The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the sub-regional office for GCC countries in Muscat, held a one-week multi-stakeholders workshop in co-operation with the Ministry of Social Development, the Department of Women Affairs from 7th to 11th of April 2019.

The workshop was attended by key staff members of the Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Health, the National Center for Statistics and Information and staff from the Omani Women Association in Muscat and other governorates.

The workshop, which included more than 45 attendees, came to mark an important year for UNFPA since the Fund is planning to celebrate 25 years after the issuance of the Cairo Declaration in 1994, by holding a high-level global conference co-convened by UNFPA to further galvanize partnerships and direct our collective energy to advance the UNFPA objectives. The anticipated Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 will be held in Kenya from 13-15 November 2019, therefore this joint workshop was in consistent with the pillars of the ICPD in relation with enhancing women empowerment process and considering the needs of the disadvantaged groups in the community in the services provision facilities and programmes targeting women.

The event aimed at providing the staff members of the participating Ministries and other entities with the mechanisms to analyze gender based needs and community needs, create programmes meeting these needs and providing tools for evaluation, considering women and adolescent girls’ social roles and requirements.

The training improved participants’ ability to address gender equality as a cross-cutting issue through designing, implementing and monitoring development projects. The course covered practical strategies and skills for mainstreaming gender – including the use of gender planning frameworks. The course integrated active and participatory learning approaches, with an emphasis on reflective and collaborative learning approach. The training allowed sharing professional and personal experiences in an active and interesting manner.