End of Commitment Report – Partner municipalities and social organizations participating in the Local OGP Program in the incorporation of gender perspective and a youth approach in the process of territorialization of SDGs.

Name of Evaluator

Melisa Gorondy Novak

Email

melisa.gorondynovak@cba.gov.ar

Member Name

Córdoba (Province), Argentina

Action PlanAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... Title

Action plan – Córdoba (Province), Argentina, 2021 – 2023

CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action...

Partner municipalities and social organizations participating in the Local OGP Program in the incorporation of genderOGP participating governments are bringing gender perspectives to popular policy areas, ensuring diversity in participatory processes, and specifically targeting gender gaps in policies to address gov... More perspective and a youthRecognizing that investing in youth means investing in a better future, OGP participating governments are creating meaningful opportunities for youth to participate in government processes. Technical ... More approach in the process of territorialization of SDGs.

Action

The commitment aims to mainstream the gender and youth perspective in each milestone defined by the adhered Municipalities derived from the territorialization of the SDGs that they carry out. Both in the prioritization of the SDGs and the implementation, the intersectional approach will also be incorporated, stimulating the active participation of the population and civil society organizations. Recognizing the different realities of each Municipality and the progress in the matter, it is intended that each one carry concrete actions and implement tools and resources that effectively design policies aligned to the collaboratively prioritized SDG; taking into account, especially the experiences and needs of women, youth and diversities and promote more egalitarian communities.

Problem

Gender inequalities continue to be a challenge for our provincial reality, a situation that has been further aggravated by COVID-19 pandemic context, in which all the gender gaps that have an impact on the participation of women and diversities in the laborTransparent workforce data and increased representation of workers in labor policy-making lead to policies that better protect workers’ rights and remove barriers for underrepresented groups in the ... market, in decision-making, and in the use of time and access to health and educationAccountability within the public education system is key to improving outcomes and attainment, and accountability is nearly impossible without transparent policies and opportunities for participation ..., have been deepened. Moreover, we must add the situations of violence for gender reasons that increase their vulnerability, discrimination, and inequality. Working for gender equality and the empowerment of women and youth requires collective and intersectoral actions where the response of governments with gender and generational perspectives is fundamental. Although Municipalities working in this pilot have expressed their commitment to gender equality objectives and have carried out actions aimed at fulfilling the 2030 Agenda, there are still pending policies and actions that could be implemented to move forward towards the realization of the principles embodied therein.

1.1 What was the overall level of progress in the commitment implementation at the time of this assessment?

Substantial

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

Integrating gender equality and youth perspectives at municipal and provincial levels has been a key focus. A significant achievement is aligning the first provincial budget with Gender Equality during the OGP process. This approach is supported through training and manuals for municipalities in the OGP Local program, promoting gender and youth perspectives. In Alta Gracia, efforts center on Neighborhood Centers and the Municipal Employment Office’s Youth, prioritizing SDG 5 (Gender Equality) as a cross-cutting theme. This reflects a commitment to policy-making and active engagement in gender equality. Vicuña Mackena emphasizes gender equality, aiming for 50% female representation in senior roles and advancing the “Women in Works” project, which opens traditionally male-dominated fields to women. This initiative not only promotes gender equality but also economic empowerment and workforce diversity. These efforts showcase a comprehensive approach toward integrating gender equality.

Provide evidence that supports and justifies your answer:

• Meeting with Young People about Agenda 2030 in San José de la Dormida
• SDG Report 2021

1.2 Describe the main external or internal factors that impacted implementation of this commitment and how they were addressed (or not).

Factors to mention are mainly the differences between the municipalities in terms of their knowledge and progress in a matter of mainstreaming the gender and youth perspective.
How it was decided to address this was to implement a particular approach with each municipality, to assist in different topics such as Internal prioritization of SDGs by the municipal technical teams; Raising awareness on gender, diversity, youth, and intersectionality among municipal teams, through three virtual joint workspaces; elaboration of a guide for the preparation of a diagnosis, design of public policies and its subsequent municipal monitoring and evaluation with a gender perspective, which allows municipalities to make visible and propose solutions to different problems, accompanied by training; and provide communication strategies for municipalities and allies to have a gender perspective; Ideation of lines of action, processes and specific initiatives to achieve the main SDGs.

1.3 Was the commitment implemented as originally planned?

Most of the commitment milestones were implemented as planned

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

In the planning of the OGP Local program, youth, and the gender perspective were proposed as transversal axes of the territorialization process throughout the process. Likewise, said planning implicated the involvement in the Forum of Actors of the Women’s Ministries and the Córdoba Jóven Agency, responsible for providing content, accompanying and monitoring said mainstreaming.
Around this, meetings were held with the municipalities so that everyone received adequate training and support on the gender perspective in public policies by the Ministry of Women.
In addition, material was provided such as glossaries, gender policy implementation manuals, and others referring to the incorporation of a youth perspective.
Likewise, recommendations were made specifically to each municipality, around inclusive actions with a gender and diversity perspective, as well as tools for political communication strategies for their administrations.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• OGP Local Presentation for Municipalities

2.1.1. – Did the government disclose more information; improve the quality of the information (new or existing); improve the value of the information; improve the channels to disclose or request information or improve accessibility to information?

Not Applicable

2.1.2. – Did the government create new opportunities to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation inform or influence decisions; improve existing channels or spaces to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation/ inform or influence decisions; create or improve capabilities in the government or the public aimed to improve how the government seeks feedback from citizens/enables participation/ or allows for the public to inform or influence decisions?

Yes

Degree of result:

Outstanding

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

In the case of Alta Gracia, it was the municipality with the greatest progress in this aspect.
Regarding the gender perspective, progress was made in applicable policies and ordinances that promote gender equality as well as in protocols to determine the circuits for addressing violence; The Municipal Women’s Council was formed and was updated to the Women, Gender and Diversity Council; and articulated work was carried out in the family area together with the community companions against gender violence, through the signing of an agreement to work on the prevention and addressing of violence in the territory.
Regarding the youth axis, in the closing presentation where the work carried out was presented, the Municipality worked with young people who are part of the Municipal Employment Office and who in their daily work are in permanent contact with the residents of the city. From different instances of working with them, it was observed that in the group made up of young people, the gender perspective and the difficulty of young people in formally accessing work were seen as important in the first instance.
Vicuña Mackenna, for its part, ensured the full and effective participation of women and equal leadership opportunities at all decision-making levels in political, economic, and public life, measuring progress through municipal employees; of which more than 50% today are positions occupied by women.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• SDG prioritization
• OGP Local Workshops for Municipalities

2.1.3 Did the government create or improve channels, opportunities or capabilities to hold officials answerable to their actions?

Not Applicable

2.1.4 Other Results

Not Applicable

2.2 Did the commitment address the public policy problem that it intended to address as described in the action plan?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

Yes, non-governmental organizations in harmony with the Youth Agency of Córdoba and the Ministry of Women of the Province, contributed to the inclusionOGP participating governments are working to create governments that truly serve all people. Commitments in this area may address persons with disabilities, women and girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, tr... More of gender, diversities, and youth perspectives in the territorialization processes. All of them incorporated the SDGs referring to these agendas as a priority in their territorialization. In addition, they involved organized civil society actors in the participatory processes that led the gender and youth agendas, in addition to seeking gender and youth balance in the proposed activities. Likewise, the resulting lines of action focused on these dimensions. For example, in Alta Gracia, priority was given to working on policies to strengthen women entrepreneurs in that city, and thus expand their economic autonomy. For that, the entrepreneurship direction of the Ministry of Habitat and Family Economy assisted in the implementation of these lines of action. On the other hand, in San José de la Dormida, young people were
involved in the entire process and received support from the Córdoba Jóven Agency. Support was received from the program to respond to a need expressed by the local youth, which was to have instruments for carrying out sports in the municipality itself.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• OGP Blog: Toward Gender and Youth-Focused Sustainable Development at the Local Level

3. Provide at least one lesson or reflection relating to the implementation of this commitment. It can be the identification of key barriers to implementation, an unexpected help/hindrance, recommendations for future commitments, or if the commitment should be taken forward to the next action plan.

This commitment seeks to incorporate the gender perspective and the youth approach to contribute to achieving equality between genders and youth in different locations of the province in the processes of implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The Province of Córdoba has been working towards gender equality in its dimensions, to respond to existing gender gaps, by strengthening the autonomy of women and diversity. As well as the only province in the country with a Youth Agency, that proposes listening and empowerment actions for young people.
In addition, the organizations that made up the consortium also demonstrated a track record and expertise in the field of gender and youth.
Along these lines, thinking about the adoption, appropriation, and implementation of a sustainable development agenda at the local level such as the 2030 Agenda, including the mainstreaming of gender and youth perspectives, indicates that this commitment is one more response to solving the public problem based on i) recognizing persistent inequalities and discrimination based on gender and age, ii) recovering the routes of local communities, iii) generating concrete actions in the territories to overcome them, recognizing the importance of the voice and experiences of the youths.
It is related to the strategic vision since it allows the formulation of public policies to be adapted to the reality of the territory. Likewise, it is focused on one of the management axes of the Provincial Government: Social JusticeTo address barriers that prevent citizens from having their justice needs met, OGP participating governments are working to expand transparency, accountability, and inclusion into all systems of justi..., which refers to initiatives aimed at people, seeking to develop their full potential with dignity and equal opportunities. This axis covers agendas such as income redistribution, access to education and health, and gender equality.