LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA

23-25 OCTOBER 1997

Prepared by

Marie Randriamamonjy

Women in Development Service (SDWW)

Ginya Truitt

Regional Office for Europe (REU)

I. BACKGROUND

The Subregional Workshop on the Preparation and Implementation of National Action Plans for the Integration of Rural Women in Development was organized under the aegis of FAO’s programmes of assistance to Member Countries in support of national activities concerning the implementation of the Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in September 1995. It was also one of the activities in support of the implementation of FAO’s Plan of Action on Women in Development.

Two previous workshops on the preparation and implementation of national action plans were organized: Budapest, Hungary, 4-6 May 1995, and the follow-up workshop in Wageningen, the Netherlands, 18-20 January 1996. Both were organized in collaboration with the FAO Women in Development Service (SDWW) and supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries of the Netherlands.

The training objective of the first workshop was to facilitate the development of a methodology for the preparation of a national action plan for the integration of rural women in development in each of the five selected Central and Eastern European countries: Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia. The training objective of the second workshop was to identify policies and strategies, institutional and technical aspects, implementation methods and resources needed to facilitate the development/revision of the national action plan in those same countries and to gain new insights for incorporation into national gender action plans in Western European countries.

Encouraged by the success of the previous workshops, it was decided to hold a third workshop in Ljubljana, Slovenia, for those Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries that did not participate in the above-mentioned workshops, and to continue the process of developing and implementing action plans and to promote activities that have a positive impact on rural women’s integration in national development policies.

As an example, the Hungarian and Slovenian case studies on the preparation and implementation of their respective National Action Plans were presented at the Workshop, and the main authors served as resource persons. Both plans cover all areas of agriculture and rural development and were prepared with the active participation of relevant actors and partners in development, including governmental and non-governmental organizations, institutions, associations and rural women.

The Workshop was held 23-25 October 1997, organized by FAO/Regional Office Europe in collaboration with FAO/Women in Development Service, and supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food (MAFF) of Slovenia. It was held at Hotel Brdo near Ljubljana, Slovenia (Information Note is attached as Annex 1).

Twenty participants from CEE countries attended the Workshop. The list of participants is attached as Annex 2. Most of the participants were representatives from Ministries of Agriculture or from an organization directly involved in activities promoting the advancement of women at the national level. (Terms of Reference are attached as Annex 3).

A welcoming address was given by Franc But, State Secretary of MAFF, and is attached as Annex 4. Marie Randriamamonjy, Chief, SDWW, gave an introductory speech on behalf of FAO and thanked the government of Slovenia for hosting the Workshop.

Jela Tvrdonova, Chairperson of WPW (Slovakia), Valbona Ylli (Albania), and Inessa Gabayan (Armenia), were appointed rapporteurs for the sessions of the Workshop.

The main objective of the Workshop was to facilitate the development of action plans in the participating countries by:

After the identification of the expectations of the participants regarding the Workshop, Ginya Truitt, APO, REU, presented an overview of the position of women in CEE countries (Annex 5). M. Randriamamonjy then presented both the SEAGA programme and FAO’s Plan of Action on WID in relationship to the Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women. The Timetable is attached as Annex 6.

Following presentations by the participants on the status of rural women in their respective countries, the working process was then developed as follows:

• G. Truitt presented the main elements of the Women in Development Action Plan, which were used in the development of the Hungarian and Slovene case studies. (Outline is attached as Annex 7).
• Alenka Verbole (Slovenia) and László Kulcsar (Hungary) presented the steps taken to prepare and implement their country’s respective national action plans. The Action Plans were published for the Workshop, and are available on REU’s website or in hard copy.
• Plenary discussion took place on each of the case studies presented.
• The participants were divided into three groups to develop generic action plans including 1) policies and strategies, 2) institutional aspects, 3) implementation methods, and 4) resources. The pin board method was used for the first three areas, and the SEAGA methodology was used to develop the fourth area, resources. Guidance on the use of the methods was provided and key questions answered by ROs, the two resource persons, and Tea Petrin, consultant.
• Each group presented to the workshop their collective generic action plan. Discussion and feedback was provided by participants, resource persons, ROs, and T. Petrin. The group presentations are attached as Annex 8.
• Plenary discussion was led by T. Petrin on actions to be taken by the participants in their respective countries as a result of the Workshop training.

The Workshop provided an opportunity to enhance national capabilities and to acquire new insights and/or methodologies for incorporation into (or revision of ) national gender action plans. This was the first time the SEAGA methodology was used in the context of the preparation of national action plans, and the tools generated great interest and enabled participants to reach conclusions in an objective and technical fashion.

More specifically, the results of the Workshop were: 1) identification of actions required at a national level to design a national action plan; 2) training and application of five SEAGA tools to assist in reaching all relevant stakeholders and identifying appropriate resources for the national action plans; 3) exchange of experiences and networking among participants, and; 4) discussion and recommendations for follow up actions to be taken by the participants of the Workshop individually and through their respective institutions including ministries, NGOs, universities, local governments, international institutions, etc.

This was the first time the SEAGA methodology was used in the context of the preparation of national action plans. The tools received high ratings from the participants and enabled them to reach conclusions in an objective and technical fashion. Three people (one participant and the two resource persons) who had attended the previous workshops commented on the benefits of the SEAGA methodology in this regard.

Given the very short time devoted to this subject, the aim was also limited to two aspects:

(1) General understanding of the various development aspects and levels to be taken into consideration while doing a participatory development planning;

(2) Introduction to the use of selected tools, the easiest to use but giving at the same time tangible results.

Two factors prevented participants from drawing full benefit from the exercises: a) the huge variations in the national situations of the respective countries represented; b) the language barrier.

The participants’ feeling that the examples and illustrations in the SEAGA handbook are not directly related to the Eastern European contact might have also plaid a negative role. Nevertheless, participation has been very good as well as the level of understanding. The concept SEAGA proved to be a useful tool, because of the combination analysis of socio-economic factors and gender. The role plays helped a great deal in the understanding of "gender". Participants have also experienced the necessity of taking into account the three levels of analysis: macro, intermediate and micro.

To a certain extent, the SEAGA session helped the participants in the following areas:

• To identify the principal stakeholders;
• To identify key development patterns
• To build consensus about development priorities and action plans.

It was recommended that a follow up workshop be held, focused on implementation issues. Participants from Slovakia and Croatia were inquiring with their respective governments about the possibility of hosting a follow up workshop.

Two large obstacles remain to the preparation and implementation of national action plans. The first is garnering enough support from the government to devote the substantial time and support (including financial) necessary to ensure the exercise is not a futile one. The second is the follow up needed to ensure the plan is implemented once it is written. The case studies in Hungary and Slovenia demonstrated the necessity of both a grassroots approach (Slovenia) and the required networking with the government for follow up (Hungary). While both plans were to be put up to a vote to be adopted as national plans in both countries, tremendous encouragement, follow up, and effort is required for the very serious issues raised in the national action plans to be fully implemented.

In the closing address, M. Randriamamonjy and G. Truitt expressed thanks to the Slovene Government, and to Ms. I. Megusar in particular, for the hospitality received and for having provided excellent working conditions; to Ms. T. Petrin for her outstanding efforts and local assistance to ensure the Workshop was a success; to the resource persons and the participants for their work, enthusiasm and interest in the topics discussed, thus providing excellent dynamics for the Workshop’s development.

J. Tvrdonova, Chairperson of the ECA WPW, extended her thanks to FAO, to the leaders, Ms. I. Megusar and the Slovene government, and to all the participants for contributing to the success of the Workshop.