ITALY: That is why we are glad to be part of the network and to work on enhancing the possibilities of exchange at a transnational level.
The Province of Bolzano ESF Office has started to intensively work on gender issues since the last ESF programming period 2000-2006. In these years, the attention has been especially posed on methodology and instruments to achieve better results in gender equality policies and on the gender mainstreaming approach implementation.
We are aware that the Gender Mainstreaming approach assumes that in order to achieve equality it is also necessary to transform and innovate the policy-making process and the institutional or power relationships, with the adoption of an equality approach at all stages of the policy cycle. The adoption of a mainstreaming approach thus implies capacity building among all policy stakeholders, and it requires identifying needs, adapting programme management tools and instruments and mobilising political support and resources.
To this end, we believe it is extremely important to participate to a series of exchanges of methodologies, practices and experiences in order to facilitate the exchange of information on the different gender equality issues and the transferability of good practices between countries on the basis of the mutual learning approach, reinforced by the belief that any country could learn from other countries having faced similar critical issues.
That is why we are glad to be part of the Community of Practice on Gender Mainstreaming and to work on enhancing the possibilities of exchange at a transnational level.
Flavia Pesce
representing The Province of Bolzano ESF Office
