1 Terms of Reference: Research intern on prevention of violent extremism (PVE) of women and girls Internship Title Research intern on prevention of violent extremism of women and girls Unit Name Women, Peace & Security Division Name Kyrgyzstan Country Office Country and City of Internship Post Bishkek, KYRGYZSTAN Supervisor Name Tatiana Prokhorova Supervisor Email Tatiana.Prokhorova@unwomen.org Expected Start Date 1 November 2017 Expected End Date 31 May 2018 Expected time spent on internship 3 working days per week accoriding to pre-agreed schedule Background: UN Women Background:* UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. UN Women s work in Kyrgyzstan is aligned with its corporate priority areas: promotion of women s economic empowerment; elimination of violence against women and girls, engagement of women in all aspects of peace and security processes; and making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting. As a part of the United Nations Country Team, UN Women supports the government and civil society in the implementation of international commitments on women s rights and gender equality. Unit/ Project Background: UN Women Country Office in the Kyrgyz Republic will be implementing two projects under the Women, Peace and Security portfolio: Inclusive Governance and Justice System for Preventing Violent Extremism - a joint project with UNDP, UNICEF, UNWOMEN and OHCHR and Communities Resilient to Violent Ideologies a joint project with UNICEF, UNFPA and UN Women. Both projects support the Peacebuilding Priority Plan (PPP) agreed between Govenrment of the Kyrgyz Republic and the United Nations in October 2017 and address PPP Outcome Areas 1 and 3. The first project is expected to enhance justice and security sector institutions, national and local authorities capacity and ability to apply socially inclusive approaches, participatory decision-making and guarantee increased civic space to address the root causes of and strengthen resilience against violent extremism. The project is also informed on the rationale of Sustainable Development Goal 16 aiming to improve the government s ability to establish more inclusive relations with its citizens thus reducing grievances relating to effective or perceived exclusion or marginalization or inequality. Its goal also aims at supporting efforts by Kyrgyz government to prevent violent extremism in line with the UN Secretary General s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism (A/70/674), the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy Review adopted by the General Assembly on 1 July 2016 (A/70/L.55), and state strategies.
2 The theory of change of the first project posits that if state institutions, justice and security agencies are equipped with inclusive methodologies and expertise on PVE and if they are able to effectively implement participatory decisionmaking and legislative reforms in line with Human Rights and Rule of Law norms with the support of civil society representatives, then they will be able to engage in a more positive engagement with citizens leading to the reduction of potential drivers to violent extremism. The second project is aimed at strengthening community resilience to violent ideologies by engaging young women and men in community life and empowering them to demand and exercise their rights in an inclusive and non-violent manner. The project targets outcomes that provide alternative pathways away from violent and manipulative ideologies in ten pilot municipalities yet to be determined by taking a multidimensional approach through education, community development, participation and partnerships as well as through the cultural domain and digital space. The project will provide civic competencies and promote multilingualism through education, thus expanding opportunities for adolescents and youth to engage in socio-political and economic life. It will empower adolescents, youth and women to claim their rights and participate in issues that matter to them. People from different social background and professional affiliations will be identified and supported in their actions as credible intermediaries between the vulnerable groups and the state actors. They will facilitate greater communication between these groups and raise awareness about the risk of violent ideologies, thus reducing grounds for violent extremism. On-line and off-line platforms will be strengthened to promote constructive debate around diverse identities as an alternative to radicalization and violent ideologies. Selected partners will be supported to develop interactive platforms for those advocating creative approaches to enhance inclusion, promote of human rights, social cohesion and tolerance, gender equality and women s empowerment; and to reach out to and engage in dialogue with disaffected groups and individuals. The voices of women, adolescents and youth, and religious leaders and those affected by violent extremism in target communities is important in this approach. The theory of change of the project posits that if women and men, boys and girls in the communities have critical thinking skills and able to positively claim and exercise their rights through civic engagement, then they will become resilient to violent and manipulative ideologies, because they will have a sense of belongingness to their communities and confidence in the state. Description of Responsibilities & Learning Objectives: Under the primary supervision of the international Programme Specialist on Women, Peace and Security of UN Women Country Office in Kyrgyzstan and the secondary supervision and overall guidance of the Representative, the intern will attend to the following activites: Desk review of the thematic research area under UN Women responsibility in the two projects aimed at Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) funded by the UN Peace-building Fund that are to start in November 2017, principally aimed at discouraging women and adolescent girls from engaging in radicalization resulting in violent extremism. Shaping simple quantitative and qualitative research in the area of religious education and PVE under guidance and with support of UN Women personnel and experts. Document human case studies. Carrying out the aforementioned research at field level via structured and semi-strucutred interviews and questionaires and processing (transcribing, coding and analyzing) the data, preparing a report with findings and recommendations; during field trips subsistence and travel will be paid. Competencies Interact with the UN Women team carrying out research on the effectiveness of the GALS methodology of faciltiaing changes in family-level gender relations, and assessing the feasibility of the approach of empowering women at family level to discourage them from partaking in radicalisation leading to violent extremism and preventing male family members in engaging in violent extremism.
3 Support implementation of the My Safe and Peaceful school course in three schools in Chui region by supporting peer educators (PE) in their work, acting as a same-age mentor to peer educators, providing periodic on-site monitoring of PE on conducting classes and other activities, supporting regular trainings of PE and documenting and reporting progress of peer educators in the schools. Assisting the Representative with preparing talking points, translating speeches, providing for occasional interpretation and administering the Representative s calendar in the absence of the communications officer. Be ready to be involved in other office matters in relation to ability and interest. Learning Objectives: Increased understanding of UN Women s work and the UN system; Strengthened research skills in the area of gender equality and women s empowerment; Improved analytical, documentation and knowledge management skills; Work as a team member in a multicultural setting. The internship offers students the opportunity to acquire direct exposure to UN Women s work. It is designed to assist a student in using her/his communication and management skills to assist the organization in organizing its work and ensuring it is made readily available. During engagement in other events the intern will be treated under the rules governing participants. Core Values and Guiding Principles:* Integrity: Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct. Professionalism: Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work. Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity: Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff; Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity. Core Competencies: Ethics and Values: Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity. Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment. Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative. Work in teams: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
4 Communicating and Information Sharing: Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication. Self-management and Emotional Intelligence: Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards other. Conflict Management: Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution. Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge. Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making. Functional Competencies: Excellent research, writing and organizational skills; Ability to multi-task and address competing priorities. Strong computer skills with the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point are required. Skills and experience in conducting sociological research and developing research methodology and tools, preferably on issues related to gender equality and women s empowerment; Basic knowledge and experience in gender analysis and gender mainstreaming in the development and/or humanitarian context is required. Experience in generating analytical reports, using quantitative and qualitative methods, would be an asset. Experience in developing communications products would be an asset. Qualifications Education: The intern must have studies in gender studies, sociology, psychology or a closely related subjects at the university level with classes and/or experience including on research methodology and tools. Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor's level or equivalent); Have graduated with a university degree and, if selected, must commence the internship within a one-year period of graduation. Language: Excellent communication skills (written and oral) in English, Kyrgyz and Russian is required; knowledge of Uzbek is a distinc advantage. Interns are not financially remunerated by UN Women.
5 Application Information: UN Women will only be able to respond to those applications in which there is further interest. Selected applicants must provide the internship application, two letters of recommendation, proof of health insurance and school enrollment, passport, and visa (if applicable) Note: In July 2010, the United nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment UN Women Internship Policy: 1.) Applicants to the United Nations internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements: (a) Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); (b) Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor s level or equivalent); (c) Have graduated with a university degree (as (b) above) and, if selected, must commence the internship w 2.) UN Women internship programme does not provide a salary or remuneration for the internship; 3.) All the expenses connected with the internship will be borne by the intern, sponsoring Government or institution; 4.) UN Women accepts no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness or death incurred during the internship; 5.) The intern is responsible for obtaining necessary visas and arranging travel to and from the duty station where the internship will be performed; 6.) Interns are not eligible to apply for, or be appointed to, any post in UN WOMEN during the period of the internship or for six months immediately following the expiration date of internship; 7.) The intern must provide proof of enrollment in a health insurance plan, proof of school enrollment, a scanned copy of his/her passport, two letters of recommendation, and application