The project aims to strengthen the capacity of women’s organisations from the countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia to advocate for the full implementation of the EU Development Consensus and the EC Communication on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in Development Cooperation. It also focuses on strengthening the allies and solidarity between women’s organizations in Central- Eastern Europe and Global South.

Connect! project has started in June 2009 and will last until April 2012. It is implemented in partnership with One World Action (UK, the leader) and KARAT Members organizations: Gender Education Research and Technologies (Bulgaria), Association of Equal Opportunities & Gender Studies, O.P.S. (Czech Republic), ‘AUR’ - A.N.S.R.U (Romania) and Slovak Center for Communication and Development (Slovakia).

Women’s organisations in NMS generally have little experience in development cooperation. Their input and advocacy actions, however, are essential to support decision-makers, and other development actors to recognise how fundamental gender equality and women’s rights are to effective and sustainable development cooperation. A strong East-West-South dialogue and exchange is needed to build EU-wide support for development co-operation and for putting women’s rights and gender equality at its centre.

The project aims at raising awareness among the women’s organizations to influence their own governments towards implementing fully EU policy on gender equality and assisting NMS women’s organizations to form closer links with gender advocates from Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.

This will be achieved by:
• Capacity building for the NMS women’s organization
• Facilitation of networking between women from the East, South and West
• Development and dissemination of awareness raising materials
• Media and public events

The project is directly related to the gender and development program of the Coalition.