MINISTRY OF WELFARE
OF THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA	

GENDER AND FINANCIAL CRISIS – Nordic-Baltic Gender Equality Forum

Place: Hotel Konventa Seta, Riga, Latvia 
Time: 3-4 December 2009

The Nordic Baltic Seminar on Gender and Financial Crisis will discuss the financial crisis from a gender perspective. The seminar will focus on how women and men in the Nordic and Baltic countries have met the ongoing financial crisis. 

The aim of the seminar Gender and Financial Crisis is to discuss the problems people today face in the ongoing financial crisis. Is there e gender difference? Do women and men face the same problems? Who pays the bill? Have we learned anything from earlier crisis? Gender equality policy and politics during financial crisis.

The aim is also to exchange experience and best practice to find solutions to problems of the ongoing financial crisis.  How can we guarantee that gender perspective is integrated into the processes as decision-makers take political decisions to overcome the crisis. The seminar will result in concrete recommendations and proposals for joint future projects.

The target groups for the seminar are: politicians, civil servants, researchers, CSO:s and NGO:s. 

The program will include following parts:
Opening session
Plenary lecture
Working group sessions: Session I (world café concept) and Session III (workshops)
Gender Equality Fair: Session II

DRAFT PROGRAM

Thursday 3.12.2009 

11.30 - 12.30		Lunch

12.30 – 13.00 	Registration

OPENING SESSION
13.00 – 13.15		Opening of the seminar
Uldis Augulis, Minister for Welfare, Latvia 

Ingi Valur Johannsson, chair of Nordic Council of Ministers Executive Committee for Gender Equality, Ministry of Social Affairs, Iceland
 
13.15 – 13.45		Welfare and financial crisis – experience from Iceland	 	
Director General Sigridur Lilly Baldursdottir, Social Insurance Administration, Reykjavik, Iceland

13.45 – 14.05		From transition to financial crisis		
		Estonia

14.05 – 14.25		Financial crisis and gender equality policy 
NGO representative
Lithuania

14.25 - 14.30 	Discussion

14.30 – 15.00		Coffee break

SESSION I
15.00 – 17.00	Financial crisis concerns us all - (world cafe discussion concept)

SESSION II
17.00 – 19.00	Gender Equality Market (Fair) – presentation of EU programs, presentation of results and best practices, find cooperation partners, exchange of information, etc.

19.30		Dinner 

Friday 4.12.2009 

PLENARY LECTURE
09.00 – 09.45		Gender equality and financial crisis– challenges and possibilities 
		Professor Markus Jäntti, Stockholm University, Sweden 		
SESSION III
09.45 – 11.00 	Joint Projects – (workshops) including coffee 	

11.00 – 12.45		Presentation of session I and III discussions		 

12.45 – 13.00 	Closing of seminar

13.00 		Lunch	

SESSION I - Financial crisis concerns us all 
The groups (world café concept) will discuss the following themes: 

1.	The crises in the Nordic and Baltic countries - new challenges – new starts 
2.	Financial crisis and gender equality policy (Mona Larsen Asp, NIKK)
3.	Have women and men different responsibilities? (chair NN, LV)
4.	Public sector (health care, education, etc) – how to meet the crises
5.	Crisis - think globally – act locally – a gender perspective
6.	Climate change – sustainability – financial crises (chair Kira Appel, DK)
7.	Labor market,  demography and financial crisis
8.	Human values and equal rights – are these forgotten in crisis 
9.	Trafficking in human beings, reproductive health, violence (chair Christer Norling, S)
10.	Crisis – A possibility to chose non-traditional education  (DK)

The groups shall discuss how Nordic Baltic gender equality cooperation can increase knowledge and competence on gender perspective on the financial crises in the Nordic and Baltic countries, and have the NB 8 gender equality Program 2009-2010 and especially the NB 8 benefit as considerations during the discussions. The session discussions shall present:

•	Recommendations for activities to guarantee implementation of gender perspective in all policies of national, regional and local governments and other political decisions in the Nordic Baltic Region. 

SESSION II - GENDER EQUALITY MARKET (FAIR) 
The gender equality market will be arranged as a poster session, where programs, projects and organizations will be presented.

At the gender equality market for example EU programs can be presented (overviews of funds and programs suitable for gender issues, EU Programs for Baltic Sea Region targeted at social inclusion, gender issues, EEA and Norwegian financial funding mechanism, EU Interregional and cross-border programs, Daphne, NCM NB 8 NGO Program), organizations and projects (ongoing and results), etc.

The aim of the market is to get information, exchange information and best practices and find co-operation partners and initiate co-operation and new projects in the Nordic and Baltic countries. 

People mingle and discuss freely during two hours.

SESSION III – Joint Nordic Baltic co-operation projects 
The groups shall in workshops discuss proposals for possible joint Nordic Baltic gender equality projects. Following themes for project ideas should be discussed:

1.	NGO cooperation program (NCM Program) (chair: Coalition for Gender Equality in Latvia)
2.	Social Inclusion and gender equality (EU Social Fund/Baltic Region Cross-regional)
3.	Community Initiative  (EU Interreg) (chair Annamari Asikainen, FIN)
4.	Violence against women – trafficking in human beings (Daphne and other programs)
5.	URBACT Program
6.	Labor market (EU Progress)
7.	Climate change (NCM, EU and other possibilities) (chair Kira Appel, DK)
8.	Gender budgeting (NCM, EU and other possibilities) (chair Catharina Schmitz, S)
9.	Innovation and gender equality (NCM, EU and other possibilities)
10.	Power and Gender Equality (NCM, EU and other possibilities) 

The groups shall outline and draft possible Nordic Baltic projects. The basis of the workshop discussions will be the Nordic Baltic Co-operation program 2009-2010 adopted by the Nordic and Baltic ministers for gender equality. The proposals for joint NB 8 projects must include a short description of the project, possible results, possible partners and possible funding sources.

The seminar is organized in co-operation with:

Nordic Council of Ministers
Ministry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia
Women’s NGO Network of Latvia 

CP/30.10.2009