The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Women (UN Women) in Libya marked the International Women’s Day 2020 with the launch of a new joint initiative aimed at promoting gender equality and women and youth empowerment in the West, East and South of Libya.

UNDP and UN Women called for proposals for civil society organizations (CSOs) working for women and youth, including migrants, in Libya and have officially launched the initiative on the occasion of the International Women’s day.

Now, the agencies are in the phase of reviewing the applications of the CSOs that will participate in a training that will provide them with the skills to design and implement their own initiatives. After the training, ten of the organizations will receive a low value grant of up $US 15,000 to develop their projects with support from UNDP and UN Women.

During the launching, UN Women Representative for Libya, Ms. Begona Lasagabaster, stated:

“Supporting women and youth civil society and grassroots organizations is critical to addressing the complex humanitarian and peacebuilding challenges facing Libya. Innovative solutions created by Libyan women and youth are critical to building momentum on peacebuilding. We stand behind them and are in full support of their work.”

 On her part, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative for Libya, Gözde Avci-Legrand, declared:

“Our agencies recognize the impact of women’s organizations in driving change in support of gender equality at all levels. With this initiative we want to give these organizations a push for them to achieve their full potential and ensure that the voices of women and youth in conflict are brought to the table.”

The project will be run by Libyan women UN staff, who expect that these civil society organizations across Libya will be able to implement their initiatives to improve the lives of at least 200 women, 500 young people, and 100 migrants.