Gender Development Association (GDA) contributes to an equal and just society, where women are empowered to live without discrimination or violence. By elevating both men and women to contribute to this goal, GDA strives for more joint action, information, knowledge, and expertise on gender mainstreaming and gender based discrimination in Laos.

GDA strives for more joint action, information, knowledge, and expertise on gender mainstreaming and gender based discrimination in Laos.

GDA provides networking opportunities for other advocacy agencies whose work intersects with gender issues, as well as empowerment opportunities for traditionally marginalised communities. (Youth, ethnic groups, etc)

The Parity in Participation Project (PiPP) works to foster space for Laos’ marginalized communities through inclusion and representation in state reporting. This project trains rural ethnic women on human rights reporting and uses these skills to create assessment tools and mechanisms, which can be used to inform national level state reporting, as well as establish a platform to participate in international dialogues.

Presently in Laos, Civil Society and Non-Profit Associations, in particular, are limited in their ability to create independent assessments of state reporting mechanisms, specifically on CEDAW and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). With Civil Society often being the link to traditionally marginalised groups, their voices are being negated from conversations that directly impact their communities.

This project trains rural ethnic women on human rights reporting, using these skills to create assessment tools and mechanisms, which can be used to inform national level state reporting, establishing a platform to participate in international dialogues.