The Gender Equality Studies and Training (GEST) programme advances gender equality and social justice in low-income and post-conflict contexts through a multidisciplinary and praxis-oriented approach. It does so by
• enhancing the capacities of professionals, scholars, and institutions
• cultivating transnational spaces for critical dialogue, knowledge production, and exchange, and
• cultivating transnational spaces for critical dialogue, knowledge production, and exchange.
Hosted by the University of Iceland’s School of Humanities, the programme provides postgraduate-level education tailored for professionals—particularly those embedded within state agencies and civil society organizations—working to institutionalize gender equity in their respective contexts.
GEST forms one of four thematic pillars within GRÓ – the Centre for Capacity Development, Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Societal Change. Alongside its sister programmes in geothermal energy, fisheries, and land restoration, it constitutes a holistic effort to build institutional and human capacity across key sectors aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. Primarily financed through Iceland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs as part of its international development cooperation policy, GRÓ operates under the auspices of UNESCO as a category 2 centre. This designation reflects its alignment with UNESCO’s strategic objectives in teaching and research and its commitment to facilitating transformative, equitable, and sustainable development globally.