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Vojvodina – a Leader in Gender Equality?

Vojvodina – a Leader in Gender Equality?

June 29, 2017 11:00 am | June 29, 2017 01:00 pm

Medija centar Vojvodine
Novi Sad, Serbia

Medija Centar Vojvodine, Zmaj Jovina, Novi Sad

Public debate on the state of institutional mechanisms for gender equality in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina

The Women’s Leadership Academy is organizing a public debate titled “Vojvodina – a Leader in Gender Equality” on Thursday, June 29, 2017 in Novi Sad, in Media Center of Vojvodina (Zmaj Jovina 3 / I), starting at 11 am dedicated to the state of institutional mechanisms for gender equality in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, in order to highlight the importance of preserving and improving the institutional framework for gender equality at all levels of government.

Since 2002, the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina has been steadily raising the bar in terms of gender equality by forming the first executive authority which had this responsibility – the Secretariat for Labor, Employment and Gender Equality, and the Gender Equality Committee of the Assembly of AP Vojvodina. Good practice was continued in 2004 with the adoption of the Decision on Gender Equality in the Assembly of the AP Vojvodina that obliged the provincial authorities to respect and ensure the equality of women and men, as well as the establishment of the Provincial Ombudsman who also has Assistant for Gender Equality (since 2003) and the Institute for Gender Equality (since 2004).

The current situation in provincial gender mechanisms is not encouraging, and activists want to draw the attention of the public to the importance of the survival of the still fragile system that contributed to achieving the equal status of all citizens of Vojvodina.

Public debate will gather representatives of institutions from all levels of government dealing with gender equality, experts, politicians, activists who will make a cross-section and analysis of the situation, and propose measures to improve the existing situation.

The Women’s Leadership Academy is a program whose primary task is to bring together and strengthen the capacities of women engaged in public and political life and link them to the struggle for the advancement of women’s human rights. After the closure of the Gender Equality Authority in 2014, the Academy organized public advocacy campaign for the establishment of a new mechanism at the national level. Positive pressure and inclusion of all important actors resulted in the Government’s decision to establish a Gender Equality Coordination Body, which still operates today.

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