Through the Partnerships for Municipal Innovation – Women in Local Leadership (PMI-WILL), funded by the Canadian government, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities peer-to peer approach engages Canadian municipalities and provincial and territorial association whose staff and elected officials exchange their experience with overseas counterparts.
In February and March 2023, four Canadians held their first capacity-building sessions in-person with our international partners since COVID restrictions were lifted. Councillor Kathryn Jeffery coached the National Women’s Caucus of the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana on developing the mission, vision and roles and responsibilities of the caucus, as the first steps to have a clear plan and strategies to strengthen the women’s caucus.
In Cambodia, the Union of British Columbia Municipalities’ President - Councillor Jen Ford, and the Director of Advocacy and Government Relations -Jared Wright conducted a 2-day training session on gender equality, advocacy, and communication for the leadership of the National League of Communes of the Kingdom of Cambodia to advance their capacity building strategy.
Jean Marc Nadeau - Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association, facilitated the staff of the Association Nationale des Communes du Bénin to develop a catalogue of services which will be offered to its members to mobilise resources. Together they also assessed the quality of services being proposed using tools adapted to Benin’s context.
Through these visits, Canadian municipal experts gained a better understanding of their counterparts’ contexts and ways of working, and their counterparts improved capacity in areas they had identified as priorities. Relationships forged during their in-person interactions will continue to grow whether through in-person or virtual meetings for the duration of the PMI-WILL project, as we have seen in FCM's recent international projects.