CONCEPT NOTE

Final draft

CSO PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELEOPMENT EFFECTIVENESS (CPDE) FEMINIST GROUP (FG)

International Workshop with Training of Trainers (ToT)
Feminist Engagement and Advocacy around Development Effectiveness
Brussels, Belgium, 3-4 December 2014
The CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE) is an open platform that brings
together civil society voices from around the world on the issue of development
effectiveness. It envisages a world where respect for human rights, participatory democracy,
social and environmental justice and sustainability, gender equality and equity, decent work
and sustainable change are achieved. The Feminist Group (FG) is one of currently seven
sectors in the CPDE. It represents the interest of womens rights and feminist organisations
on the platform and strives to ensure that womens rights and gender equality are
integrated into all CPDE processes and the Global Partnership for Effective Development
Cooperation (GPEDC).
This international workshop that also serves as a training of trainers (ToT) is a one-off
activity that aims to build the capacity of leaders of womens rights organisations and
gender activists on how to influence and engage particularly with CPDE and GPEDC
processes at all levels to advance womens rights. It is one of the processes promoting and
contributing to practicing feminist principles through engagement and advocacy in relation
to development effectiveness at the national, sub-regional, regional and global levels. It
aims, as an initial step in a larger effort, at strengthening in particular the capacity of the
CPDE FG and those of representatives from other CPDE sectors and groups to engage in and
influence the development effectiveness agenda from a feminist perspective. At the same
time it wants to facilitate exchange between the different CPDE sectors and groups to learn
from each other in order to move forward holistically and in strengthened collaboration.
Participants then transport their insights back into their respective sectors, regions and
subregions. It is anticipated that in a next step trainings will be conducted by and in regions.
The Engagement and Advocacy Guide
Following up on a proposal by its constituency at the Nairobi meeting in 2012, the FG
commissioned a consultant to develop a guide that reflects strategies for maintenance and
up-scaling impact and sustainability of the feminist and womens rights agenda through the
development effectiveness agenda. Next to the interplay of feminist and womens rights
groups with the CPDE, the guide shall also include proposals for their critical engagement
with the GPEDC; and identify key policy spaces /opportunities at national, regional and
global level related to development effectiveness and development cooperation. It is hoped
that the guide will ultimately lead to the strengthening of feminist and womens rights
activism and organizing as well as efforts towards both movement and coalition building
across regions and sectors on development effectiveness issues.
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The broad objective of this international ToT workshop is to maximize efforts in promoting
gender responsiveness and womens rights at all levels within the CPDE, GPEDC and other
policy spaces. At the same time it wants to familiarize participants with the newly developed
Engagement and Advocacy Guide on Learning and Strategizing around Development
Effectiveness post Busan from a womens rights angle.
Specific objectives of the workshop are to:
contribute to empower feminist and womens rights groups, networks and gender
advocates to strengthen their participation and influence in the CPDE, GPEDC and
other development cooperation processes at all levels (from national, regional to
global);
update the Womens Key Demands and maximize its achievement together with the
CPDE revised CSOs Key Asks within the GPEDC;
strategise on how to monitor the GPEDC indicator on gender equality and womens
empowerment at the national and global level;
strengthen the FGs engagement in the CPDE, enhance synergies and collaboration;
make use for the first time of the engagement and advocacy guide and assess what
further tools may potentially be required to accompany the guide;
contribute/ be a resource to draw ideas and substance from for follow up actions like
the development of country specific training modules that reflect local needs and/or
the development of key feminist demands with sub-regional, regional focus.