Serving, Protecting and Promoting the Rights of Women and Girls
Linked with Marta Prekpalaj – Kosovo.
KWN Leads the Way for Civil Society in the New Kosova. Kosova is changing. Whatever the result of Kosova’s political status the way in which civil society operates will also have to change. KWN is meeting new challenges and opportunities head on with a clear plan for the future.
Kosova Women’s Network was informally founded in 2000 by the current Executive Director,Igballe Rogova; but, the history of how KWN came to be an official network is a rich story of family, war, and a growing national movement … (about 1/2, … and more in this 5 pdf-pages).
Cooperations;
Publications;
Inside the KWN;
Members;
Resource Network;
Working in Kosova;
Women’s Voice, 2005/03;
KWN annual report 2005, 32 pdf-pages.
KNW annual report 2004, 28 pdf-pages.
address: St. Hajdar Dushi C-2, II/8 Prishtina, Kosova, Phone +381 (=) 38 245 850, e-mail;
contact on the website.
About 2/2: Kosova Women’s Network KWN was established in 2000 as an informal network of women’s groups and organizations from all over Kosova.
Since its inception, KWN has grown into a key advocacy network on behalf of Kosovar women at the regional and international level. It is now a leading network of more then 75 women’s NGOs and groups, some of which are well established in the region and have over ten years of experience in community development while others were more recently formed after the arrival of the UN in Kosova. The Network also includes women’s groups of various ethnicities and helps them build their capacity to work effectively on behalf of their communities. For example, KWN has provided mentoring and support to networks of Roma women’s NGOs and Serbian women’s groups of Kosova.
Network members provide a variety of community services to vulnerable women such as courses, trainings, aid, and psychological support. Additionally, they work on social problems that affect women and girls today, including violence against women, trafficking for prostitution, and low enrollment of girls in schools and at the University.
The following lists some of the principal successful programs that KWN has implemented or contributed to during 2000 – 2003:
• In 2002 – 2003 KWN greatly contributed to the development of the Kosovo Action Plan for Achieving Gender Equality, a document that was developed through a year-long participatory process facilitated by UNIFEM. KWN also played a large role in successfully advocating the Kosovar government to adopt this plan as its own.
• In 2002 KWN mobilized a large number of NGOs and individual supporters, a group comprising of both women and men, in a Kosova-wide public awareness campaign opposing violence against women under the slogan “Women and Men Together Against Violence Against Women!” The campaign was broadly based on the international V-Day Campaign that aims at eradicating violence against women all over the world.
• KWN has constantly worked on raising the awareness of local and international institutions in Kosova as well as the public at large about the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
• KWN has played a key role in developing Southeastern Eastern European women’s networks and contributes to peace efforts in the region.
• KWN was a key local partner with STAR Network of World Learning in organizing the Kosova-wide conference, “Women in the Economy,” held in November 2001. The conference brought issues of gender-sensitive economic policies to the attention of Kosovar and international governing structures; gave birth to Kosova Women’s Business Network, a leading advocacy group in Kosova; and led to the publication of a comprehensive resource book on economic opportunities for women in Kosova.
• In 2000 KWN played a crucial role in changing the priorities and working principles of Kosova Women’s Initiative, a grant-making program funded by the US Department of State. KWN advocacy led to the establishment of KWI local councils and mechanisms to handle input from local women’s NGOs.
… (see all the 20 pages).