Kosovo Mayors conclude study trip to Austria on gender responsive governance
Between 22 and 24 October 2023, the OSCE Mission organized a study trip to the city of Graz, Austria for five mayors from Kosovo, selected for their efforts in promoting gender responsive governance in their municipalities.
Gazmend Muhaxheri of Pejë/Peć, Bali Muharremaj of Suharekë/Suva Reka, Ramiz Lladrovci of Gllogoc/Glogovac, Sokol Haliti of Viti/Vitina and Xhafer Gashi of Obiliq/Obilić were familiarized with the practices of Graz in including a gender perspective municipal administration.
The Mayor of Graz, Ms. Elke Kahr, commended Kosovo mayors on their achievements and welcomed the opportunity to share good practices in gender responsive governance. Together with other city officials, they presented how they include gender perspectives into various fields of governance such as social security, planning, health and environment.
For their part, the mayors from Kosovo shared their experiences on gender responsive budgeting, gender mainstreaming of agriculture plans, educational subsides for women and girls, and the management of the domestic violence shelters. They also visited the Health Centre for Women and Domestic Violence Shelter in Graz, observing how the partnership between the City of Graz, the Styria Provincial Government and non-governmental organizations functions in practice.
“Gender inequality is often accompanied by other forms of discrimination, such as age or social status, so the Equality Action Plan of Graz pays special attention to an intersectional approach that takes into consideration different forms of discrimination in its gender equality action, a model that the OSCE Mission and the five mayors will work to apply in Kosovo,” said OSCE National Programme Officer Nensi Jasharaj.
The mayors and their host agreed to stay in contact and continue to work on further developing the professional capacities of municipal staff to enhance gender equality.
The study trip is part of the Mission’s overall support to municipalities in strengthening gender responsive governance, involving both the decision-making and technical levels of local government.