Military 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.