Under the UN’s Joint Programme on Gender Equality (2008 – 2010) UNIFEM has launched a national initiative which focuses on increasing women’s rights advocates capacity to hold decision-makers accountable in addressing the gender biases which prevent women’s full participation in public life through supporting: i) initiatives targeting on transformation of discriminatory attitudes towards women’s public leadership; ii) awareness raising about women’s role in elections iii) civil society capacities and efforts to advocate for improved commitments towards gender equality by political parties; iv) building the capacity of civil society to use the media more effectively to promote women’s leadership and gender equality; and v) mobilizing civil society in supporting civic education initiatives for communities on the importance of women as voters. In support of the above, UNIFEM is issuing a Call for Proposals on “Assessing Gender Equality in the 2009 Elections” in 3 regions of Albania: Kukës, Korça, and Vlora. The full Call for Proposals and Proposal Guidelines can be found at www.unifem.sk and www.undp.org.al Deadline for submission of proposals is 16th January 2009.
