In the partnership with UN Women, the Alola’s Women’s Resources Center Coordinator, Ms. Apolonia Maria, had participated in a symposium held in Bangkok, Thailand organized by The Global Working Group to End School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV Working Group), co-chaired by UNESCO and the UN Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) in collaboration with Safe to Learn, Transform Education, UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Office (APRO) and UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO). The aim of this event was for the Alola team to share experiences on implementing the Connect With Respect Spotlight Project in Timor-Leste with the topic “Prevention of Gender-Based Violence for Women and Girls at the School Level”.
This activity was carried out to share experiences during implementation program on Connect with Respect (CWR) and gender-responsive positive parenting in three municipalities, Bobonaro, Ermera and Viqueque. The program has contributed a component of a whole-school approach, which aims to engage teachers, parents and students in understanding the consequences of violence against women and girls, promote respectful relationships and gender equality and raise visibility of the issue in schools and communities.
Established in 2014 by 35 organizations, SRGBV Working Group, provides a platform for over 50 civil society organizations, bilateral and multilateral donors, the UN, academia, and education unions working on gender, health, education, child protection, and violence against women and girls.
For three days, Apolonia, Alola’s representative, actively shared experiences with other participants who came from various countries with diverse backgrounds. At the symposium, Alola representatives were entrusted to presenting Alola’s experiences regarding efforts on SRGBV as an issue affecting gender equality, education, and psychosocial well-being, highlighting strategic entry points for stronger integration of SRGBV within (among others): gender equality in and through education, broader school violence prevention programming, and the creation of safe, inclusive and health-promoting schools, with a human rights-based approach.
In the session on “Tools, practical resources and innovations to support SRGBV prevention”, Apolonia Maria da Costa gave presentations on Alola efforts to support SRGBV prevention with topic “Connect with Respect: Classroom Program for Students in Cycle 3 of Basic Education (ages 12-14)”. On this presentations, Alola representative shared her experiences on the Spotlight Initiative, one of the projects currently being implemented by the Alola advocacy program in three municipalities in Timor-Leste in collaboration with Mane ho Vizaun Foun (Man With New Vision /MHVF) through the support of the União Europeia (EU)-UN Spotlight Initiative partnering with UN Women.
“I am very happy to be able to participate in this symposium, meet with various participants from other countries, share experiences from the Spotlight Initiative – Connect with Respect project and learn about strategies on preventing violence in schools from friends in the Asia Pacific region,” said Apollonia da Costa, representative of the Alola Foundation.
