The SEAFDEC Training Department (SEAFDEC/TD) in collaboration with the Sustainable Fish Asia (SUFIA) Local Capacity Development Activity/USAID conducted an Online Regional Workshop on Gender Integration in Small Scale Fisheries in Southeast Asia from 28 to 30 September 2021. The training aimed to impart and exchange knowledge, skills, and experiences on gender integration in fisheries projects to ensure project implementers apply gender inclusive approaches in promoting human well-being in fisheries communities. The training was attended by 55 representatives, 35 female and 20 males, from the ASEAN Member States (AMSs) namely: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand, and personnel from SEAFDEC Secretariat, SEAFDEC/AQD, SEAFDEC/IFRDMD, SEAFDEC MFRDMD, and SEAFDEC/TD.
The training sessions covered principles and approaches on integrating gender and social inclusion in the whole project cycle to ensure gender is mainstreamed and achieve gender equity and equality in fisheries development and project management. As an exercise to apply what they learned from the sessions, participants developed sample country action plans to address existing gender issues faced in their areas, which included implementation and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) plans. Participants were encouraged to integrate these action plans into their existing tasks within their organizations and extend their learnings from the workshop among their peers. As a next step, participants recommended further promotion of gender integration in small scale fisheries in Southeast Asia, acknowledging that gender awareness and capacity building are needed at all levels to improve gender sensitivity and responsiveness so initiatives in small scale fisheries will be more gender and socially inclusive.
