The Association of Palestinian Local Authorities (APLA) organized an interactive training session on Gender-Responsive Budgets. In addition to budget officers at local government units (LGUs), the event was attended by 26 LGU representatives and members of the Taskforce for the Inclusion of Marginalized Groups. Held on Zoom, the training was tailored to enable participants to understand the importance of gender-responsive budgets as a development tool and equip them with the practical knowledge and instruments to analyse public spending and design budgets that promote inclusion and achieve sustainable development.
The session was moderated by Fatima Butmeh, Gender-Responsive Budgeting Expert, who stressed the importance of gender mainstreaming in budgeting processes as a tool to drive inclusive and equitable development. Butmeh explained success factors and the need to provide practical instruments to ensure an equitable distribution of resources to meet various community needs. She also presented on the socioeconomic analysis of public spending, highlighting how gender impacts community needs.
The training featured interactive exercises, which gave participants practical insights into budget design and monitoring, particularly those which fulfil the needs of vulnerable groups in relevant communities. Participants were guided to carry out realistic budget analyses that promote inclusive and equitable resource distribution. Exercises furnished an opportunity for participants to apply theoretical concepts in practice, enhancing their capacity to prepare budgets that effectively respond to the needs of all groups and to monitor how compliant institutions are with targeting resources towards creating inclusive and sustainable development.
Funded by the GIZ Local Governance Reform Programme, the training is an activity of the Taskforce for the Inclusion of Marginalized Groups in Palestinian LGUs. In addition to mainstreaming a gender perspective and inclusion into LGUs functions, the taskforce seeks to share relevant experiences, create a common and holistic vision to proceed with developing and implementing plans to integrate vulnerable groups by all actors at the local level.
