| Overview : CALL for Proposals “Empowered Women, Peaceful Communities” Programme: Phase II UN WOMEN, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Building on over fifteen years of experience in the area of women, peace and security (WPS), including conflict prevention and resolution, peacebuilding, security sector reform and access to justice, UN WOMEN has been working to ensure a gender sensitive and gender responsive approach to understanding and preventing violent extremism (PVE) at the regional level. Over the past year, UN WOMEN Bangladesh through its Empowered Women, Peaceful Communities Project, has engaged with 85 communities in 6 districts: Jessore, Satkhira, Dinajpur, Joypurhat, Moulvibazar, and Cox’s Bazar. In these areas, at the community level 1200 women have been engaged through capacity building on leadership and entrepreneurial skills and 600 have received small financial packages to support existing or new businesses. Communities in these areas have also been supported to hold dialogues and raise awareness of violent extremism through activities such as popular theatre shows and a radio programme. At the national level, significant progress has been made towards the development of a National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, and through research, a body of knowledge on the gendered drivers of violent extremism in Bangladesh is developing. This next phase of the project is to be focussed on fewer geographical areas reducing the districts of engagement from 6 to 3 or 4. The selection criteria for areas of engagement, particularly for activities will include consideration of the vulnerability to violent extremism and radicalization, as well as the poverty index of each proposed area. Cox’s Bazar will remain a focus area due to the increased pressures on social cohesion since the arrival of close to 700,000 Rohingya into the area in August 2017. From May 2018 to March 2019, UN WOMEN will implement a one year programme as Phase II of PVE. Therefore, registered NGOs and civil society organizations are requested to respond to the attached Call for Proposals as per their areas of expertise. For further clarifications or queries, emails should be directed to bco.procurement@unwomen.org by COB 08 April, 2018 |
