Call for proposals on integration of gender equality in Rwandan youth initiatives

The Aegis Trust is calling for proposals on integration of gender equality in youth groups and organisations which operate in the catchment areas of its three community peace centres in Rwanda. The deadline for submissions is Friday June 16^th, 2023. Full details about this call can be found below, including an outline of the support available and the eligibility criteria.

Background

The Aegis Trust is an international organization dedicated to preventing genocide and mass atrocities through peace education, trauma healing and sustainable livelihoods. Responsible for establishing the Kigali Genocide Memorial in 2004 in conjunction with the Government and Kigali City Council, it continues to run the Memorial on behalf of MINUBUMWE. In 2008, Aegis piloted a Peace and Values Education program at the Memorial using a story-telling methodology to promote empathy, critical thinking and personal responsibility to help prevent identity-based violence and encourage action to build peaceful and inclusive communities. In 2014, the Rwanda Education Board adopted this model in its entirety as a cross-cutting subject for the national schools curriculum. After over a decade of engagement and consultation with young men and boys who, due to a range of conditions, are at ‘high risk’ of engaging in communal and interfamilial violence, Aegis is developing a deep, culturally rooted understanding of toxic masculinity in Rwandan society and the urgent need to bring men on board in efforts to promote women’s rights and leadership.

Under the project ‘Promoting Positive Masculinities: attitude and behaviour change through education, dialogue and civil society capacity building’, the Aegis Trust aims to, embed transformative approaches to gender within public institutions and civil society organizations, to influence wider positive attitude and behavioural change.

Funding Information

Under the Promoting Positive Masculinities (PPM) Project, Aegis seeks to support outstanding youth civil society organizations or youth groups to integrate promotion of gender equality and positive forms of masculinity in their existing initiatives. This will help achieve the project’s aims of engaging men and boys as allies to women and girls in fighting gender-based violence, discrimination and inequality, transforming popular gender norms to support more positive masculinities and greater tolerance for gender diversity.

The support will include: (1) Gender capacity building workshops; (2) Funding for integration of gender equality in youth initiatives; (3), support and assistance for successful applicants throughout their journey of promoting gender equality.

Eligibility Criteria

Only Rwandan nationals are eligible to apply.
The submitted initiatives must relate to promoting gender equality and positive masculinities; overcoming harmful gender norms and ending gender-based violence.
Applicants should be existing youth organizations, youth peace clubs or student associations working towards sustainable peace and social cohesion.
Applicants should be working in the catchment area for at least one of the Aegis Trust’s three Community Peace Centers. The Centers are in Nyagatare, Huye and Kigali, with catchment areas covering the following 16 districts: Gasabo, Kicukiro, Nyarugenge, Bugesera, Kamonyi, Rulindo, Rwamagana, Huye, Gisagara, Nyamagabe, Nyaruguru, Nyanza, Nyagatare, Gatsibo, Gicumbi and Kayonza.
Applicants should be known by the district authority, and previous participation in gender equality programs and anti-Gender Based Violence (GBV) initiatives will add strength to the application.

Applicants must submit a project proposal which includes the following: a portfolio of the youth organization; the specific problem related to gender to be solved; an outline of activities to be undertaken; a reasonably detailed cost estimation of the project, clearly showing expected results and impact.

The application must explain how they will implement their initiative in an eco-friendly manner, ensuring that there are no practices involved that could harm the environment.