Patna, September 28: A two-day capacity building program aimed at linking gender equality, child rights and socio-attitude change with development priorities in 13 underdeveloped districts of Bihar began on Monday at Hotel The Panash, R Block, Patna. The Department of Planning and Development has organized the program with the technical support of UNICEF, which will continue till September 29. Addressing the program, Additional Chief Secretary of the Department of Planning and Development, Dr. N. Vijay Lakshmi said that now is the time to move forward with clear priorities and concrete action plans at the district level to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. He said that gender equality is not only the responsibility of one or a few departments, but the entire government system has to work in this direction with mutual coordination.
He said that today is the era of information and technology, but change in social attitudes and mindset is also inevitable. Merely creating information and awareness will not bring the desired change, but also address the social perceptions, attitudes and institutional barriers behind issues related to women and adolescent girls. Dr. Vijayalakshmi also identified the protection of women, ending violence against them and inequalities in the workplace as important challenges. He said that the dream of a developed society cannot be fully realized until half of the population moves forward in the race of development. Emphasizing the importance of sensitivity and emotional understanding in administration, he asked the officers not to be limited only to the outward results and figures of the projects, but also to see how much government initiatives have made a real difference in people's lives.
The two-day program focuses on linking indicators in sectors such as health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, infrastructure, financial inclusion and skill development with the Sustainable Development Goals. Participants are also given practical training on identifying key gender issues in their districts, analyzing available data and assessing the root causes of the issues. The objective of the program is to develop a district action plan based on the priority gender issues for each district, which will include the responsibilities of the relevant departments, targets, coordination and review process. In this regard, emphasis is also being placed on making Panchayats partners of change at the local level and promoting public participation. In the program, Department of Planning and Development Secretary Kanwal Tanuj, Additional Secretary Shyam Behari Meena, Abhay Kumar of UNICEF, Director of Economics and Statistics Dr. N. H. Shawani, Deputy Director Shipra along with officers from various departments and 13 backward development districts were present.