The mission of the Gender Equality Studies and Training (GEST) programme is to use a multidisciplinary approach to promote gender equality and social justice in low income, and post-conflict countries through:
- high-quality, collaborative, and policy-relevant research
- strengthening capacity of professionals, scholars and organizations
- creating a platform for transnational dialogue, knowledge production and exchange
About GEST
The Gender Equality Studies and Training programme (GEST) promotes gender equality and social justice in low income countries, and post-conflict societies through research, training, and education at postgraduate level. Its main target group is professionals working for government and civil society organisations in low income countries and post-conflict societies undergoing reconstruction.
The GEST programme is part of GRÓ - Centre for Capacity Development, Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Societal Change - which comprises four thematic capacity and development programmes: The Geothermal Training Programme (GTP), the Fisheries Training Programme (FTP), the Land Restoration Training Programme (LRT) and the Gender Equality Studies and Training Programme (GEST).
GRÓ is primarily funded by the Icelandic government, as part of the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs development assistance plan. It operates under the auspices of UNESCO as a category 2 centre, aligning the fields of specialisation in teaching and research and contributing to the implementation of UNESCO's strategic programme objectives.