05 December 2019 – Balkans Policy Research Group has officially started implementing the project “Fostering the Women Caucus’ role through regional outreach & establishing their relationship with the media”.
The project foresees a series of regional consultations fostering the dialogue between women MPs and women Municipal Assembly Members on the needs and challenges regarding gender issues. The first regional consultation was held on 26 November 2019 in Prizren between the newly elected women MPs (represented by Ms. Saranda Bogujevci and Ms. Yllza Hoti) and Municipal Assembly Members from the region of Prizren.
Ms. Saranda Bogujevci, a former Women Caucus Board member explained that the mission of the caucus is to promote and advocate on the advancement of women’s issues regardless of the MPs’ political affiliation. Ms. Bogujevci noted how important it is for the Women Caucus to coordinate with the Municipal Assembly Members so that the challenges pertaining to gender issues are easily identified and addressed with a unified voice.
Ms. Yllza Hoti, as a new MP, expressed her commitment to gender issues and proposed for greater involvement of men in the dialogue and cause for gender equality.
In this consultation, Women Municipal Assembly Members identified a number of issues regarding the promotion and advancement of women’s rights and gender equality, including the challenges they encounter in their day to day work. They emphasized the need for support from women and men at the central level to properly facilitate greater change within the country.
Other project activities supporting the Women Caucus include: an intensive training on the use of social networks for women MP’s, meetings with media representatives, and a concluding conference.
This project “Fostering the Women Caucus’ role through regional outreach &establishing their relationship with the media” is funded by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) – an initiative of the Government of Canada”.