Gender-responsive budgeting is the process of integrating a gender perspective into all phases of planning, adopting and executing municipal budgets. The aim is to ensure that public money is spent in a way that fully addresses the needs of men and women in the community. Todor Tsonev, president of an association „"Initiative of unemployed intellectuals"“ from Vinica.

Therefore, for the past two years, the INI Association, in partnership with Glasen Tekstilec and EHO Shtip, has been implementing the project „"Through women's activism and civic initiatives to gender-inclusive and responsible municipalities"“ in the municipalities of Shtip, Vinica and Delchevo, and as an association we are implementing the project in Vinica.

Vinica is a city from which over 30% of the population has emigrated in the past 20 years, to Italy, Switzerland and other European countries, and internal displacement is represented in a smaller percentage. Those who remain do not feel sufficiently involved in decision-making at the local level.

The project aims to Mobilization and development of critical and independent thinking among women and girls for active participation in the creation of local policies and taking an active role in solving gender-sensitive problems.

In the past two years, the following activities:

  • A Memorandum of Cooperation has been signed with the Municipality of Vinica;
  • An assessment of the local needs and problems of women and girls under the jurisdiction of the municipality of Vinica was conducted;
  • A core of female activists has been created, who are educated on (Opportunities and forms of citizen participation in the creation of local policies; Gender analysis and gender-sensitive policies; Gender-responsive budgeting and gender-responsive budget initiatives; Advocacy for gender-responsive policies and gender-responsive budget)
  • The main problems and needs of women and girls from the municipality of Vinica have been identified;
  • Draft budget initiatives have been developed that target the main priorities of women and girls from Vinica for the next budget year;
  • One regional conference (Eastern region) was implemented;

The key areas that were detected in terms of where local authorities in the municipality of Vinica are failing and where urgent and substantial changes are needed are:

  • Marking parking spaces for people with physical disabilities and mothers with children in front of public buildings;
  • Increasing the passability of sidewalks by freeing up parked vehicles and adjusting them to pedestrian crossings;
  • Campaign to raise public awareness about Gender-based and Domestic Violence;
  • Providing psychosocial support for victims of gender-based and domestic violence;
  • Opening a day care center for the elderly and frail;
  • Providing support services for elderly and frail people in the home;
  • Involving more women in urban and local communities;

The project "Through women's activism and civic initiatives to gender-inclusive and responsive municipalities" is supported by the Government of Switzerland through Civica Mobilitas.
The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Swiss Government, Civica Mobilitas or the organizations implementing it.