As part of the Mission's activities to support gender mainstreaming, the Mission has supported the Municipality of Berane in developing a Local Action Plan for Gender Equality, whose adoption is expected by the end of this year. This action plan serves as a basis for the municipality to consider a gender perspective in drafting its documents and activities.
In the framework of this activity, Dominique Waag, Head of OSCE Mission to Montenegro, visited Berane on 2 November and met with the Mayor Vuko Todorović and his associates.
In their meeting Ambassador Waag commended the work done in mainstreaming gender in the work of the municipality and its main policies. "Our goal is to support Berane in becoming a local government truly promoting equality between men and women that can serve as an example for other municipalities. It is essential that local governments take the gender dimension fully into account - in their policies, their organization and their practices and services. This will contribute to a more egalitarian, richer and more prosperous, and socially just and sustainable local community," said Ambassador Waag.
In this new approach, Berane has served as a pilot site in transforming it into a gender-responsive municipality. In practice it means that, while developing local strategies and providing services, it will take care that the needs of men and women are identified and respected equally.
Ambassador Waag welcomed the fact that Berane Municipality has been using the updated Methodology for Strategy Development that provides guidelines on how to mainstream gender in policies, programmes and projects. "This amended Methodology was developed with the support of the Mission and we are happy to know that this tool is being used not only by national, but also by municipal government bodies," she said.
Mayor Todorović underlined the importance of the Mission's support in preparing the municipal Local Action Plan for Gender Equality, noting that its implementation will be a significant step towards achieving gender equality in the municipality. In addition, he stressed that the updated Methodology will be used in drafting other municipal action plans and that the local government will continue supporting and promoting equality between men and women.
The Mission also works with the municipalities of Pljevlja, Šavnik and Tuzi, and plans to expand to other municipalities. On the national level, the Mission has supported the development of the National Strategy for Gender Equality 2021-2025, and continuously trained government and Parliamentary officials on how to mainstream gender when drafting and monitoring strategic documents and budgets. It also supported the development of an accredited education programme in cooperation with the Human Resource Management Authority for public servants who are responsible for drafting and monitoring strategics documents.
