September 2010

TRAINING- SEMINAR "PROMOTING DIALOGUE AGAINST VIOLENCE: GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE"

TPO Foundation in cooperation with Medica Zenica organized the training "Promoting dialogue against violence: Gender-based violence and interreligious dialogue" from September 20- 29, 2010. During 10 days of education, 15 selected participants of different ethnic and religious background from BiH received education in 5 areas: dignity of a woman, gender equality in family life, gender-based violence and the role of women in peace-building and reconciliation.
The participants learned about women's human rights in the fields of public life, peace and security, women's human rights and gender relations from different religious perspectives, peacebuilding approaches and concepts, interreligious dialogue and gender based violence. They were also provided with the following literature: "Both the Women Citizens and Believers", "Promoting Dialogue against Violence", "Three Monotheistic Voices: introduction into Judaism, Christianity and Islam" and "Manual for Training: Modification of social and cultural patterns of men's and women's behavior in Bosnia and Herzegovina".

The training was provided by 10 experience experts in these fields from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia as follows: Dr. Zilka Spahić-Šiljak, Mr.Sci.Ivana Dračo, Dr.Sc.Jadranka Rebeka Anić, Rada Sukara-Grinzberg, Mr.Sci.Marija Grujić, Mirjana Stanković, Jadranka Leovac, Mr.Alen Kristić, Mr.Sci.Sabiha Husić, and Nasiha Šehić.
After completion of training, 15 participants from Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Mostar, Srebrenik, Gradiška, Bosanski Petrovac, Maglaj, Zenica, Velika Kladuša etc. will have a month to develop a small-scale research project in their local communities.
The training is a part of the ''Increasing Awareness on Gender Based Violence and the role of women in Interreligious Dialogue'' project. The overall aim of the project is to increase community awareness on women's human rights with particular attention to gender-based violence and interreligious dialogue in the context of religion by building the capacities of civil society organisations and religious groups to promote, advocate and protect women's human rights. The project is supported by UNIFEM.