Cebu, Naga voted as gender-responsiveAsPac cities

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) announced that Cebu City and Naga City are among the three cities which won the "Award for Women Friendly Cities 2004" in the First Contest of Gender Responsive Local Governments in the Asia-Pacific.

The other winner is the City of Visakhapatnam in India.

The contest, co-sponsored by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), identified three gender-responsive cities, which are currently implementing governance principles that support women-friendly city management.

This aims to build on the work of numerous ongoing initiatives within the Asia-Pacific region, which tackle the issues of gender inequality and the continuing lack of women’s participation in social, political and economic issues.

A total of 24 applications were received from eight countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

A panel of international jurors reviewed and evaluated the applications based on the following criteria:

• Legislative commitments toward women friendly cities (e.g., municipal codes, acts, etc.);

• Institutionalization of mechanisms where women’s views are being integrated as part of an urban governance system, which continuously contribute to policy recommendations toward women-friendly cities;

• System for promoting affirmative actions for equal representation;

• Budgetary allocation for such activities; and

• Partnership with various stakeholders, participation of women, innovation, sustainability, replicability and monitoring components.

The Asia-Pacific contest was launched in line with the recommendations made by the Expert Group Meeting on Gender and Women’s Issues in Human Settlements organized by UN-HABITAT and held in Nairobi, Kenya in February 2003.

The contest aimed to encourage and reward local governments which establish innovative policies and programs, taking into account the demands and agendas of women and girls living in their communities.