Gender Capacity Building for Community Organisations and Women’s Associations in FSM

As part of Go Equal’s Gender Capacity Building project in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), in March and September 2025, Go Equal team visited all four states of FSM and sat down with women who, for most of them, were about to receive their very first training on gender equality. Four training sessions with a total of 135 participants, were facilitated by the Team Leader Dr Joyce Das and GEDSI Specialist Kate Walton.

These training sessions covered the essentials, what gender equality actually means, how gender-based violence operates and where it shows up, and the practical steps for receiving and referring cases in a way that puts survivors first. The training was designed to feel relevant and real, drawing on local stories, culturally familiar examples, and discussion formats rooted in Pacific Island traditions. With the goal being to connect new ideas to what participants already knew and lived.

The impacts of this training program were profound as the participants expressed: “I have learned so much from this training! This was the first time I felt like a real person, and I felt empowered.”