Each one of the 8 associations that are part of the project CSO WINS will carry out policy dialogue actions during the first semester of 2019 as part of their advocacy campaigns. These actions aim primarily to promote the campaigns promoting women’s rights conducted in 2017/2018, and to follow up on the situation’s progress jointly with public authorities.

The project CSO WINS offers technical support, tools and consultation spaces with decision and policymakers to women’s associations. The policy dialogues will take place in 7 countries:

• Association Anaout pour la femme et l’enfant will organise a meeting à Chichaoua (Morocco) among local, regional and national authorities, judges, health services staff and NGOs involving also other public actors implicated in fighting child marriage. The main objective of the meeting is to monitor governmental actions in this field and to discuss the implementation of the law 102.13 on combating violence against women.

• Badr Eltawayel will organize a round table in Assouan (Egypt) with members of the National council of women, judges, CSO, lawyers, religious authorities and experts in legislation to discuss the law 219 of 2017 that safeguards women’s inheritance rights. The law was approved in 2017 in spite of the opposition of some judges, which has hindered its implementation and women’s obtaining of their inheritance.

• Mouwatinet will facilitate a dialogue with municipal counsellors of the city of Sfax (Tunisia) and regional deputies of the People’s Representatives Assembly on the inclusion of a gender approach when formulating development programmes and in project budgeting. Other members of civil society, academics and several media will be involved in order to promote parity in local governance and reinforce the capacities of the local elected on participatory democracy mechanisms.

• INFO-COM Jeunes de Guelma will organize meetings in three “Daira” (districts) of the wilaya de Guelma (Algeria) with elected representatives of municipal councils (APC), the popular assembly of wilaya (APW) and parliament deputies (APN) of those regions together with representatives of civil society, security and justice services, lawyers and the media. The purpose is to follow up the 2015 law on violence against women as well as the measures to be implemented in order to eliminate sexual harassment and verbal violence against women in public spaces.

• Jusoor Center for Studies and Development will organise a round table in Tripoli (Libya) on the project’s law aimed at encouraging women’s entrepreneurs to formalise their micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The event will gather experts and representatives of the Ministry of Economy the Ministry of Women’s affairs, the State Council, the House of Representatives, unions and government’s programmes which support SMEs and women’s empowerment in Libya.

• Hiwar Center for Youth and Women’s Empowerment will organize a conference in Ramallah (Palestine) on women’s participation in public life. The aim of the conference is to raise awareness among political parties and high level political representatives about the importance of enforcing a quota law of at least 30% of women within elected organisms. The meeting will involve high level political figures, the service in charge of the monitoring of the CEDAW convention, as well as NGOs and political parties.

• Life Foundation for Development and Community Integration (LFDCI) will organize several round tables in Cairo (Egypt) on the efforts of government institutions to tackle tourist marriages and combat their social acceptance. The purpose of the event is to facilitate a stronger coordination among policymakers (MP’s, National Council for Women, National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, political parties, members of local councils) together with the Social and Criminal Research Centre, researchers and local NGOs. The aim is to advocate for more prevention measures on women’s trafficking and reinforce sanction against perpetrators. The event will be focused on the governorates of Sharkia, Ismailia, Port Said and Qalubiya, where LFDCI carried out its campaign.

• Women in Front will organize meetings with experts and political leaders on measures and strategies to facilitate parity in Lebanon. Even if the number of women candidates to election is increasing, access to political functions remains very difficult and advocacy actions are required to achieve parliamentary female quota.

The project CSO WINS ‘’Capacity-Building in the Southern Mediterranean to Open Policy Dialogue and Monitoring for Women in Society’’, is a European Union funded project.  The project is implemented by the European Institute of the Mediterranean, in partnership with the Association of Victims of Terrorism Djazairouna, the Center of Arab Women for Training and Research, the Federation of the Democratic Leagues of Women’s Rights, the Forum Femmes Méditerranée, the Palestinian Businesswomen’s Association Asala and the Euro-Mediterranean Academic and Scientific Network on Women and Gender.