DAWN Foundation Conducts Gender Workshop for CBMS Team
Understanding gender issues and concerns is a key element to
successfully pilot a gender-responsive CBMS for budgeting and planning.
People who will have direct involvement in enhancing the CBMS for
Gender- Responsive Budgeting need to be gender sensitive themselves. A
higher degree of appreciation of gender concepts and how both men and
women can cooperate as active participants and beneficiaries in the
development process is important.
As
such, a workshop was conducted by the Development through Active Women
Networking Foundation (DAWN Foundation) at the Eagle Point Resort,
Mabini, Batangas, Philippines from August 30- September 1, 2006. This
Gender Sensitivity Training Workshop or GST is part of the capability
building activities of the CBMS-GRB Project that is being piloted in the
Philippines. Silay City Councilor Marie June Pavillar- Castro and Atty.
Anabelle Corral-Respall, both DAWN Programme Officers served as
facilitators for the entire workshop. Also present during the gender
sensitivity workshop was Celia Flor, the Executive Director of DAWN.
As a
key partner in the CBMS- GRB project, the Bacolod- based DAWN Foundation
facilitated this three-day workshop where the entire CBMS Coordinating
Team took part. Dr. Aniceto Orbeta, the CBMS-GRB resource person for
planning and budgeting module development also attended this workshop. A
few weeks before the CBMS Coordinating Team GST, both CBMS-GRB pilot
sites of Escalante City and the E.B.Magalona, had already had their own
gender workshops, also facilitated by DAWN Foundation. The respective
CBMS Technical Working Groups of the two pilot LGUs underwent this
training before they initiated their community data collection
activities
The
workshop included talks and discussions on the difference of sex and
gender, institutions that influence gender concepts, situation of women,
gender bias and gender fairness. There were also discussions on ways
where gender fair principles can be applied to the CBMS-GRB. The
workshop also included group exercises and games designed to deepen the
participants’ awareness and recognition of gender issues and create a
stronger bond among the members of the CBMS Team. An animated film
entitled “The Impossible Dream” was also shown to the participants that
highlight gender biases happening worldwide.
Overall, the GST workshop provided a fresh perspective for everyone who
took part. The complementary roles of both men and women in society for
development were highlighted and discussed. Learnings from this workshop
will be very significant in the continuous task of developing and
piloting a truly gender responsive monitoring tool that will aid local
governments in planning and budgeting.