Liberia: Cross Learning and Knowledge Sharing Forum on Women Engagement

Cross Learning and Knowledge Sharing Forum

Friday, 20th of November, 2020, 10:00-14:00

 Bella Casa - Sinkor

Theme: Women Engagement for Safer Communities. 

A Dialogue with Women groups, Government and Partners

In Liberia, national, sub-national governments have organized various peer to peer exchange and peer-learning events mostly focused on broader policy issues and political and executive leadership. However, collaborative learning and peer learning in communities has not yet received the needed attention, even though, development practitioners call attention to the importance of exchanges at the community level to facilitate informal learning and promote social inclusion.  The Cities Alliance Liberia Country Programme, in order to support intra-community peer-to-peer learning in informal urban areas, is organizing a stakeholder forum on Women Engagement for Safer Communities of the impact of the COVID-19 on women and informal communities. Moreover, access to clean drinking water will also be discussed during the forum.

As part of its Global Program on Informality, and the Cities for Women Global Programme, Cities Alliance is building water kiosks in three informal settlements in Monrovia and Paynesville to ensure access to safe and reliable water supplies and sanitation. The construction of the water kiosks is conducted through a continuous engagement with women living in the informal settlements. Gender mapping, safety audit checklists, and community walks are some of the tools that have been used in order to collect the experiences, stories, and needs of around 100 women and girls of these communities.

The representative of the women groups from the communities will present the outcomes of this participatory process and the learnings.

The event will contribute to further enhance the gender mainstreaming in community-led initiatives. The findings from this forum will also inform the wider Cities Alliance Liberia Country Programme operations and advocacy activities.