Six initiatives implemented by subnational governments (states and municipalities) from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico were selected as the winners of “Gobernarte 2016: Eduardo Campos Award”, organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The fourth edition of this contest, which rewards the best and most innovative public management practices at the subnational level, had three categories: Prevention of and Response to Violence Against Women, Women’s Leadership and Citizen Participation, and Road Safety in Action. A total of 137 applications were received from cities of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Three panels of international experts evaluated and selected the winning initiatives in each category. The selection was based on the criteria established in the contest´s rules: impact, sustainability, replicability, social inclusion and innovation.
These are the winners of Gobernarte 2016:
The initiative established a standard procedure to protect women victims of violence, provide care for their families, and treatment for the aggressors. This model is organized under the "Five Answers" protocol, which articulates the work of different public actors, such as the Military Police, the Investigation Police, the Public Prosecutor's office, the Judiciary Branch, Municipal Secretariats for Social Development, and civil society organizations. To start, the project was implemented in the city of Barbacena, where 690 families were directly assisted after carrying on more than 3500 interventions in conflict family environments. The initiative was extended to another 18 cities of Minas Gerais, reaching a population of approximately 260 thousand people.
Program to Fight Domestic Violence against Women - Government of the State of Espirito Santo (Brazil)
The initiative implemented five structured actions to reduce the number of women affected by domestic violence: 1) the creation of new offices to fight gender violence in different government agencies (such as the Investigation Police and the Secretary of Public Security), 2) the establishment of new procedures for collecting and processing strategic information, 3) permanent training for police staff, 4) implementation of new strategies to provide care to victims (psycho-social care services, routine visits, etc.) and aggressors (reflection groups and promotion of new positive masculinity), and 5) communication campaigns to raise awareness and educate the public. The program has contributed to reduce the rate of homicide among women in 21.4% throughout the State of Espirito Santo.
The program aims to recover and improve public spaces with a gender perspective, promoting the participation of women in local development processes. This initiative encourages citizens to submit projects to intervene in public spaces. Among the 1,710 projects approved, the initiative has prioritized those that focus on places with higher rates of violence against women. 60% of the projects have been presented by women.
Training Model for Women’s Social and Political Leadership Municipality of Medellin
The initiative aims at enhancing the individual and collective leadership capacities of women, in order to promote their social and political participation. The design of this model focuses on training for action; combining theory with practice and questioning the structures hinder the political participation of women. 66% of the participating women have been later involved in some action related to the defense of their rights. Many others have begun to engage in the management of public resources through local planning processes and participatory budgets.
This is an initiative designed to improve the road system of downtown Belo Horizonte in preparation for the construction of a medium capacity transport system (BRT) and creating a friendlier environment for pedestrians and their main mean of transport (buses), in order to reduce the risk of conflicts with other vehicles.
Integral Mobility Plan (PIM), presented by the Municipality of Santiago (Metropolitan Region, Chile)
This initiative prioritized ways of mobilization more efficient, healthier, cheaper, and cleaner with emphasis on those that use less public space. The initiative created more spaces for pedestrians, promoted recreational bikeways, decreased speed in residential areas, and encouraged the use of public transport, among others actions. The results: travel times of buses improved between 30% to 60%, and increased bike trips per day from 150 to 5,000 approximately.