In the week of International Women's Day, IHS brings the focus on women's role in the urban field and on showcasing the work of IHS staff members involved in gender-related projects. Meet Carolina Lunetta, an Urban Planning specialist, part of the Urban Socio-Spatial Development team at IHS. Her most recent work is developing a Refresher Course on Gender-inclusive planning in Suriname.
This week we are talking about women. You are currently working on the Refresher Course Suriname. Can you tell us more about it?
Refresher Course Suriname has an innovative approach, as it contextualizes the knowledge previously acquired on strategic planning, governance, and citizen participation utilizing a gender lens. The course will focus on "Gender-inclusive planning in Suriname: an intersectional approach to strategic planning".
"We offer conceptual and practical tools to innovatively deal with the complexities of cities and gender inequalities. The course brings together communities and experts to elaborate strategic and gender-sensitive spatial plans, empowering local communities, specifically women and LGBTQ+ groups."
What was your motivation to approach this topic?
One of my main drivers is to bring gender into my work in both projects and education. But there is still quite some resistance towards gender in education and planning practice. Institutions, partners and participants show resistance to acknowledging the need to use a gender lens in our activity, but also to bringing gender as an integral part of what we do (not as an add-on). I make gender prominent in urban planning throughout the different planning processes, from the moment of data collection and stakeholder engagement, to the co-creation of planning solutions and the future for cities.
"It is challenging, yet rewarding and motivating to work in this area, as we find more and more people from different backgrounds passionate and engaged in gender-related topics."
The Refresher Course Suriname is a great opportunity to apply many things I am interested in in terms of urban planning and gender. We also wanted to explore a region where we haven't worked yet, and Suriname is closely related to the Netherlands, so we chose a new challenge for ourselves. But gender is a global challenge, and it is always relevant in any place in the world.
How are gender and planning approached in the course in Suriname?
"There are a lot of misconceptions about gender, and therefore many people believe gender-based inequalities are not present in their country or society. At the same time, it is very important to discuss gender norms, roles and relations on different levels (household and communities)."
In Suriname, there is a perception that traditional planning approaches and bureaucratic procedures are not well suited to addressing the current urban challenges of urbanization that cities face. Therefore, urban practitioners must work with planning and be involved in city-making to upskill their knowledge and skills. Thus, these professionals working in public institutions, NGOs, academic and private organizations can deal better with the complexities of cities and gender inequalities regarding the use of urban spaces and participation in decision-making processes.
What solutions are you planning to implement?
At the moment, we are building the precise content of the course together with my colleagues Dr Bahar Sakizlioglu and Elina Makousiari. We also look into how and where our partners will be involved.
"There is a strong link between gender and planning, and we insist on thinking outside the box and not looking at urban planning in the traditional way."
Two important course outcomes that will benefit all participants' sectors are the toolkit for strategic gender-sensitive planning and the Back-Home Action Plans (BHAP). The participants will learn how to use and choose the best gender-sensitive and strategic planning tools and methods.
It is vital to understand that we do not have the power to change from day tonight. We should start with bringing awareness to gender and finding interested people. This is a long-term process, especially when it comes to changing the mindset of a society. That's why we do such courses, to "plant the seeds".
"Gender-related topics can be complex and controversial very often. Here, we can play a role and make them more digestible and easy to embrace for certain people."
If you take courses and include gender in your curriculum, more people will understand what it is about and how gender relates to their specific field of work, and therefore you're planting these little seeds. The more parties are well informed, the more motivated they will be to bring the gender lenses into what they do.
Who is the course for?
We are targeting people interested in or currently working with gender. Quite often, those who participate in gender-related courses are young women with low decision-making power. That is why we hope to have more seniors who could have more influence within their institutions.
"We find it important that men do join such courses. The view on gender is not only about women. Gender is relational."
How will the updated knowledge be translated into skills that benefit the sector they work for?
Building a critical mass of gender-sensitive staff is crucial to changing the gender-insensitive institutional culture. Participants working with planning in public and private sectors will acquire knowledge and skills to mainstream gender in planning, policies, and programmes, and improve gender responsiveness of their organization. Participants in academia can incorporate the course knowledge in the teaching curriculum, to bring more visibility to gender issues in cities, as well as alternative approaches to planning, in order to deal better with the complexities of cities. All participants will gain communication, negotiation, and critical spatial-analytical skills, to engage with local communities for effective co-creative planning processes.
Last but not least, how does it feel to be a woman working in the urban development field from your perspective?
I feel the struggles of women around the world are much more important and valuable to be more visible than mine because Women's Day is not only about celebration.
"It is a day also to bring awareness to how many women are struggling around the world because of violence, discrimination, and unequal rights and opportunities."
