Gender and Development for Cambodia 

(GAD/C)

 

GAD/C is a local non-government organization which has a mission to promote gender equity in social, economic and political processes in Cambodia. GAD/C carries out this mission through advocacy, networking, training and research in partnership with other Cambodian NGOs, international and multilateral organizations, state institutions and other organizations of civil society.

Specifically, the organization has the following objectives:

  1. Raise awareness of the importance of gender equity in development.
  2. Build the capacity of state institutions and NGOs in considering gender implications for development programmes.
  3. Identify and investigate social, economic and political changes affecting gender relations in terms of the roles, status and participation of women and men in public life.
  4. Strengthen cooperation and encourage coordination between organization and institutions involved in gender issues.
  5. Promote gender equity and equality by informing and lobbying policy making and legislative processes.

GAD/C implements three mutually reinforcing programmes to achieve these objectives: Training and Internship, Research and Documentation, Advocacy and Networking. Project technical assistance is also provided by GAD/C team members upon request.

A Board of Directors, comprised of representatives from local and international agencies and a representative of the Ministry of Women's and Veterans' Affairs, provides guidance to the executive director who manages GAD/C's overall programme development.

 
PHILOSOPHY:

 

The GAD Programme for Cambodia coordinates efforts to enhance gender capability in development organizations, programmes/projects and policies. Its main goal is to ensure that gender perspective is incorporated in all aspects of development processes in Cambodia. Giving attention to the link between gender and development in Cambodia is especially critical as the 2 decades of war and destruction wrought serious disruption in the lives of women and men beyond imagination. The war distorted the population where women outnumbered men (about 54 % of the population) and that family survival has become the dominant issue in women’s lives. Development programming thus can only be effective if it systematically takes into account gender considerations and implications.

The GAD Programme employs the participatory and balanced approach of the Gender and Development Framework. It believes that sustainable and equitable development can only be achieved if women and men are equal co-partners in determining their collective future.
HISTORY OF INVOLVEMENT IN CAMBODIA

 

Gender and Development Programme for Cambodia was conceptualized based on the findings of a Gender Capability and Needs Assessment Project sponsored by the Royal Netherlands Government in August 1995. The project revealed that there is a lack of resources and skills in promoting gender fairness, equality and sensitivity in the organizational and programme/project processes of non-government organizations in Cambodia. Moreover, the lack of adequate human resources, funding and general attention paid to gender in development initiatives is indicative of the poor conditions and low status of women in this country.

Establishing a programme that would devote in coordinating and developing gender capability enhancement strategies appropriate to Cambodia’s development context would help address this critical resource gap. The GAD Programme was launched in March 1997 through the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (CCC). A GAD Team was formed consisting of one expatriate team leader and advisor and two national counterparts, one female and one male. The tripartite structure manages and implements the strategies of the Programme: Training and Internship, Advocacy and Networking, and Research and Resources Development.

 
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