Women and Gender Projects in Upper Egypt

The Goethe-Institut initiated its Gender Projects in 2014 with the aim to raise awareness about gender. In 2017, it expanded gender activites in Upper Egypt and pursued more consequently the long-term approach of focusing support on a smaller target group.
 

The Goethe-Institut’s activities under the Women and Gender Projects aimed, on the one hand, at creating a network of gender activists and providing them with support through training; on the other hand, they were focused on the preparation and training of multipliers to work on gender issues – including men. A documentary on the training centre in Luxor gives insights into how these aims were pursued.
 
Based on a modular system, the Goethe-Institut’s measures in Upper Egypt all build on each other, while matching the needs of training beneficiaries, in order to effect long-term and sustainable changes in societal structures. In addition, the Goethe-Institut has created two important tools: a digital map of already existing gender initiatives in Upper Egypt, and a training manual. These tools enable civil society actors to work more proactively and effectively on gender issues. 

Documentary: The Training Centre in Luxor

The documentary provides insights into the work of a training centre in Upper Egyptian Luxor from October to December 2017. In addition to basic and introductory courses, the centre organised training-of-trainers on gender, whose participants were able to hold courses themselves shortly after. The centre was further committed to creating a dialogue between women and men based on the conviction that only together they could overcome gender stereotypes.


 

Digital Map

The Goethe-Institut, together with local partners, carried out a gender mapping in Upper Egypt. The resulting digital map is a tool that empowers individuals and initiatives working on gender, helps them connect, and facilitates knowledge transfer. The map reflects the already existing gender initiatives and institutions in six provinces in Upper Egypt – Minya, Asyut, Qena, Sohag, Luxor, und Aswan. 

Training Manual

The facilitation of knowledge transfer and training of multipliers are principles of all Goethe-Institut measures, and particularly important in the rural areas of Upper Egypt, where knowledge transfer is more challenging than in urban centres like Cairo and Alexandria. Therefore, Goethe-Institut trainers have developed a training manual in Arabic, which can be downloaded as PDF for free
The manual provides instructions on how to create a three-day training on gender basics. Following a wholistic approach, the manual does not just discuss gender-specific topics, such as diversity, women’s empowerment, and violence against women, but also concepts linked to civic education, including tolerance and conflict resolution. Men’s perspectives are considered throughout the manual.

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