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Toolkit on the design and implementation of equality-oriented policies in the Arab countries

Symbol: 
E/ESCWA/SDD/2017/TECHNICAL PAPER.11
Issued in: 
2021

ESCWA has prepared the toolkit for designing and implementing equality-oriented public policies and programmes in the Arab countries as part of its efforts to support member countries in developing and implementing national and local development policies and programmes based on the principles of equality and on the four principles of social justice; namely, rights. equality, equity and participation. The toolkit provides a set of practical modules, skills and tools necessary to formulate, implement, finance and evaluate equality-oriented policies.

The toolkit represents a practical training instrument for building the capacity of government officials, national stakeholders, experts and activists in non-governmental organizations involved in designing, implementing and evaluating public policies. This, in turn, contributes to ensuring partnership between government policy makers and civil society in formulating social, economic and political policies that are inclusive and comprehensive. The toolkit is based on scientific sources and references, interviews and case studies on public policies, as well as methodologies for evaluating, reforming and developing policies to address inequality. The toolkit draws upon the most prominent global experiences and lessons that have proved successful in mainstreaming equality within social and economic policies. It also proposes the possibility of applying those lessons in the region after making the necessary adjustments that are in line with the specificities of the Arab region and the realities, needs and priorities of each country. The toolkit has been designed to be used interactively and ensures a correlation between theoretical knowledge and practical application, thus supporting participants in expanding their knowledge and developing their skills concurrently. The toolkit does not only propose tools and mechanisms that promote equality in the design and implementation of social and economic policies, but also incorporates the requisite instruments for addressing inequality through integrating measurements of inequality in all policies, and by defining the different roles that governmental and non-governmental stakeholders as well as the private sector must play.

In this context, ESCWA seeks to implement national and regional training workshops to build the capacities of governmental and policy experts involved in designing and implementing public policy and programmes directed towards achieving economic and social equality