The National Council for Women (NCW) has developed its own
partnership strategy aiming at building and strengthening partnerships
with leading development organizations. To help fulfill its mandate
and to achieve its goals, NCW is developing methodologies by
utilizing local and foreign resources, research capacities and
creating links within the country and abroad.
"Partnerships are the most effective means to ensure participation
and ownership by the ultimate beneficiaries of development initiatives."
NCW's Department of International Cooperation for Development
is supported by a number of international organizations.
One of the remarkable activities of this department
was the initiation of a unique collaboration unit, including
four U.N. agencies (UNDP,UNICEF, UNFPA and UNIFEM).
The purpose of this initiative - the first of its kind
- was to build on the comparative advantages and mandates
of the four collaborating agencies to support NCW's
multi-faceted mission.
The Joint UN Collaborative project supported the creation of a Geographical Information System in the MIS Department of NCW, to serve as a tool to decision-makers.
Other efforts aiming at strengthening
partnerships with other foreign and international organizations
are also made and are being pursued.
NCW Partners
UNDP
has provided the core technical assistance and managerial
support and ensures the smooth implementation of the
Small Grants Programme. The beneficiaries of the project
are the NGOs concerned with female-headed households.
UNICEF
provides technical assistance to NCW particularly with
regard to training and orientation of NCW employees
as well as gender focal points in all ministries and
governorates.
UNIFEM
provides capacity building to the Council using state of the
art technology in gender training curricula and methodologies.
The UNIFEM Coordinator in Egypt is hosted by the Council.
UNFPA
provides technical assistance, particularly through consultations.
UNESCO
partially supported the establishment of a modern specialized
library by providing the software and Technical Advisors to
develop the training programme for the librarians.
The World Bank
and the Council collaborated in launching the bank's policy /
research report "Engendering Development" (2001). The report was
launched by Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, President of NCW and under her
directive, a task force was established to draft NCW's Plan of
Action as part of the process of implementing and operationalizing
the recommendations of the report which are suitable for the
Egyptian society.
USAID
has provided a generous grant to help NCW establish its Women
Development Business Center (WDBC), a pilot project to provide
training on entrepreneurship. USAID also partially supported the
development of NCW's gender disaggregated data base and the
establishment of its Information and Documentation Center.
The European Union(EU)
funded the "OMBUDSMAN" project which will open direct channels
of communication with all women of Egypt to help NCW obtain
first hand information on problems and constraints affecting
Egyptian women. The data will be analyzed and utilized as input
for future policy formulation.
The Ford Foundation
provided technical assistance for the preparation of a
document on policy making within NCW.
The British Council in Egypt
provided a grant for an NCW participant in a seminar on the
Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW), held in Glasgow (2001).
The Government of the Netherlands
sponsored the participation of three members of the Egyptian official
delegation to the UN "Beijing +5" meeting in New York (2000).
The Government of Sweden
sponsored a study programme on human rights at the Raoul
Wallenberg Institute (2000).
The Spanish Government
provided NCW's specialized library with references on women (2000).
The Council has started a programme aiming at communicating
and networking with leading foreign universities and institutions
concerned with women's issues e.g.
The Development Planning Unit of the University of London (2001).
The Council is currently in the process of signing a Protocol of Cooperation with The
American University in Cairo.
The protocol will provide means of cooperation particularly in research areas (2001).
The Turin Center (ILO)
will execute a project for the development of a Human Resource
Strategy for Gender Mainstreaming and Women's Empowerment.
The project will be co-financed by UNDP/UNESCO, UNFPA ,and ILO
Cairo. The Turin center also sponsored two study tours for
future resource persons from the Council (2001).
In 2001, NCW joined the
Gender And Development (GAD)
the sub-donors group of the
Development Assistance Group(DAG)
. Being a member of GAD, the Council networks with the donor
community in Egypt on gender initiatives.
| 
