BMENA Gender Institute to be established

Global Political Trends Center (GPoT), a policy-oriented research institution within Istanbul Kültür University, and Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) have launched the BMENA Gender Institute project, the idea of which was solidified within the framework of Forum for the Future (FfF). The Gender Institute will act as a much needed civil society hub for the Broader Middle East and North Africa region, and its main activities will include coordination and networking, research and policy and advocacy. The establishment of such an Institute is specifically designed to strengthen and underpin existing gender equality policies and programs and to further enhance gender equality in the respective countries of the region.

In terms of coordination and networking, the Institute will act as a center for dialogue among civil society actors, serve as a database for research on gender equality in the region, create a comprehensive collection of all their previous studies, coordinate the projects of NGOs and share information between them, work in partnership with international women’s organizations and other international organizations, and analyze the results of previous actions taken or research done by civil society actors and governments to see which approach worked best. As for research and policy, the Gender Institute will carry out research about economic, political and social problems women face and produce gender disaggregated statistics, use data to translate knowledge into policy and legislation recommendations, monitor and support the full and effective implementation of CEDAW. In the field of advocacy, it will promote the notion of gender rights, the policy of gender mainstreaming and run awareness-raising campaigns on gender equality.

GPoT and TESEV have secured unofficial commitments for funding from several governments and are currently reviewing their options to soon determine a regional partner from the United Arab Emirates, where the Institute will be located.