Only through active communication at the local and state level is it possible to make the voice of local women's initiatives gain the strength of a national character, the conference of the Civic Alliance (GA) said.
GA announced that the conference "Life between prejudice and success", which they organized last night in Budva, is part of the project "Networking platforms for achieving gender equality", which was supported by the Embassy of the United States of America (USA) through the Small Grants Program of the Democratic Commission. Podgorica.
Vice-President of the Montenegrin Parliament and co-president of the Assembly's Women's Club, Zdenka Popović, pointed out that gender equality is a matter of human rights, not only women's rights, and that chapter 23 cannot be closed without a story about gender equality.
"The memorandum on cooperation between the Women's Club of the Assembly and women's councilor clubs in Montenegro, which we signed with the support of the GA, is a wind at the back of women from the local level and enables them to rise, as well as for their voice to be heard," said Popović.
Popović said that there is a need for greater solidarity among female politicians at the state and local level, stressing that they have strength, because there are 220 female MPs at the local and national level.
The president of the Parliamentary Committee for Gender Equality, Jelenka Andrić, said that the benefits of such initiatives are already visible, precisely because female politicians from the local level are more visible, "because now we already have the presence of local councilors in the media and recognition of the needs of women from the local level".
"Andrić mentioned the Women's Parliament as another institute that can be well used to strengthen state and local cooperation, as a good resource for connecting and creating policies that will be more favorable to gender equality in Montenegro," the statement said.
MP and member of the Committee for Gender Equality, Boris Mugoša, pointed out that women's issues are issues of civilization, not issues that only women deal with.
He stated that it is important to have a balance in making decisions and creating solutions, and that it is not good for only women to create solutions when it comes to women's rights.
Mugoša said that it is very important that the state institutions recognize the quality of these projects and that after their completion they take the initiative and use it as a resource for further work, hoping that the budget will define items to strengthen the capacity of councilors at the local level.
The parties, as he assessed, do not do enough to strengthen women's organizations within the party.
Mugoša pointed to the findings of the State Audit Institution, which stated that parties do not properly spend the money allocated from the state budget for the empowerment of women's organizations.
GA Program Director Milan Radović, in his introductory speech, reminded that, in addition to the formation of women's councilor clubs in Plav, Gusinje and Rožaj, a Platform on the cooperation of those women's councilor clubs was also created.
The announcement states that he positioned the Memorandum on Cooperation between the Women's Club of the Parliament of Montenegro and women's councilor clubs in the country as the umbrella document of the project.
The head of the Department for Media, Culture and Education of the US Embassy in Montenegro, Steven Drajkorn, stated that the goal of the program was to increase the political participation of women in Montenegro.
He emphasized that it is necessary to ensure gender balance in decision-making processes, because women bring valuable changes, enrich management and improve policy outcomes.
"We are glad that this project led to the establishment of women's councilor clubs in Plav, Gusinje and Rozaje. We are looking forward to the long-term results envisioned by this project, such as the cooperation and joint action of the deputies and local councilors," said Drajkorn.
As he said, building relationships through this project was key to its long-term success.
"We believe that this will empower local councilors to deal with the broader issue of gender equality, because only by joining forces can we win this battle," said Draykorn.
The GA said that during the discussion, the main ideas for improving the dialogue between local and state institutions in support of women were the establishment of gender equality offices by the local self-government, the inclusion of gender equality in basic education through the subject of civic education, and the breaking down of stereotypes and barriers.
"GA has been working for many years to raise awareness of the importance of gender equality and, through activities, contributes to strengthening the role of women in the decision-making process, both at the local and national level," says the announcement.
It is stated that the first women's councilor club was founded in Bijelo Polje in May last year, which was an incentive for the further formation of women's councilor clubs in other municipalities.
"Today, we already count 15 women's councilor clubs, which were formed with the support of the GA," the statement added.
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