As part of Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) first Readiness and Preparatory Support Project under the Green Climate Fund (GCF), GGGI organized a series of consultative webinars and training under the leadership and guidance of the Climate Change and Development Authority (CCDA). The three webinars focused on:
- Gender Mainstreaming Guideline for Climate Change Projects in PNG (held on 13th May 2020)
- GCF Country Programme and No-Objection Procedure of PNG (held on 19th May 2020) and
- GCF Readiness Training: Climate Finance Project Monitoring and Evaluation (held on 27th May 2020).
Participants from numerous government ministries/departments, development partners, regional organizations and civil societies, and private sector stakeholders attended the webinars.
The purpose of the Gender Mainstreaming Guideline for Climate Change Projects in the PNG webinar was to present the draft gender mainstreaming guideline that will help CCDA and project implementers better integrate gender considerations and involvement of women in climate change projects. This webinar gave an opportunity for participants to discuss the gender considerations and strategies that need to be considered and applied when designing and implementing climate change projects in PNG. Also, participants provided feedback and comments on the draft gender mainstreaming guideline.
The GCF Country Programme and No-Objection Procedure of PNG webinar brought together experts ranging from government, civil society, and private sector organizations in PNG to discuss the two draft documents (GCF Country Programme and No-Objection Procedure of PNG).
The purpose of the PNG GCF Country Programme is to engage and coordinate stakeholders in PNG in the design and prioritization of GCF activities. The PNG GCF Country Programme puts forward prioritized programming areas, including priority mitigation/adaptation investments, readiness actions to strengthen the enabling environment, and provides a timeline for implementation.
The purpose of the No-Objection Procedure is to ensure that climate change funding proposals are aligned to national climate strategies and plans, country-driven approaches, and national laws and regulations; and to provide for effective direct and indirect public and private sector financing by GCF.
Valuable inputs to strengthen the Papua New Guinea GCF Country Programme and No-Objection Procedure were received from the webinar participants.
The GCF Readiness training on Climate Finance Project Monitoring and Evaluation was held on 27th May 2020. The objective of the on-line training was to familiarize stakeholders in PNG with the GCF monitoring and evaluation requirements when developing climate change proposals to access funding from the GCF.
Key outcomes of the webinars and training were bringing together diverse organizations from the government, civil society and private sector and the successful solicitation of valuable inputs from the stakeholders through on-line consultative discussions. The next step is to revise and finalize the three documents (gender mainstreaming guideline; GCF Country Programme and No-Objection Procedure of PNG) based on the received feedback.
To facilitate participation in the webinars, GGGI provided pre-paid internet data vouchers free of charge to participants who needed it. The webinars were well attended with over 35 participants who joined at each webinar. Furthermore, to improve the effectiveness of our webinars, participants were asked to complete an online evaluation survey after the webinars and provided useful feedback including appreciation of the content provided at the webinars and training.
The webinars and training were delivered through the Zoom platform, with a paid pro account, and a paid Webinar add-on. While using the webinar platform offered a lot of control over the participants, to mute them etc, it does not allow for sharing files and separate the participants into different rooms for smaller group conversations. Those features are only available under the meeting function of Zoom.
Although it was a first for the PNG Government and the rest of the team to organize workshops and training online, the three events were a success, allowing for people from overseas and remote places in PNG to access and participate in the events, broadening the audience and making it more inclusive and significantly cheaper. The sessions were interactive with a good level of participation from the attendees. Zoom also allows for polls and Q&A which helps to interact with the audience.