On 14Jul2023, the NICE Project held a training on “Gender aspects in project planning and implementation to strengthen the team’s capacity in integrating gender aspects into project planning and implementation” at Lemigo Hotel in Kigali. NICE city coordinators, Farmers’ hub officers, Districts focal persons, and other community representatives involved in project interventions in Rubavu and Rusizi districts joined the informative workshop.
In his opening remarks, Straton Habumugisha, Country Project Manager for the NICE Project in Rwanda emphasized on the imperative need to integrate gender as a cross-cutting element in in sustainable food systems transformation and thus all NICE activities. “It is important that people who are working on project based activities have the same understanding and share values when it comes to gender principles to be able to integrate them in our planning, implementation and monitoring of all our interventions.” Mr.Straton Habumugisha stated.
Dr. Leah F. Bohle, a Sexual and Reproductive Health Specialist at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute facilitated the training. She said “Gender equity and equality will positively influence development and has the potential to reduce poverty. It is about giving equal opportunities to men and women and to challenge traditional gender norms.” She also emphasized that the training will help the NICE Project team to become more gender sensitive and work towards a gender transformative approach in the whole project cycle.
Wenceslas Habarugira, NICE focal person in Rusizi District expressed his excitement about the gender concepts he learnt from the training: “I think I am becoming more and more gender sensitive. I was surprised to see that there were many things I did not know about gender but I am leaving this place committed to integrate gender in my every day work, ensuring that men and women are represented and benefit equally from the project.”
The next phases of the training will be conducted with focus on the Rwandan context, practically applying the gender continuum for project planning.
