Gulu Women Economic Development <(>&<)> Globalization (GWED-G) was founded by grassroots women in Northern Uganda who suffered the impacts of the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) war in 2004. GWED-G has in the last 14 years grown to being a recognised leader in human rights and governance in the region, nationally and globally. GWED-G developed its first strategic plan in 2009. GWED-G has a robustaccounting package and has gone both internal and external audits by reputable firm#se.g. Ernest and Young, KPMG and Delloitte. Theorganisation has also attracted in the last 14 years renowned International donors such as EU, USAID, ICC -TFV, International Development Fund (IDF), Open Society Foundation (OSF), DGF, American Jewish Society (AJW) and Amnesty International.The first board was inaugurated in 2004. Since then GWED-G has an active board that meets quarterly and provides technical oversight over the organisation. GWED-G has well developed financial and operational policies and regulations. The Board and leadership within GWED-G are majorly women and most of its program intervention is focused on supporting women and girls, boys and men, with sensitivity to gender equality and women#s empowerment programming. ACHIEVEMENTS
What have been the principal results inthe past three years that contribute to significant, structural, sustained and positive improvement in the lives of men, women, girls and boys suffering from poverty, injustice, insecurity and exclusion?
# First ever annual women conference attended by250 grass-root participants
# Established 600 women VSLA solidarity groups of which 90constructed permanent iron roofed and bricked houses with land titles in their names, 107 impact groups# members gained access, control and ownership of their land that was grabbed by family and clan members.
# Built capacities of45 cultural leaders who are part of promoting land mediation through alternatives disputes resolutions (ADR) in the districts of Gulu, Amuru, Omoro and Nwoya that has increased access to vulnerable persons especially women and children land rights.
# 5 District policies were influenced through local ordinances with support of GWED-G ( Eg. SGBV Ordinances, Alcoholic Ordinance, Hygiene and Sanitation Ordinances, Education-Bylaw ordinances, foodsecurity and livelihood ordinances etc).
# Increased participation of women in various leadership and decision making platforms. (Eg. Councillors at district and parish levels, CDOs positions, head teachers, etc)
# Sensitisation and community level awareness creation on human rights and land issues in communities and on local FM radio stations
# Increasing access to reproductive health services for young women and girls
# Promoted zero tolerance to SGBV through preventiveand response approaches, using SASA strategy and working with Community Activist (CATs) and Role Model Men (RMM). Over 275,000people reached through this approaches. Reduced levels of teenage pregnancy and girls drop out of schools through sexual and reproductivehealth advocacy inschools.
# Capacity building of women and men groups in the identification, selection and planning of income generating activities(IGA), Financial literacy, Functional Adult literacy and managing of rotational savings and loans associations with 6,633 women engaged as SMEs, 1225 women lead farmers.
# 80 Reconstructive surgery for war affected victims.
2. INSTITUTIONAL PURPOSE
The Vision: A Gender Just Society – where Women and Men, Boys and Girls in Post #conflict Northern Uganda realize their fullpotential, enjoy their human rights and live in Total Peace and Prosperity#.

Mission Statement: GWED-G exists to empower women and girls,

GWED-G seeks to achieve this mission through effective institutional and technical capacity, building strongcommunity based model for women empowerment, strong strategic and operational partnerships, knowledge management and resource mobilization.

Mission:What is the current purpose of the organisation?

GWED-G exist to empower women and girls to enjoy theirfundamental human rights and live in dignity.
Institutional objectives:What are the principal changes the organisation seeks to achieve over the long term?
1. Tobuild the Agency of Women and Girls to demand their land and property rights, and meaningfully co-exist with their male counterparts on available land to derive secure livelihoods
2. To advocate for the creation of a gender responsive, human rights centered, inclusive and socially-accountable victim-centered transitional justice and peace building environment at community, district and national level for the benefit of all people in northern Uganda
3. To sstrengthen structures and systems for women and girls# protection, safety and security against all forms of violence particularly sexual and gender based violence
4. To empower women on their economic and civic rights to meaningfully participate in the democratic processes and activities of their country
5. To strengthen the institutional and organizational capacities of GWED-G to effectively and efficiently deliver on her core mandates

Field(s) of activity:What are the principal thematic and geographic areas in which the organisation works? Who are the social actors that benefit from the work?
Our core program thematic areas include;Gender Equality and Women Empowerment programs in Post conflict region of northern Uganda. Social Research and Advocacy on women related development agenda. Livelihood and Food Security programs for women and youths. Peace Building and Transitional Justice for War affected communities of Northern Uganda. Livelihoods and Food Security (economic Empowerment) for women and youth Health with focus on Adolescent Reproductive Health Rights, Maternal and Child Health and HIV/AIDS. Promoting Education for the Girl-Child. GWED-G Institutional and Organizational Development
Rights holder/ Beneficiaries
-Defenceless Women (War Victims, women with disabilities, Women living with HIV/AIDs Formerly Abducted women, Sexual Gender based violence survivors, widows, landless)
-Women leaders elected and appointed
– Girls in school and out of school
-Men and boys
Areas of operation
-West Acholi (Gulu, Amuru, Nwoya and Omoro)
-East Acholi (Kitgum, Lamwo, Agago, Pader)

4. STRATEGIC POSITIONING
Analyse the environment in which the organisation works? Who are the other relevant social actors, including government and business, and what roles do they play? #In this context, what is unique about the position of the organisation?

GWED-G has implemented 4 huge programs on human rights and women empowerment. Similarly, the organization has implemented long term programs on gender equality and womens empowerment as a niche. For the last 3 years, GWED-G has implemented land rights advocacy programs for vulnerable individuals and groups in the post conflict Acholi region. GWED-G has contributed to strengthening legitimate and responsible civil society organizations. Thus the organization understands the contexts within which this project will be implemented, we have built local capacities through more than 600 women#s groups and 420 youth groups, institutionalized and sustained internal expertise that are well-seasoned to undertake similar engagements. Over the years, GWED-G tested and proven several useful approaches including the Role Model Men and Male engaged on women rights, the Village Savings and Loans Association as a mobilization strategy for grass roots to engage on cross cutting issues including leadership and democratic governance.
The organization has signed memorandum of understanding with four local governments, coupled with good working relationship.

We are hosting the Northern Uganda Human rights partnership, a member of UgandaWomen#s network, a member of and steering committee member of the women#s human rights defenders in Uganda. GWED-G has strong physical presence in Northern Uganda and at the international level as well.

Strengthening Participation and Accountability through Community Engagement (SPACE) is a project seeking to drive empowerment and foster meaningful political participation of marginalized groups to increase their active participation in decision-making processes and bolster demands for duty-bearer accountability and effectiveness in community development, including responsive service delivery. SPACE looks to place women, youth and people with disabilities (PWDs) at the forefront of its initiative to ensure that their needs and voices drive decision-making for policy and programming. SPACE will increase women’s agency to transform sociocultural norms and change structural barriers, allowing marginalized groups to step into new roles and amplify their voices regarding development in the Acholi sub-region. The 24-month project aims to cultivate an enabling environment to increase women’s movements’ capabilities to influence citizens’ access to social services and strengthen the network of women- and youth-led grassroots activism and advocacy for participation and representation in shaping the regional development agenda, as well as enhancing local government (LG) accountability towards communities in service delivery. The hope is to support marginalized groups (women, youth, PWDs) to galvanize their leadership potential to influence positive changes to address their unique concerns and nurture an enduring space where these groups can share and contribute ideas concerning local development processes.
Using a human rights-based approach, SPACE will build capacities of 89 women, 64 youth, and 68 PWD leaders; 4 political platforms; 4 community-based organizations (CBOs) and 2 LNGOs to increase their effectiveness in advocacy, strengthen leadership skills to influence political and governance processes, and fulfill their decision-making responsibilities. This will be mainly achieved by training newly-elected women, youth, PWDs LG representatives in their roles and responsibilities and methods for effective political participation (advocacy/lobbying); further supported by close mentoring and coaching sessions for more personalized encouragement, empowerment and support to fulfill their mandates and activate their voices. Caucus groups will receive support to collectivize their power and sharpen their influence in decision-making. Additionally, women-, youth- and PWDs-focused CBOs and local NGOs will be trained on using community scorecard approaches to monitor government accountability and advocate for improvements. 6 media representatives/houses will be trained on the importance of inclusion of women, youth, PWDs in decision-making/planning and reporting progress on service delivery to strengthen government accountability. SPACE will host interface exchanges between rights-holders and duty-bearers to open safe spaces to enable citizens to participate in planning, budgeting, monitoring, and accountability of local governance structures and service delivery.