Gaza- A training workshop was held last Tuesday on "Capacity Building of Local Institutions," as part of the activities of the Women's Leadership Incubator Project - Gaza Strip 2018, implemented by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor's  Gaza regional office.

The project is funded by the Swedish Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, which works for peace and gender equality, and is supported by Rahma Austria, which provides humanitarian aid, especially in war zones.

The aim of the workshop is to train grass-roots and local institutions in the Gaza Strip on making more effective interventions in the areas of empowerment and protection of women's rights, particularly in marginalized areas.

It also aims to build the participating institutions' capacities in the administrative and financial fields through a specialized training program designed and supervised by specialists and consultants in Training and in human rights. Throughout these sub-projects, the needs of the participating institutions are identified to make the best possible and appropriate interventions.

During the first day, the five target institutions received intensive training on various topics, including an introduction to human rights and women's rights in international conventions and in the Palestinian law as well. They have also been introduced to means for protecting the rights of marginalized groups, and mechanisms for networking and partnering with international and local institutions.

The training - which lasts for the next five months - will not only be theoretical, but will involve practical training and continuous follow-up, interspersed with field visits to participating institutions, said Abeer Abu Shawish, WLI Project Manager.

The training is mainly aimed at supporting institutions involved in the writing and design of small projects targeting women in Gaza's marginalized areas, adds Abu Shawish, where Euro-Med Monitor will finance and supervise every part this process.

The material presented to the participating institutions' work teams is designed specifically for the purpose of writing project proposals to support women and protect their social, economic and political rights, said Mohammed Emad, WLI's gender and women's affairs adviser.

The training would further add meaningful knowledge to all participants, particularly with regards to the situation of human rights, women and gender equality, incorporating all the information processed into writing project proposals specific to women. The information presented and the training provided are also designed to establish strong relationships with international institutions and donors concerned with the development and support of women's rights.

In January, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor launched the second round of the Women's Leadership Incubator project to help empower Palestinian women in the Gaza Strip, promote gender equality, and encourage the integration of women into the community leadership system by training local and NGO staff by including women as team leaders working to improve the living and work conditions of women in local institutions and their surrounding communities.