Seminars on Gender Awareness in the Military High School in Belgrade

UNDP SEESAC is continuing with seminars on gender equality for students and teaching staff of the Military High School in Belgrade. Organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia, a half day seminar was held for 30 freshmen of the Military High School on 6 April, 2016 and for 18 teaching staff on 7 April 2016.
 

Deputy Head of the Military High School Major Miroslav Ćitić welcomed the participants, highlighting the importance of raising awareness on gender equality, why it is important in the military and what is the significance of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325. Currently, young women represent approximately 30 % of the school’s student body.
 

First year students raised their knowledge on basic concepts of gender equality, gender roles, gender stereotypes and gender based discrimination. Following a lively discussion on how gender stereotypes affect both their everyday life and education, students came up with practical solutions about how to advance gender equality in the existing practices.
 

Gender awareness seminar for the teaching staff of the Military High School, held the day after, also included basic concepts of gender equality, gender based discrimination, but also statistics on the socio-economic position of women and men in Serbia, inclusion of gender perspective in the military, UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 and National Action Plan for its implementation. Experiences and conclusions from the seminars with students were also shared with their teachers with a goal of discussing and finding ways to further raise gender equality in the school.
 

This is the fifth out of six seminars planned for 2016 and 2015 in Belgrade’s Military High School, as part of SEESAC's Gender Equality in the Military: Strengthening of Regional Cooperation on Gender Mainstreaming in Security Sector Reform in the Western Balkans 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.