OSCE supports educational visit to Skopje for young Tajik Gender Champions

A group of 15 young Tajik Gender Champions, eight women and seven men, visited Skopje to network and learn about the advancement of women during an educational visit from 17 to 21 November 2018. The visit was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe.

The Gender Champions attended a conference on women entrepreneurs, held meetings with civil society and discussed best practices with representatives from two centres in Skopje established by Health Education and Research Association, namely the Family Centre against Domestic Violence and the Youth Centre for Reproductive Health for Roma minority in the municipality of Suto Orizari.

Before and during the educational visit the Gender Champions worked on assignments to prepare their own projects on improving economic empowerment of women. They incorporated best practices learned during their educational visit to Skopje on how to promote women to leadership positions and financial independence by improving entrepreneurial possibilities for women, with a focus on rural areas.

At the OSCE Mission to Skopje the Gender Champions met with staff of the Mission and presented the new Gender Champions’ Anthem written by them.

This was the second educational visit to Skopje by the Gender Champions from Tajikistan. The first one took place in the summer of 2018 and offered the possibility to visit the Parliament, the National Council for Gender Equality, the UN Women Office in Skopje and the Business Association of Women entrepreneurs.

“As a follow-up to these two visits, it is envisaged by the Programme Office in Dushanbe to conduct a summer camp for young people from the two countries in 2019 in co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Skopje and other relevant organizations. The Gender Champions will also be supported by the Programme Office in Dushanbe to implement their projects in the upcoming year,” said Vesna Ivanovikj-Castarede, the Gender and Anti-Trafficking Officer of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe.