Solution Exchange India

WHAT IS SOLUTION EXCHANGE FOR THE GENDER COMMUNITY?

The Gender Community promotes gender equality and women’s empowerment in India, focusing on increasing development effectiveness to improve the gender and girl child situation, promote a rights-based approach to development, and ensure gender mainstreaming.

Solution Exchange helps members of this Community increase the effectiveness of their individual efforts to promote gender equality and address challenges to women’s involvement in development – increased access, capacity, and equality in women’s social, economic and political endeavors, by tapping into their collective knowledge and collaborative actions.

 FOCUS AREAS

1. Gender Based Violence (GBV) including Prenatal Sex Selection, Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence
2. Issues of tribal, dalit and marginalized women
3. Child Rights and Protection
4. Issues of Sexual Minorities
5. Social Security Issues (including the elderly, women headed households)
6. Engendering policies, programmes and institutions (e.g. gender budgeting, sexual harassment at work place, gender mainstreaming)
7. Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (e.g. economic, political)
8. Gender gaps and disparity (e.g. education, health, governance, access to resources)  

 HOW DOES GENDER COMMUNITY WORK?

1. Any registered member can raise and discuss issues based on the above themes
2. The Community is moderated and managed by a Resource Team comprising a Resource Person & Moderator, and a Research Associate
3. To raise an issue for query/discussion on which information is required, you can write to Resource Team at se-gen@solutionexchange-un.net.in
4. Following any discussion the Resource Team issues a Consolidated Reply (CR) comprising a summary of responses and a compilation of related resources based on additional research carried out by the RT. The CR acts as a ready reference.
5. All information posted to the community is archived and accessible to all members. Public versions of CRs are available on the community website to non-members.
6. The Community currently has over 3500 members representing diverse backgrounds: NGOs, government, private sector, academia, activists, consultants
7. The community facilitates virtual sharing as well as face-to-face events (e.g. workshops, thematic seminars, consultations, action groups, etc.); publishes materials (e.g. compendiums), acts as ‘resource bank’ for UN agencies and its members

WHO SHOULD JOIN?

1. Planners and Policy Advisors
2. State and District Administrators
3. Field level functionaries/Representatives from Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs),
4. Government Agencies/departments and other Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)
5. Community Leaders and Grassroots Activists
6. Representatives from National and State Institutions
7. Representatives and Programme Officers of Donor Agencies
8. Researchers and Academics
9. Entrepreneurs Promoting Economic Opportunities for Women
10. Professionals from the Legal, Judicial, and Political field
11. Representatives from Private/Corporate Sector
12. Other Individuals and Professionals interested in Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION -The Community comprises of

1. Community Members
2. UN WOMEN and UNICEF play the role of Community Facilitators
3. Resource/Advisory Team – Comprising individuals, who are well known experts or individuals with long standing contributions to gender related and social development issues. They guide in establishing the Community’s priorities, provide direction and support, also champion collaborative work ("Action Groups") 
4. Resource Team - A Resource Person acting also as the Community Moderator, supported by a Research Associate, manages the multifarious virtual and non-virtual activities of the Community which includes community interactions over key issues, organizing the production of knowledge products including Consolidated Replies, networking with various development actors/organizations to facilitate community’s knowledge sharing and collaborative activities/initiatives.

 ADVANTAGES OF JOINING THE COMMUNITY

1. Stay current in your areas of expertise
2. No one needs to reinvent the wheel
3. Get feedback on policies, plans and programmes
4. Get connected to grassroots realities, concerns and positions; tacit, traditional and established knowledge; voices of practitioners from across the country
5. In less than three weeks receive from across the country and also abroad several ideas, views, suggestions and comments on issues of your concern
6. New ideas and learning spread quickly. New ideas and solutions can lead to more innovations, out-of-the-box thinking
7. Join the Community as your inputs into knowledge sharing gives development interventions a higher chance of success and a faster movement towards the national and millennium development goals (MDGs)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE GENDER COMMUNITY CONTACT: 

Malika Basu, PhD
Resource Person and Moderator
UNICEF India Office
73, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi-110003. INDIA
Tel: 91-11-24690401; Fax: 91-24627521
E-mail: se-gen@solutionexchange-un.net.in

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: SE-ILO CONVERGENCE PROJECT ON CHILD LABOUR

The Project “Converging Against Child Labour: Support for India’s Model” (Convergence Project)  is being implemented in India by the International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration and coordination with the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India and five State Governments namely, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. Three Communities of Solution Exchange – the Gender Community, the Work and Employment Community and the Education Community have been requested to provide specific inputs to the Convergence Project, which involves providing inputs and facilitating as knowledge partner some key activities in 2012. Click here to read more. 

Ongoing Discussions

QUERY: Community based Interventions and the Role of    Child Protection Committees - Examples; Advice.

To respond write to se-gen@solutionexchange-un.net.in