The launch of Nation-wide Training Campaign on Law No. 9970 “On gender equality in society” (GEL) and on the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

Training of trainers (TOT) on GEL and CEDAW
A training of trainers of was held on June 24-25, 2009, on the Law “On gender equality in society” and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The training was organised by DEOP with the UNIFEM support as part of the “MoLSAEO Yearly Action Plan (2008 – 2009) – On the support of the Joint UN Programme on Gender Equality in Albania”.
The training focused on enhancing the capacities of the participants in two directions: a) better understanding GEL and CEDAW to make sure they are interpreted and implemented as a new responsibility in regard to gender equality and fighting discrimination; b) improving training methods and techniques.

The participants were selected in conjunction with the Austrian Project “Equality in Governance”, as part of which a team of trainers on gender issues is up and running. In 2008 and 2009, this team of trainers have carried out numerous training courses in many municipalities of the country. Moreover, another group of participants was chosen too in view of their experience concerning gender equality issues, their experience as trainers, and their geographical location.

The methods and techniques used in the training varied in line with the training’s
specific objectives, and were designed to:
•   Attract the audience’s attention to the role and importance of GEL and CEDAW;
•   Enhance the participants’ interest in specific issues related to GEL and CEDAW; and
•   Present the international standards and concepts as part of the interpretation of the various parts of the law.

In the training, the experts implemented a combination of training methods, such as the Panel, which was used to convey information from expert to audience, followed by reports of the panel members on their observations and the way they plan to implement the future activities in implementation of GEL and CEDAW; the debate, open discussions and group discussions, which focused mainly on the implementation of the Albania ratified international instruments where the participants called attention to the difficulties observed by them so far; the Case study, where the experts, directly or indirectly, conducted various exercises.

The ToT on GEL and CEDAW marks the start of a series of trainings the DEOP is planning to conduct throughout the country with the participation of public servants at local and central level, NGOs, judiciary, media, etc., with the purpose of raising the awareness of the major stakeholders in knowing and implementing GEL and CEDAW, as key documents toward achieving gender equality.