By Libya Herald reporter.
Tunis, 17 June 2015:
A two-week-workshop for Libyan women in Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and who are engaged in . . .[restrict]Libya’s transitional process, was organized by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems Libya (IFES) – part of the Women Leadership Program (WLP) in Tunis.
IFES implemented the second edition of its WLP aiming to support women’s participation in democratic processes and promote the vision of a gender-balanced society, through a specific training on professional and leadership skills as well as on electoral and political processes, in order to enhance their active engagement in the public space.
Through the WLP, IFES intends to show that women can be both a catalysts for change and can hold key decision-making positions and acquire leadership skills.
The workshop took place from 31st May to 11th June, and was opened by IFES Libya Chief of Party, (Mrs) Samia Mahgoub. It was attended by 24 women, among them the only women Commissioner of the High National Electoral Commission (HNEC), representatives of CSOs, and activists from different regions of the country.
During the twelve days, participants attended an interactive course and, with the support of expert facilitators, reinforced their knowledge in Women Rights and International Standards on Gender and Equality, Leadership and Management, Communication and Advocacy, Negotiation, Work Ethics and Time Management.
A module on Violence against Women was also presented during the workshop. Participants were engaged in different activities and in constructive discussions on the role that women can play in the political and public spheres.
The session was particularly focused on advocacy and campaign training and strategy, with the purpose of strengthening their abilities in advocating for the inclusion of human rights and gender equality principles in Libyan legislation.
The second edition of the WLP has been reviewed and adopted to meet the significant needs of women in Libya today. This program aims to increase the active engagement of women in the professional realm and in Libya’s political process, as well as enable CSOs to adopt the same curriculum to empower women throughout Libya.
“This is essential to ensuring that transitions are both fully inclusive and democratic, and respond to the needs and priorities of Libyan women’’, stated Samia Mahgoub, Libya’s Chief of Party, explaining the reasons and goals of the WLP second edition.
The workshop was organized by IFES and funded by USAID. [/restrict]
