An international webinar on gender mainstreaming and social inclusion in Surabaya during COVID-19 was organised and held on 27 October 2020, within the framework of the Urban Month and World Habitat Day promoted by UN Habitat. This year, Surabaya was nominated as the host city of World Habitat Day. The Global Future Cities Programme (GFCP) for South East Asia took this opportunity together with the local authorities to promote the positive social outcomes that are being achieved on 2 transformative projects in Surabaya. These two interventions focus heavily on gender and social Inclusion, ensuring that women and vulnerable groups within the local communities are engaged throughout the entirety of the projects.
The Indonesia project team provided insights into the Indonesia interventions through a programme introductory video and interviews with team leads. This was followed by an engaging online panel discussion on gender responsive and inclusive action presented by the programme’s GESI specialists.
The webinar was attended by more than 250 participants, from 23 different countries, and benefited from the support of the City of Surabaya, the Executive Director of UN Habitat, the UK Ambassador in Indonesia and the Director of Housing and Settlements of the Ministry of Planning and Development (BAPPENAS), as well from the insights and expertise of programme’s delivery partner gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) experts and of our key partners. The event introduced a key feature: the continuous presence of a sign language expert.
A report summarizing the key findings and conclusions on GESI coming from the webinar can be downloaded below.