This article is from page 35 of the 2007-09-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 35 JPG
GORT sisters are doing it for them- od Aone
GWEN (Gort Women’s Equality Network) is looking for women to participate in a study that will define women’s equality needs in the Gort region.
The aim of the study is to identify barriers to women being able to par- ticipate in decision-making process- es at local level. It will also explore barriers as to why more women do not, or cannot avail of further educa- tion or participate in the workforce.
Programme organisers said that the
most important aim of this study 1s to give women a voice.
The programme was created by Dr. Niamh Clune and Douglas Johnson of GRACE (Gort Regional Alliance for Community and Environment) in partnership with the Family Re- source Centre. Initially, a group of women were invited to participate in a training programme designed to enable them to conduct a women’s equality study, which will then be submitted to Pobal.
Pobal manage programmes on be- half of the Irish government and the EU. The study will help inform fu- ture policy in the National Develop-
ment Plan.
The training programme received by the newly formed women’s net- work (GWEN) means they will be able to conduct PLA (Participatory Learning and Action), which is an innovative way of gathering informa- tion. It is hoped that all participants in this process will feel involved and empowered, whilst at the same time, learning new skills. The whole programme is designed to build con- fidence in women who might oth- erwise not have the chance to voice their concerns. This exercise is to discover some of the issues as to why women might feel marginalised or
unable to participate in new oppor- MUD AVL Cone
GWEN will host two public meet- ings on Wednesday September 19 from 7.30pm-9pm and Thursday September 20 from1lam-12.30pm in the Lady Gregory Hotel. The reason for the two meetings 1s to facilitate the kind of flexibility necessary to enable all women interested in at- tending. “It is a chance for women to voice their needs and help to influ- ence government policy in relation to woman’s place in our society,’ organisers said. For further informa- tion, please contact: 0863381773, or just turn up.