“Playing for Gender – Equality” Manual
The issues of gender equality, gender roles and violence against women are looming taboos in the Middle East. The Playing for Gender Equality toolkit was developed in order to teach young children and adolescent boys and girls about the concepts of gender-equality.
Between the ages of 8 and 12, children begin formulating their ideals of gender and inter/intra gender relations. It is during this phase of their lives that they become more observant of the interactions of those in their immediate environments. Thus, this age range is a critical period where they study and question what they see, and begin formulating beliefs and attitudes that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
In light of the above, ABAAD produced a cutting-edge training toolkit that is considered one of the first toolkits of its kind developed and tested in the MENA region. The kit includes a training guide composed of 10 games, a referential guide entitled “What do I need to know about gender equality,” and some support items (posters, stickers, colouring sheet).
Training Guide
The training guide is a tool for trainers and facilitators to begin work on GE through fun, interactive, competitive, and educational games and exercises for children aged 8 to 12. These games will set important groundwork for children to understand GE concepts and related issues. Each of the games has a section that will allow the facilitator to discuss important lessons and ideas with the children.
The launching ceremony was held in Beirut in 2013 under the patronage of the Minister of Social Affairs, HE Wael Abou Faour. Over 260 attendees were present, which included representatives from different NGOs working with/for children generally and/or in emergencies, NGOs working on training and development, members of the Technical Taskforces in Lebanon (on GBV, GBV in emergencies, CPWG, and others), UN agencies and INGOs, the project’s peer reviewers, and the MoSA SDCs.
How to Work With Parents?
ABAAD, in partnership with Save the Children International, produced “How to Work with Parents,” a guidebook for social actors, animators, and front-liners working with children and their parents. The guidebook has been incorporated as an annex to the “Playing for Gender Equality” toolkit previously produced by ABAAD. The guide, produced based on feedback received while conducting trainings on PGE, details the importance of parental involvement in any gender equality programmes designed for children and youth. Parents are key players whose involvement is crucial in any programme designed for children. In order to lay the proper foundations for a full partnership with parents, the latter’s active involvement is essential. This is because it would lead to their full support and to the reinforcement of the facilitators’ work at home with their children, thus resulting in cyclical effects in the struggle towards transformative social change.
Playing For Gender Equality Training Of Trainers
“Playing for Gender Equality” is a cutting-edge training toolkit, considered one of the first toolkits of its kind developed and tested in the MENA region. The PGE toolkit, which targets children ages 8 – 12, includes a training guide composed of 10 games, the referential guide “What do I Need to Know about Gender Equality?”, and support items such as posters, stickers, and colouring sheets.
The kit is a tool for trainers and facilitators to work on gender equality with children through fun, interactive, competitive, and educational games and exercises, each followed by discussion components.
In partnership with Save the Children International, ABAAD conducted two trainings of trainers for 53 participants working with children, one in Beirut, and the other in Tyr. The trainings provided participants with the cognitive framework necessary to understand and therefore convey gender-related concepts, especially gender equality, gender roles, and gender-based violence, as well as how to work with children on addressing these issues.
The trainings also enabled the participants to adapt and use the toolkit, each in her/his direct field of work with children, by providing them with the needed knowledge and communication skills to successfully carry out the games included in the training curriculum. Upon completion of the ToT, each of the trainees conducted coaching sessions on PGE.
Play
Greetings! We would like to begin by thanking you for your interest in youth’s education on concepts of Gender Equality.
This page includes several resources developed and tested in the Middle East, for that purpose that might be helpful for your work in this field!
