ENGAGE! Women’s Empowerment and Active Citizenship
Project Summary:
ENGAGE! is a five-year initiative co-designed by Coady Institute and five partner organizations:
- Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in India;
- Organization for Women in Self Employment (WISE) in Ethiopia;
- Gender Training Institute (GTI) of the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP);
- Christian Commission for Development (CCDB) in Bangladesh; and
- Centre Haïtien du Leadership et de l’Excellence (CLE) in Haiti.

The project will work “on the ground” in communities across five countries (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Haiti, India and Tanzania). Project activities will be a combination of:
- support for community-based training of women leaders and related community initiatives that advance gender equality;
- capacity building support for partner organizations and their local, national and regional networks; and
- learning-focused activities (action research, case study documentation, curriculum development, etc.) that build on the community initiatives and share lessons learned through various dissemination and training opportunities, including Antigonish-based training at Coady Institute.
As project lead and convener, Coady Institute will oversee project management and accountability to Global Affairs Canada and co-ordinate cross-partner activities such as governance, baselines, monitoring, and evaluation. The Institute will also provide a range of capacity building support to the implementing partners and their networks. This will include staff training at Coady, as well as opportunities for fellowships and exchanges. The project steering committee will also put in place an ambitious learning agenda on issues and innovations related to women’s community-based leadership, with multiple action research themes, and related documentation and dissemination activities, including regional and global learning forums.
Summary of ENGAGE! partner initiatives to be undertaken:

Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB)

Centre Haïtien du Leadership et de l’Excellence (CLE) in Haiti

Gender Training Institute (GTI), with TGNP Mtandao in Tanzania

Organization for Women in Self Employment (WISE) in Ethiopia

Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in India
- community-based training of women leaders focused on the “future of work” in the informal sector;
- capacity building of SMS as a Community College, and center for innovation and learning, including regional and international outreach; and
- developing and implementing a research and dissemination agenda on related issues.
Program undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Global Affairs Canada


Key Dates
Overall Project: | December 2019 to February 28, 2025 |
Inception Phase: | January 1, 2019 to April 30, 2019 |
Implementation Phase: | May 1, 2020 to October 31, 2024 |
Reporting Phase: | November 1, 2024 to December 15, 2024 |
News
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