Well implemented gender-responsive budgeting means women, men, girls and boys are able to enjoy equal rights, services and opportunities. This is achieved through committed and systematic consideration of different and evolving needs and priorities of individuals in society. UN Women Turkey delivered a two-day seminar in Bolu, north-western Turkey, on gender-responsive planning and budgeting to senior members of the Ministry of Family and Social Services, as well as the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey Presidency of Strategy and Budgeting, aiming to build the knowledge and skills of senior government officials in this area.

Milana Lazić works at the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), managing the “Assistance to European Union (EU) Pre-Accession” project. This project works with EU potential and candidate countries in the Western Balkans and Turkey to make gender equality more visible in the region with a focus on improving how gender equality is monitored across public policies, legislation, and in practice. EIGE provides technical expertise to relevant countries, especially in developing national Gender Equality Indices. Lazić spoke with UN Women about the Gender Equality Index and EIGE’s support to the countries in the region.

Experts and practitioners from Western Balkans and Turkey attend a 3-day Training of Trainers on Gender Responsive Budgeting in Skopje, North Macedonia. The ToT aims to strengthen the pool of gender experts in the region by equipping them with advanced knowledge and resources on GRB, as well as innovative adult learning skills.

The challenges of making budgets respond equally to the needs of women and men were debated at a pane l, supported by UN Women in Kosovo and organized by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) on 16 March. Under the title “Accountability in Local Governance: Citizens' Priorities Addressed through Gender Responsive Budgets,” the panel brought together high-level representatives from local governments.

Calling for equal access to resources, gender mainstreaming and gender-sensitive budgets, Bitola municipality’s gender equality strategy includes action plan with specific activities and timeframe.

Voting in secret ballots in the region will increase transparency and allow for greater participation in board voting by police from remote and minority regions of Kosovo.

On International Women’s Day, over 100 representatives of the Government, the UN, civil society, experts and academia in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia gathered to reflect on the progress made since the adoption of the Law on Equal Opportunities between Women and Men in 2006.

To mark International Women’s Day, UN Women and the EUFOR Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina released two videos to promote gender equality in the armed forces and in the society at large.

Serbia aims to take concrete steps to improve the lives of women and girls in the next five years with support from UN Women.

UN Women brings Members of Parliament (MPs) from South-east Europe and Moldova to Sweden to learn first-hand about making gender equality central to government policies and budgets.

After gender sensitivity training and follow-up self-assessment exercises run by UN Women, coverage of women has nearly doubled in 17 print and online Moldovan media outlets.

The report “Institutional Instruments for Implementing Gender Policy in Kazakhstan: Connecting Policy and Society” was developed in cooperation with UN Women, under the NDI's USAID-supported project “Kazakhstan: evaluation of opportunities for realization gender policies and institutionalization”. Subject experts and project staff conducted a comprehensive review of Kazakhstan’s national and international legal and policy frameworks, and held in-depth interviews with representatives of the government, Parliament, civil society, political parties, and media. Analysis has revealed factors, hindering effective realization of the national gender policies. The report presents key findings and practical recommendations to improve Kazakhstani women's opportunities to participate in decision-making at all levels of government. The presentation attracted Deputies of Mazhilis of the Republic of Kazakhstan, officials of the Kazakhstani government, representatives of diplomatic missions, international organizations, civil society and media.

In the Southeastern nation of Albania, girls in the villages often tell the same story. For Albana, and other ten-year old girls like her, the first day of school is exciting. She runs down the street in her village of Kukes to make it on time, afraid she will be late. But her school is not just around the corner, it across the border in Kosovo and she has to walk nearly an hour to get there.

A two-day workshop on the integration of gender in the security sector of Georgia was concluded on 13 July 2012. The workshop was organized within the framework of the European Union Funded Cross-regional Programme, “Women Connect across conflicts”. UN Women partnered with the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament of Georgia and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) and aimed at raising the awareness of key governmental stakeholders at decision-making level on the importance and ways of mainstreaming gender in the security sector of Georgia.