Background

The Safe Cities Free of Violence against Women and Girls, builds on lessons learned in similar projects in Latin America and the Caribbean.  Port Moresby has been selected as one of 5 cities in the world for this project.  The focus of the Port Moresby: A Safer City for Women and Girls Project (hereon referred to as the Project) is to reduce violence against women and girls (VAWG) particularly all forms of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV). The city’s markets will be the target intervention sites of the Project. The Project will aim at strengthening women’s leadership and citizens’ active participation in improving governance, as well as fostering a deepening understanding of citizens’ rights and responsibilities.
Call for Expression of interest

UN Women Office in PNG is calling for Expressions of Interest from competent supporting NGOs for the first phase of the Project.
The supporting NGOs will work with women and men who are users of the markets, local government, the police and other relevant stakeholders to facilitate partnerships, build capacities and take the lead in the development of strategies, tools and models to support mobilisation of grassroots women, awareness raising on citizens’ rights and responsibilities, and promoting gender equality and basic rights to earn a living in a decent workplace that is free from violence. The Safe City Project believes that reduction of violence against women and girls in public spaces can best be met by creating a social empowerment and  protection framework that recognises and builds on grassroots women’s own initiatives. This approach will transform the position of  grassroots women from ‘beneficiaries’ to becoming active agents of change and  principal partners with city authorities, local government and development agencies.

The current call for Expression of Interest is therefore for one or several support NGOs who will play key roles at this initial phase of the Project in building capacity of the grassroots women organizations and other key stakeholders to ensure their ability to further develop, implement and monitor the Port Moresby Safe City Project.

Duties and Responsibilities

The supporting NGO(s) will be responsible for:

I.     Collaborating with the Safe Market Management Steering Committee (SMMSC), UN Women, the Gender and Equity Desk of NCDC, and men and women councillors of NCDC to:

• Support and facilitate the mobilisation of grassroots women who are vendors or buyers at the markets in Port Moresby.
• Carry out awareness raising initiatives to build an understanding among women and men of the value of collective organising and representation to engage strategically with authorities and influence decision-making.
• Engage with existing grassroots women’s and youth organizations that have relevant experience in organizing and empowering local women to build ongoing partnerships with these key groups.
• Mobilise NGOs, CBOs, local artists and performers to determine how they can contribute innovative, creative, cultural events to make Port Moresby’s city markets better.
• Review and adapt the best practices and lessons learned, tools and training materials available in global and regional projects to engage City Hall and the police in ending violence against women and girls in public spaces.
• Identify existing and emerging women and youth leaders, and resource people among the grassroots market vendors to increase their knowledge and understanding of the project goals and approaches, build their capacity, and support leadership opportunities.

II.     Support leaders and the formation of market vendors association with a focus on fostering women leaders.

III.    Support grassroots women and youth organisations to formulate key principles and new standards of dignity, respect and human rights, as a basis for the market bylaws and daily standards of behaviour to be set and monitored on the marketplace.

IV.    Mediate and resolve any conflict or misunderstanding that may arise among these groups so that they can present a united front to City Hall and the national Government. 

V.     Support the mainstreaming of HIV into project activities including the implementation of trainings, development of awareness materials and campaigns, etc.

VI.    Work with men and boys on: 1) developing violence prevention initiatives; 2) implementing a zero tolerance policy for violence against women and girls; 3) becoming agents of change on ending violence against women and empowering women and girls; 4) support the implementation of the project at all stages. 

Competencies

Deliverables:

• Design and deliver training and key information to grassroots women and youth.
• In collaboration with other local organizations, provide grassroots vendors and visitors to the markets with advice on the best options for organising, registering, meeting, and empowering themselves, and building their own women’s and youth associations.
• Develop a series of training kits and a training plan for sensitising all staff of City Hall, local councillors and other relevant partners on promoting human rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women and young people in Port Moresby.
• Deliver a gender sensitisation and motivational training to NCDC/ City Hall staff councillors and officials, police (selected to patrol and support the Project), local government, and grassroots organisations.
• Organise events, workshops and other activities intended to build mutual respect, cooperation and coordination between NCDC, RPNGC, and leaders of women’s and youth organisations, including market vendors organisations, working together to make city markets safer.
• Develop a communications strategy for reaching out to a wide range of actors in Port Moresby about citizen responsibilities and accountability for increasing safety and security for all, and in particular of women and girls.
• Conduct consultations and comprehensive information sessions with women market vendors at the intervention sites to inform them of the project, involve them in the baseline study and project design, and plan with them a strategy to facilitate the formation of vendors’ organisations.
• Develop a strategy, timeframe and budget for training to facilitate the formation of market vendors’ organisations, the identification and training of leaders, and building capacity of women market vendors in documenting their situation, tracking their fees and taxes, consolidating their concerns, formulating their demands and nominating their representatives to engage in dialogue with NCDC workers on the market place and in the formal mechanisms and processes of City Hall.
  

Required Skills and Experience

• Proven track record of grassroots community organizing and facilitating the mobilisation of women, partnership building, leadership and empowerment to make locally driven social change.
• Experience in developing programmes on gender based and sexual violence, and improving community safety. 
• Experience in working with diverse groups of women and those that have been marginalized socially, economically and may have been victims of violence.
• Proven track record of working in public environments with weak governance, high levels of discrimination and violence against women, insecurity and crime. 
• Experience in working with men and boys on programmes/projects to end and prevent different forms of gender based violence.
• Be registered as a non-profit organisation in Papua New Guinea.

PROJECT LIAISON AND REPORTING:

The support NGO will liaise with and report to the Safer Cities Project Steering Committee and the UN Women Safe Cities Coordinator/Team Leader. 

HOW TO SUBMIT AN EOI:

• Background information on the organisation and activities carried out in recent years (2 pages minimum).
• An estimation of the time and staff from the organisation that will be dedicated to the project and evidence of sufficient and suitably qualified staff with proven capacity to undertake the assignment outlined above.
• A profile/capacity statement and bio of the staff that will be dedicated to this project.
• Information of existing materials in English, Tok Pisin and Motu (if available).
• Evidence of past activities working with marginalized communities on ending violence against women.
• Evidence of an in depth understanding of gender and human rights and how this can provide a framework for supporting the mobilisation, organisation and leadership of grassroots women and youth to make Port Moresby safer.
• Evidence of experience in consultative processes of training needs identification, training material and methods design and implementation in the areas of gender, human rights, HIV and AIDs, violence against women and girls prevention, women’s empowerment, and working with men and boys in VAWG prevention.
• Evidence of experience in designing and delivering awareness campaigns, tools and materials that are relevant to the topics above.
• Provide an illustrative work plan on how some of the key deliverables and tasks could be achieved.

Interested participants must be willing to present the above information to UN Women in a face to face review of applicants.
NOTE: If not all of the requirements are met by one single organisation, potential partners could be included in the application proposal.
Expressions of Interest to be submitted by Monday 24th October, 2011 either electronically to registry@unwomenpacific.org  or addressed under confidential cover to :-
Vacancy – UN Women (Indicate Title and Reference No.),

The Country Programme Manager
UN Women PNG Office
United Church Building
P.O Box 1041
Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea