8-12 and 14-19 November delegation of Deputy Governors of Ukraine visited Sweden to study gender mainstreaming policies at regional level. The study tour was organized by the Embassy of Ukraine in Sweden, UN Development Programme and the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports of Ukraine.

The main objective of this study tour is to build capacity of Ukrainian state officials to plan and implement gender policy at regional level as well as present them the opportunities and schemes of regional cooperation between Sweden and Ukraine.

First Deputy Minister for family, youth and sports of Crimea, Deputy Governors and managers of regional departments of family and youth from 21 oblasts participated in it. They were accompanied by the representatives of the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports of Ukraine and experts of UNDP/EU Equal Opportunities and Women’s Rights in Ukraine Programme.

The participants visited Ministry of Equality and Integration, Discrimination Ombudsman’s Office, Stockholm and Uppsala Länsstyrelsen, Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions .They had also meetings with experts of Centre for Russian and Eurasian Studies as well as of Centre for Gender Studies of Uppsala University and Secretary-General of Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy.

Ambassador of Ukraine in Sweden Mr Yevgen Perebyinis presented bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Sweden and introduced the possibilities of development of cooperation between Ukrainian and Swedish regions.

Ukrainian state officials got knowledge of gender mainstreaming strategies and mechanisms of coordination of gender policies that proved their efficiency in Sweden. Mechanisms of priority setting, planning, implementation and monitoring of gender policies in Sweden were discussed. It is expected that the participants will use the experience gained in Sweden while elaborating and implementing regional gender development programmes for 5 years to come.