Strengthening GERCs in Philippine co-ops

On August 1-3, 2013 in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, the Asian Women in Co-operative Development Forum (AWCF) convened the "Capacity-building on Mainstreaming Gender Equality in Co-operatives through the Gender Equality Resource Center (GERC)" event. The gathering put together women and men participants from GERCs from co-ops located in the Philippine island groups of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The event was held under the AWCF Project "Sustaining Gender Equality Among Co-operatives in the Philippines," supported by the We Effect-Swedish Cooperative Centre (We Effect-SCC), with fund support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). Host-organization of the event was the MASS-SPECC Cooperative Development Center (MASS-SPECC), with a study-visit hosted by MSU-IIT National Multi-purpose Cooperative (MSU-IITNMPC) in Iligan City, Philippines.

 

Gender Equality in Co-ops: A Training Manual

The “Gender Equality in Co-operatives: A Training Manual” is the latest publication of the AWCF. The Manual is designed to help co-ops and other organizations achieve development and growth—with gender sensitivity and gender equality (GE) as integral part of the organizations’ processes and outputs. The Manual is for the use of trainers in delivering to participants a specific training, which is the GE training for co-operatives. But because gender issues may also exist and need to be addressed in other organizations aside from co-ops, and also in the household and community levels, this Manual can also be adapted or modified to fit such audience, as deemed proper by the trainers. These trainers should themselves know and believe that addressing GE issues can bring many positive changes to lives of women and men in society, in households, and in organizations such as co-ops where people are at the very core of these organizations’ existence. The Manual has three modules—Basic Gender Concepts; Gender Issues in Households; and Gender Equality in Co-ops.

As a resource center and advocacy body on gender and co-op development, AWCF has member-organizations in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. AWCF’s undertakings in the Philippines are greatly enhanced by its participation as implementer of the “Promoting Gender Equality Among Co-operatives in the Philippines Project” (2010-2012). The Project supported by the Swedish Cooperative Centre (SCC) is under the “Advancing Civic Capacities for Effective and Sustainable Services to the Poor (ACCESS to the Poor) Programme,” with fund support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The Project objective is to strengthen local capacities and create favorable policies for the promotion of GE among co-ops in the Philippines. The Project benefits 15 partner-co-ops in the Philippines’s three island groupings of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The AWCF-SCC Project has enabled the publication of this GE Manual. AWCF acknowledges the contribution to this Manual of the Project’s partner-co-ops through their sharing of their GE journey, particularly through the updates and lessons learned from their GE activities, and training design/materials. [The 15 co-ops: LUZON—Abra Diocesan Teachers & Employees Multi-Purpose Cooperative (ADTEMPCO); Ligas Kooperatiba ng Bayan sa Pagpapaunlad (LKBP); Nueva Segovia Consortium of Cooperatives (NSCC); Sacred Heart Credit and Development Cooperative (SHCDC); St. Martin of Tours Credit and Development Cooperative (SMTCDC); VISAYAS—Cordova Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CMC); Don Bosco Network Multi-Purpose Cooperative (DBNMPC); Dumanjug Multi-Purpose Cooperative (DMPC); Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative (LMPC); Metro Ormoc Community Cooperative (OCCCI); MINDANAO—MSU-IIT Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MSU-IIT MPC); Paglaum Multi-Purpose Cooperative (PMPC); Panabo Multi-Purpose Cooperative (PMPC); Pantukan Chess Club Cooperative (PCCC); Tagum Cooperative (TC).] Further information on the GE Manual can be directed to awcfcoopwomen@gmail.com