On February 10, 2025, a World Café, (a creative process designed to facilitate constructive dialogue and the sharing of knowledge and ideas, while recreating the atmosphere of a café where participants discuss a topic in small groups around tables,) brought together 147 participants—61 women and 86 men—in Kayes, Mali.

This collaborative workshop aimed to evaluate the impact and ensure the sustainability of the Communal Committees for the Orientation and Monitoring of Gender-Based Violence (CCOS-GBV) and the Local Committees for the Orientation and Monitoring of Gender-Based Violence (CLOS-GBV). The Yellen Project supports the establishment of these committees as a strategy promoted by the National Program for the Abandonment of Gender-Based Violence (PNVBG) for the prevention, reporting, and management of GBV cases. This capitalization exercise for the CLOS-GBV and CCOS-GBV is the first in a series of World Cafés. Its goal is to engage partners around key components to ensure the sustainability of activities after the project’s conclusion.

The first part of this consultation workshop was led by the Yellen project team, with the support of facilitators from partner organizations and Marie-Douce Primeau, USI’s Monitoring and Evaluation Officer. Participants, divided into 12 discussion groups, shared insights on the impact of the CLOS-GBV and CCOS-GBV on beneficiaries in the communities where they have been implemented. The workshop also aimed to explore drivers and barriers to the establishment and effective functioning of these committees.

Discussions highlighted their role in the prevention of GBV, particularly in the context of early marriage and female genital mutilation. Participants also outlined the challenges encountered and made recommendations to help sustain the committees’ activities. Following this exercise, a capitalization report will be shared with partners, and the findings will be presented during the project’s final workshop.

Photo credit: USI

The enriching exchanges within the discussion groups were highly appreciated. Among the attendees were representatives of the PNVBG and the National Directorate for the Advancement of Women, Children, and Families. The World Café also welcomed community leaders, representatives from civil society, technical teams (DRS, DRDES, DRPFEF, ECD), members of the CLOS and CCOS, technical advisors from the Yellen Project, and representatives of community radio stations.

Learn more about the Yellen Project:

Funded by Global Affairs Canada, the Yellen Project—Rights and Innovation in Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Kayes Region of Mali—is a bilateral cooperation initiative between Mali and the Government of Canada. It is implemented by a Canadian consortium comprising the Unité de santé internationale of the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal and the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI). The project aims to transform gender inequalities in sexual and reproductive health and rightsSRHR, with a focus on women and adolescent girls in seven districts of the Kayes region. The Yellen Project is based on the premise that empowering women and adolescent girls to make decisions about their health will lead to increased demand for quality sexual and reproductive health services.