1-2 April, 2008. Kyiv - The participants of Swedish-Ukrainian international
workshop “Responsible Parenthood: New Challenges and Solutions” discuss the issues of gender equality and
mechanisms of their implementation in Sweden
and Ukraine and the problems
of responsible parenthood in Sweden
and Ukraine.
Swedish Embassy in Ukraine, UNDP in Ukraine, Department of
Sociology and Department for Foreign Cooperation of NaUKMA and Swedish
Institute organized Swedish-Ukrainian international workshop “Responsible Parenthood: New Challenges
and Solutions” on 1-2 April 2008 in Kyiv, at the premises of National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy”. The issues of gender equality
and mechanisms of their implementation in Sweden
and Ukraine, problems of
responsible parenthood in Sweden
and Ukraine
were discussed during the workshop.
H.E.
John-Christer Ahlander, Ambassador of Sweden, Mr. Francis M. O’Donnell, UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine, Mr.
Sergiy Kvit,
President of NaUKMA, and Ms. Cecilia Reimers, Project Director of “Equal
Sweden” of Swedish Institute, greeted the participants of the workshop. In his
welcoming address Mr. Francis M. O’Donnell emphasized that “Men have an important role in empowering women and achieving gender
equality in the home, the community, the labor market and the workplace.”
He concluded that “Responsible fathering
can be enhanced through programs that help fathers relate to their co-parent,
that foster employment and economic opportunities if needed, that change
institutional expectations and practices to better support fathers, and that
encourage personal and economic involvement with their children.”
During the workshop, the issues
of gender equality and responsible fathering were discussed by Ms.
Larysa Kobelyanska,
UNDP-led Equal Opportunities Programme, Project Manager, Mr. Dennis
Kullman, The
Equal Opportunities Ombudsman Office, Research and Training Officer, Ms.
Olena Bondarenko,
MP, Head of the Subcommittee on Gender Issues (Committee on Human Rights,
National Minorities and Inter-ethnic relations), Ms. Ella
Lamakh,
Director of Department of family, gender and demographic policy of the Ministry
of Family, Youth and Sport of Ukraine, Mr. Lars
Plantin,
Researcher in Fatherhood and Parenthood issues in the University of Malmo, Mr.
Oleksiy Khmara, Manager
of the Project “Daddy-School – on the Way to Responsible Parenthood” and other
experts. The participants underlined the unique importance of responsible
fathering as one of the most significant ways of achieving gender equality in
home and in workplace. “If you look upon equality between women and men as a
matter of human rights, the role of state gets interesting. The struggle for
equality is a fight for human rights. In a democratic society, the state,
through its different institutions, has a particular responsibility to
safeguard and deepen the democracy,” as Mr. Dennis Kullman asserted.
Ms.
Ella Libanova, Head of
Institute of Demography and Social Research, NAS of Ukraine, Ms.
Tamara Martsenyuk,
Department of Sociology, NaUKMA, guest PhD Researcher, Gothenburg University, and Ms. Lidiya
Amdzhadin,
Reseacher of Institute of Sociology, NAS of Ukraine, and other officials,
experts and scientists also delivered their speeches. Journalists from various
Ukrainian media, experts, and students attended the workshop as well.
The participants of the workshop
concluded that there is a need for greater gender awareness to equip Ukrainian
men with gender-specific knowledge and skills and to mobilize a critical mass
of men to serve as positive agents of change. Areas where such efforts are
particularly necessary include the sharing of domestic responsibilities and
fatherhood.
UNDP-led Equal Opportunities Programme
systematically works for ensuring gender transformations, developing and
implementing gender policy in Ukraine
at the national and regional levels.
For more details, please, contact Olga Lepushinska,
UNDP Equal Opportunities Programme: tel.: (+380 44) 278-70-14, fax: (+380
44) 288-91-06, or e-mail:
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01.04.08
