CSO WINS – Capacity-building in the Southern Mediterranean to Open Policy Dialogue and Monitoring for Women in Society

Project Duration

2015 - 2018

Budget

€650 000

Status

Completed

Countries covered:

Algeria
Egypt
Jordan
Lebanon
Libya
Morocco
Palestine *
Tunisia

Brief Description

The CSO WINS project targets local associations in order to: – Strengthen their ability to mobilise public opinion with the aim of asserting women’s rights. – Encourage them to monitor women-related policies in the political, professional and social sectors at a local, national and Euro-Mediterranean level. It is funded by the Neighbourhood Civil Society Facility in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Instrument.

Countries concerned: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia.

Objectives

The project’s objective is to develop the skills of civil society organizations in order to conduct effective advocacy actions in all the areas: economic, political, social or cultural. In addition, the CSO WINS project opens many opportunities for helping these organizations to play an active role in the monitoring of policies on women’s rights and to get inspired from existing advocacy actions at national and Euro-Mediterranean level.

In order to achieve its goals, the project encourages the transfer of lessons learned and learning exchanges between organizations of the Euro-Mediterranean region, the production of resources on advocacy, the implementation of advocacy campaigns, especially outside the capitals and major cities, and the dialogue with policy makers.

Actions in brief

Identification of 12 organisations that have developed successful practices in advocacy and policy dialogue for equality through a call for proposals;
Conducting a study on critical success factors to advocate for equality from the analysis of the 12 selected successful practices;
Organization of a capacity-building workshop on advocacy and policy dialogue, for 36 organizations of the Euro – Mediterranean region;
Production of a toolkit on advocacy for equality;
Selection of 8 organizations among those who participated in the advocacy workshop to participate in peer learning exchanges and conduct advocacy campaigns;
Selection of 8 organizations among the 12 who developed successful practices to participate in peer learning exchanges and accompany 8 organizations that will conduct advocacy campaigns;
Preparation of strategic advocacy action plans by the 8 previously selected organizations; – Implementation of pilot advocacy campaigns based on action plans which were previously developed;
Organization in Casablanca (Morocco) of a dialogue with policy makers-among others of the EU and the Union for the Mediterranean and international organizations- and designing of a strategy on policy dialogue concerning equality at Euro-Mediterranean level;
Organization of dialogues with national authorities in 8 countries of the southern Mediterranean in order to make a better coordinated monitoring of equality-related policies.

Implementing partners: the European Institute of the Mediterranean through the Euro-Mediterranean Women’s Foundation, in partnership with the Association of Victims of Terrorism Djazairouna, the Center of Arab Women for Training and Research, the Federation of the Democratic League of Women’s Rights, the Forum Femmes Méditerranée, the Palestinian Businesswomen’s Association Asala and the Euro-Mediterranean Academic and Scientific Network on Women and Gender.

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