As part of its Open Society event series, GIZ organised a Voices of Change Talk on March 19 that engaged inspiring women in sharing their experiences, challenges, and insights related to addressing gender biases.  

The event, held in honor of Women’s Month, featured a dynamic lineup of speakers, including Igballe Rogova, Executive Director of the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN). Each speaker engaged the audience in a storytelling format, highlighting ongoing struggles in furthering gender equality and the crucial role that institutions like GIZ can play in advancing women’s rights and gender equality. 

Rogova, a lifelong advocate for women’s rights, captivated the audience with stories from her decades of activism. Drawing from her experience leading KWN, she shared firsthand accounts of struggles faced by the women’s movements, including the growing anti-gender movement and accompanying insufficient funding. 

A key theme in Rogova’s talk was the importance of collaboration between funders and civil society organisations. She stressed that funders must not only provide financial support but also listen to and engage meaningfully with local women’s organisations when designing new initiatives so that they address real, priority needs. She called for funders to consult women’s rights activists, not just as beneficiaries but as partners in shaping policies and programs. Political support and cooperation, she emphasised, are just as vital as financial assistance in sustaining long-term change. And everyone has a role to play in making this change happen. 

GIZ’s commitment to gender equality is not new. KWN and GIZ have a long history of collaboration towards achieving their shared aims of furthering gender equality. Among other actions, this has included working together towards institutionalising gender-responsive budgeting in close partnership with the Government of Kosovo. For example, KWN, GIZ, the Agency for Gender Equality in the Office of the Prime Minister, and the Kosovo Institute for Public Administration collaborated to create and adopt the first training curriculum for public servants on how to implement gender-responsive budgeting obligations in the Law on Gender Equality, based on best international practices. They also proposed content for the annex on gender-responsive budgeting, required by the Ministry of Finance in the budget circular to accompany mid-term and annual budgets.  

KWN looks forward to continuing our collaboration with GIZ in the future.