In a bid to promote women’s political empowerment, the ‘Kiyeveni’ Portal was launched on 14th March 2021, to provide capability development opportunities for women across the nation and help their participation in the political sphere. The primary objective of the learning portal is to provide skill-building opportunities for female candidates to build their capacity to effectively contest for the elections and prepare them for the roles and responsibilities in the elected position. The portal is accessible as a resource to both women and men, although it is targeted for women.
“What better moment than now to launch this important initiative. The Maldives is going to exercise, for the first time in its history, the 33% reserved seats for women to be represented in the local councils, as decision makers in the island communities,” said Akiko Fujii, UNDP Resident Representative in the Maldives, at the opening ceremony of the unveiling of the portal.
The ‘Kiyeveni’ Learning Portal is an extension of the Women’s Leadership Training conducted last year by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Maldives, supported by the United Kingdom, to help equip women with the skills and knowledge they needed to run for elections and take on this new role. With the disruptions to the process due to COVID-19, digitalization tools such as this online learning portal is a means for more women from all corners of the geographically spread nation to access the much-needed skill building trainings.
“Gender equality in politics will not only improve the design of public policy. Increased female participation in political parties, institutions and business will create a safer and more inclusive environment,” said British High Commissioner to the Maldives, Ms. Caron Röhsler, speaking at the launch.
The ‘Kiyeveni’ learning portal launched is a joint initiative of Local Government Authority, Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services, Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Maldives, with the generous support of the Governments of Australia and United Kingdom.
‘Kiyeveni’ portal can be accessed at https://kiyeveni.mv/
