Gender course report 2001

Background/Context of the Course
WARI's experiences with evaluation of many projects have shown that the gender elements are often missing in most projects. Even women NGOs are not able to mainstream gender in their own organization as they have little understanding of the interaction of development with gender in a clear and integrated manner. We have given recommendations for integration to donor and NGOs but the challenge is who will increase that understanding as there are not enough resources of learning that are of short duration but of high quality. This proposed training program fills that gap. It puts together a comprehensive list of topics and a team of highly competent resource person of the region to prepare a powerful course experience.

Objectives
The training workshop hopes to enhance both the gender sensitivity and the capacity of participants to understand, analyze and utilize gender consideration. The course is an intensive survey course at the upper undergraduate/graduate level designed to create a better understanding of gender concepts and to integrate gender issues with development projects. The aim is to develop necessary knowledge and expertise to initiate, implement, formulate and evaluate gender programs and to have a clearer understanding of historical and cultural aspects of gender construction in Southeast Asia.

Target Groups
The course is suitable for NGOs, GOs, donors, students, teachers, activists, media persons, and concerned citizens in Southeast Asia. Most participants will be students, teachers, and advisors, NGO and GO leaders/workers who deal or want to deal with women/gender issues in community/development contexts.

Outcomes
Increased conceptual clarity of gender and the totality of development forces--how they interact, and how to incorporate gender into research/writing, project implementation, and advocacy efforts. The course will equip participants with sufficient knowledge and expertise to participate in national discussion and to systematically implement project or conduct research/inquiry on gender issues at the local interests.

Method and Approach:
The course is led by Dr. Darunee Tantiwiramanond and Dr. Shashi R. Pandey (coauthers, By Women for Women: Women's Organization in Thailand). They will be assisted by a panel of experts and invited/guest speakers from UN agencies and other universities. Lectures will be a balance between theory and practical applications of gender analysis methodologies. The course pedagogy is both teacher-centered and student-centered providing equal amount of time for both lecture and class discussion and exchange. Each day will focus on one topic divided into 2 sessions: morning (9-12) and afternoon (2-5). Each session will consist of 45-minute presentation, 45-minute video, and 45-minute group discussion.

The course is taught in English; Discussion can be conducted in local languages. Readers and course material will be available. Guidance will be provided for conducting research, writing reports, and making presentations.

Below is a tentative outline of the main topics and key ideas that we covered. The final details may vary to accommodate the instructors' expertise and participants' interests. Since the course is only 11-day long, detailed/in-depth discussion of each topic will not be possible. Key ideas, concepts, controversies and frameworks, however, will be introduced to increase critical gender literacy and understanding of development themes and concepts. The main goal is to demystify 'gender' and explain the why and how of gender in development projects.

Topics:

Organization Profile:
WARI is an independent, secular, non-profit organization based in Bangkok. It is devoted in general to the issues of socio-economic development and in particular to the issues of development and gender. The main goal of WARI is to promote gender sensitivity and capacity building of GOs & NGOs. It carries out research, education and training programs, and aims to be a regional media resource and action center. WARI carries out research so that policies are based on informed choices, and the knowledge base is expanded for deeper discussions.

A feedback about the year 2001 gender course and conference:

"I want you to know how much I enjoyed working with you and being involved with your participants in the gender course and conference 2001. I was very impressed with the kind of enthusiasm and energy that you generated in the participants in the training program. Your mentoring of the younger women researchers and NGO workers was really inspiring and their enthusiasm is its own reward. It is as if you cast new rays of light into the desperate conditions that have hung over the countries of Mekong sub-region. The very idea that all these people are back at work with heightened gender consciousness is truly inspiring. I do hope you will be able to continue these training programs. You are serving a vital function. I know very well how exhausting this work and organizing international workshops and meetings can be. But there are so few in the region who are really addressing the fundamental issues of gender. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with you. You have my continued support."

------Dr. Kathleen Barry
(One of the resource person for the 10 day course on Women, gender and Development, and one of the speaker for the gender conference)
Professor of Gender Studies
Penn state University USA
Author: Vietnamese Women in Transition

Gender Course Evaluation (2001)

Question 1 : Overall, how valuable did you find the seminar?
Answer : Twenty-five percent of participants found seminar valuable and seventy percent of participants found it's very valuable.

Question 2 : How clear were the objectives of the seminar?
Answer : Forty-five percent of participants found seminar very clear and fifty-five percent of participants found it's clear.

Question 3 : Would you say that the objectives of this seminar met all, some or none of your expectations? Explain briefly which of your expectations were not met and why?
Answer : Most of participants said "I met all my expectations" and " my understanding of gender is better and clearer".

Question 4 : Was the content of the seminar appropriate?
Answer : Sixty percent of participants agree that the content of seminar were appropriate. Thirty-five percent of participants strongly agree while five percent of participants strongly disagree.

Question 5 : What have you learned in this seminar which you can apply most in your work?
Answer :
- Learned about more experiences, and also about how to improve organizational program in Cambodia.
- Increased my capacity to share to communities partners and to contribute to staff of my organization.
- The most important/ significant thing that I've learned in this seminar is Mainstreaming Gender. To this matter, I know it takes times but I will attempt to make senior men staff understand gender someday, it's better to start today.
- Overall, it seems to me that I've learned lots of things, new knowledge and new patterns of thinking.
- The subject I might apply in my fieldwork is Gender and education, Nutural Resource, Prostitution, HIV/ AIDS and to adapt related subject as Gender Concept in my work place to improve Gender main steaming in the office.

Question 6 : What constraints might prevent you from applying what you have learned?
Answer : a sample of answers is as follows
- difficulty of involving community decision makers
- insufficient budget and knowledgeable experts
- the implementation of the program in the sense of making community clearly understand the importance of gender
- ethnic language
- local / rural/ policies
- the gender & prostitution is very difficult to implementation because too many causes to prostitution in my country
- it will be difficult on gender & prostitution, some women and men still deeply like it
- our decision makers don't understand accurately what is gender issue, and how to integrate it into their work

Question 7 : Was the methodology of the seminar appropriate?
Answer : Sixty-five percent of participants agreed and thirty-five percent of participants strongly agreed that the content of seminar was appropriate.

Question 8 : How useful was the groupwork and exercises?
Answer : Eighty- five percent of participants found the group-work and exercises very useful and fifteen percent of participants found it's useful to some extent.

Question 9 : How were the audio-visual material (such as the video programmes, transparencies drawings and diagrams) used in this module were?
Answer : Ninety-five percent of participants found the audio-visual material used in this module were clear, and five percent of participants found them unclear.

Question 10 : How useful was the Course Books (Background Information & Reader)?
Answer : Thirty percent of the participants felt that the Course Books was useful to some extent and seventy percent of participants found very useful.

Question 11 : Were the trainers well prepared and their sessions well presented?
Answer : Fifty-five percent of participants agree that with the trainers were well prepared and their session well presented, and forty-five of participants strongly agree.

Do you have any suggestions for the trainers?
- I said already that having trainers from various organizations is good because it's more colorful, not monotonous.

Question 12 : Was the general atmosphere and relationships were very constructive ?
Answer : seventy-five percent of participants strongly agree with the general atmosphere and relationships being very constructive, twenty of participants agree, and five percent of participants strongly disagree

Do you have any suggestions for the trainers?
- No suggestions - as the trainers are very competent especially Organization as WARI and of course DR. Sashi and DR.Darunee paying a very warmed hospitality apart from course.
- Not a suggestions - Very positive to have the three countries represented, that really added to cross-fertilization which would not be possible if only one country-specific.
- Try to recruit more men participants.

Question 13 : How was the seminar organized?
Answer : Fifty-five percent of participants felt that the seminar was organized very well. Forty-five percent found it's well, while five percent found it average.

Question 14 : How was the length of the seminar ?
Answer : Sixty percent of participants felt that the length of the seminar was just right. Thirty percent found it's too short while for ten percent it was too long.

Question 15 : What other suggestions or comments would you like to make?

- I would like to have more time in this seminar because all topics are very helpful to me.
- Maybe this seminar should be organized for two-three months.
- I need practice for gender analyses.
- The balance number of men and women participants is very big difference.
- Make sure that the trainers are focused and highlight more to make more inputs available and Knowledge from to participants
- Video presentation should keep the time short and available to disseminate later as knowledge and information to participants, because it is quite different when we watch movies.