Expanding and Sustaining the Generation Dialogue for Gender Equality

Commissioned by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), m4h enhanced the sustainable promotion of the Generation Dialogue approach. This initiative focused on adapting and implementing the approach in various contexts, with the goal of advancing gender equality and reducing gender-based discrimination and violence.

The challenge

The Generation Dialogue is a participatory approach aimed at fostering social change in communities deeply rooted in traditions, belief systems, and customary practices. Initially developed in Guinea to combat female genital mutilation, the approach has since been adapted to address a range of topics related to sexual and reproductive health, human rights, and gender equality across multiple countries. There is growing demand from GIZ projects and other stakeholders to adapt and implement this approach for broader gender-related issues. However, there is a need to ensure that the approach is applied professionally and sustainably across different contexts and topics, which requires expanding the pool of qualified consultants and systematically evaluating implementation experiences.

The assignment

m4h was contracted to:

• Support the adaptation and pilot implementation of the Generation Dialogue approach within various GIZ projects across different partner countries.
• Broaden the pool of available and qualified consultants through targeted capacity-building measures, such as Training of Trainers (ToT) sessions.
• Systematically evaluate the implementation experiences of the Generation Dialogue and disseminate lessons learned and best practices for future reference

The results

m4h’s work led to the following key outcomes:

• Pilot implementations: Successfully supported three adaptations and pilots of the Generation Dialogue approach in Uganda, Egypt and Turkey. This involved coaching project teams, adapting manuals and materials, conducting on-site and virtual ToT sessions, and providing technical backstopping during implementation. Each pilot concluded with comprehensive reports detailing lessons learned, recommendations, and potential contacts for future collaboration.
• Evaluation and dissemination: Systematically evaluated the implementation experiences of the Generation Dialogue, including those under the current contract and past experiences within GIZ projects. The evaluation included desk studies, interviews, and the drafting of reports for publication. m4h also developed innovative strategies for disseminating these findings, ensuring they are accessible and beneficial to a wide range of stakeholders.
• Comprehensive revision and toolkit development: Based on an analysis of nine implementations, m4h comprehensively revised the Generation Dialogue into a streamlined seven-step approach. Additionally, m4h developed an online toolkit that includes detailed guidance for each step, along with all necessary tools for implementation and Monitoring & Evaluation.

Younger and older women in a Generation Dialogue in Conakry, Guinea (Copyright: Anna von Roenne)

Young women discussing reproductive rights with mothers and grandmothers in Labé, Guinea (Copyright: Anna von Roenne)