Civil Society Learning Event 2025: GESI, Safeguarding & Theory of Change

PCE opened its 2025 learning event on 28 October with a welcome from Zehra Arshad (National Coordinator, PCE), who set the tone for a day of dialogue, reflection, and collective growth. Laraib Kiani (Coordinator, Program Development, Communications & Advocacy, PCE) led the first session, Strengthening Organizational GESI Capacity, on how institutions can embed gender equality and social inclusion in their values, policies, and everyday practice, so that no voice is left unheard. In the second half, Urwa Naeem (Program Coordinator, PCE) followed with Safeguarding through a Human Rights Lens, showing how rights-based approaches create safer, more inclusive spaces and how organisations can develop enforceable safeguarding policies that meet international standards.

Day two built on that momentum. Zehra Arshad opened by urging partners to strengthen their collaborations and to implement GESI-focused policies meaningfully, not just on paper. Areebah Shahid (Executive Director, Pakistan Youth Change Advocates) then unpacked the Theory of Change, guiding members through how collective action and strategic planning drive long-term social transformation, and walked them through developing their own Theories of Change, a tool that would strengthen their organisations' standing in the wider development sector. In the second half, Sidra Minhas (GESI Advisor, Education Out Loud) led a session on intersectionality, helping participants see how overlapping identities of gender, class, and ability shape people's access to opportunity. Throughout the two days, group exercises turned discussion into practical learning that partners could carry back to their own organisations.

Held alongside the 16th Annual Convention