Democratization: Gender Equality nities among women and men require the leadership and active participation of women from grassroots and national civil society organizations. Networks and coalitions uniting women’s organizations are needed for effective advocacy and to lobby for needed legislative and policy changes. The ODIHR conducts activities in the field of women’s leadership development in order to help establish and support existing co-operation structures and foster networking among women’s organizations. Activities are designed to provide training to grassroots and national civil society organizations on policy analysis, project development, co-operation building with government structures to include gender aspects in policy planning and budgeting, fundraising, and lobbying for gender-equality policies. In addition, the ODIHR organizes special training workshops to help develop skills in conducting public outreach and informa- tion campaigns on the importance of gender equality and protecting women against domestic violence. In rural areas of Azerbaijan, for example, where women are often unaware of their rights and are under-represented in local governance structures, the ODIHR has supported the establishment of a Regional Women’s Network, bringing together more than 20 women leaders from different regions to increase their awareness of women’s rights and to give voice and visibility to grassroots women. In 2006, the ODIHR continued to conduct training seminars for members of the network on women’s political participation, effective networking among grassroots women leaders, and mainstreaming gender aspects in policy-making at the local level. In Kyrgyzstan, the ODIHR’s activities for strengthening women’s NGOs and grassroots groups contributed to the development of a Conference on Increased Participation of Women in Democratic Processes, Tbilisi, Georgia, June 2006 In Georgia, the ODIHR has provided strategic guidance, expertise, and resources to the Women’s NGO Coalition since its inception in 2001. The Coalition, which brings together more than 80 NGOs, including regional and grassroots organizations, has established itself as an important non-governmental actor involved in promoting increased participation of women in decision-making processes. In June, the Coalition organized a high-level international conference to highlight the achievements of women’s organizations in Georgia in promoting women’s leadership and increased participation in decisionmaking processes at all levels. The conference focused on three main areas of the Coalition’s work: (1) building effective national mechanisms for increasing women’s partici- 38 pation in democratization processes; (2) women, conflict resolution, and security; and (3) coalition-building and networking among women’s NGOs. Some 150 women’s organizations from the South Caucasus participated in the conference, including the Women’s NGO Coalition in Georgia, the Regional Women’s Network of Azerbaijan, the Association of Armenian Women with University Education, representatives of the Regional Women’s Network of Kyrgyzstan, the Mehr association from Uzbekistan, and participants from the Estonian Roundtable of Women’s Organizations. Participants also included representatives of the Georgian Government, including Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze and the special envoy of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Senator Pierre Chevalier. Annual Report  Participants highlighted the positive impact of ongoing co-operation among women’s networks and government agencies at both the local and national levels in terms of developing policies and addressing women’s needs in areas such as political participation, economic opportunities, health, and education. To promote dialogue, participants called for greater openness on the part of government agencies to encourage input from women’s groups in policy development with respect to preventing and combating domestic violence and involving women in conflict resolution and peace-building activities. The conference also reflected the increased focus of the Coalition on promoting greater representation of women in town councils ahead of the municipal elections in Georgia in September.