This testimonial was written by Anat Cassuto who attended the Gender Specialist Foundations course with Lindsey Jones-Renaud and Afaf Al-Khoshman in January-February 2023.

I am so grateful to have completed Cynara Gender Platform's  Gender Specialist Foundations: Core concepts, emerging trends, and practical tools training, facilitated by the warm and brilliant Lindsey Jones-Renaud and Afaf Ahmad Al-Khoshman. As I reflect on the week-long training, what I know will most strongly stay with me is the way my mindset has been challenged by the course. While learning how to apply key gender-related frameworks and methodologies, we were also taught to challenge the colonial history of gender identity- courageously exemplified by the Decolonizing Gender: A Curriculum zine, one of the assigned readings for the course.

Through engaging cartoons, we practiced identifying how different forms of power frame different situations: power over, to, within, with. I have since used this framework to better understand situations in my daily work, reflecting on my privilege and my power 'within' and 'with' in areas where power constrains me.

Having explored how to apply different gender analysis frameworks using concrete case studies, I now feel ready to use these tools in my program management and learning work. More importantly, I have gained an understanding of how to uphold the principles of intersectionality in gender work.

As an international development professional committed to decolonising aid, it was incredibly important for me to have a strong knowledge of gender analysis frameworks, power analysis tools, intersectionality and the colonial history of gender. I know this foundation will support me to advocate for a systemic change in the aid sector that addresses its colonial and patriarchal roots. Indeed, the last session of the training taught us how to be an advocate, the basics of community organising, and how to find allies at work.

The training facilitation was also excellent: in a small cohort, with clear group rules to ensure everyone's safety, I felt fully comfortable sharing my thoughts and reflections, and learning deeply from my peers. We were also provided with a tailored reading list that included creative mediums, as well as a highly valuable participant resource folder and an invitation to a reflection session where I was able to ask follow-up questions and reflect on how the course has started influencing my work. 

I strongly recommend the course for anyone in international development looking to build a strong foundation of gender work, and encourage all to explore further the course offerings by Cynara.

Thank you Lindsey and Afaf!