23 June 2008
National and international organizations come together to explore the role of gender within capacity building

Juba, Central Equatoria State - The Sudan Capacity Building Forum will hold its 6th conference on June 26th and 27th, 2008. Representatives from close to fifty international and national organizations will convene to discuss the role gender plays within their capacity building work. Participants in this conference will meet under the theme of ‘Gender in Capacity Building: What we know and what we do.’ The conference will be held at the Heron Camp Site in Juba.

The Sudan Capacity Building Forum (SCBF) is currently the sole initiative in Sudan focusing on capacity building for local civil society organizations and community-based organizations. SCBF Conferences provide an opportunity for members of both national and international organizations to come together and share accomplishments as well as gain advice from other groups engaged in similar work throughout Sudan. These conferences are also a venue for locally-based groups to share their ideas and concerns with a larger audience.

As gender and women empowerment are often a misunderstood concept within development work, current participants are looking forward to sharing notions, experiences and challenges with one another in hopes of creating a better understanding of the role gender plays within the work of each organization. Past conferences have dealt with issues ranging from how to effectively measure the results of capacity building work to how civil society organizations contribute to the realization of the Millennium Development Goals.

As part of the current conference participants will take part in sessions addressing how gender interacts with themes including health, education, peacebuilding, income generation and political participation. Presenters for each topic represent national or international organizations and are known experts in their fields. Conference organizers also anticipate involvement of representatives from the Ministry of Education as well as the Ministry of Gender, Social and Religious Affairs. 

The Sudan Capacity Building Forum was founded in 2005 by international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in capacity building work in Sudan. These organizations saw a need for enhanced collaboration between themselves and other groups also engaged in similar efforts.

The current conference is being organized by two members of the Capacity Building Forum: Mercy Corps and the Interchurch Organisation for Development Cooperation (ICCO).

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For additional information, please contact Senada Kahriman, Program Director, Civil Society, Mercy Corps. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , +882.165.020.8037 / +256.447.193.072.

For media requests, please contact Kim Edelen, Communications Officer, Mercy Corps. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , +256.477.209.458.