The Nordic countries work closely with NATO, are present in conflict areas and participate in peace processes, but what priority do they give to issues related to women, peace and security? The organisations behind the project wanted to discuss this question at a seminar and workshop at the Nordic Forum in Malmö, Sweden in 2014. Their intention with these contributions was to promote networking between different Nordic actors and to introduce a broader audience to issues related to women, peace and security.

The seminar and workshop focused on Resolution 1325, which was adopted by the UN Security Council in 2000 to strengthen the protection of women in war and conflict and increase their participation in peace processes. The seminar targeted the public, researchers, authorities and civil society and focused on disseminating information about Resolution 1325 in a Nordic context and how far the different countries have come in their implementation of the resolution. Actors in civil society that work with women, peace and security issues in the Nordic region were invited to the workshop, and the chief aim was to share experiences and learn from each other. After the forum, the project submitted a document to the Nordic ministries and a foundation was laid for continued Nordic cooperation.

What can gender research contribute to political science research in the Nordic region? This question was the focus of the panel discussion at the conference titled Comparative Perspectives on Political Science and Gender held in December 2013.

At the panel discussion during the conference, the researchers said that the feminist public science research in the Nordic region has traditionally been strong in areas related to democracy and the welfare state. At the same time, they pointed to the inherent risk in the fact that it is more difficult for critical and theoretically oriented research to obtain research grants than it is for research linked to concrete gender equality work.

The project gave the participants increased knowledge about the situation of gender research in the different countries. The international representatives also gained a deeper understanding of the Nordic region.

Many Nordic municipalities and county councils are working actively to gender mainstream their operations and services, but sometimes the results are not disseminated well. How does the work differ among the Nordic countries and what can they learn from each other? These questions were on the agenda when the associations of local authorities arranged a joint workshop at the Nordic Forum in Malmö, Sweden in 2014. The network consisted of policymakers, practitioners and gender equality experts – over 100 people participated.

After the introductory meeting, the gender mainstreaming efforts in Nordic municipalities and county councils were documented with an ultimate aim to further improve the quality of the services citizens receive in the Nordic countries. The importance of integrating gender equality work in all operations was a key insight communicated to the participants. The participants also learned new methods and have continued their cooperation around gender mainstreaming after completing the project.

The purpose of the project was to enable researchers from different Nordic countries to bring attention to research on gender and transport.

Organisers of the project arranged a workshop at the Nordic Forum in Malmö 2014 and invited researchers, activists, organisations, decision makers and other actors involved in the areas of gender equality, sustainable development and transports to participate. The workshop kicked off the project and focused on gender, risks and vulnerability in traffic. In order to reduce the number of accidents and create more gender equal and sustainable transport policy, there is a need for an increased understanding of structures and sociocultural aspects in relation to traffic. One conclusion was that intersectionality and norm criticism can be useful tools in this work, and that decision makers need to be provided easily accessible information. A date for the next meeting in 2015 was also decided at the Nordic Forum. Both research organisations and policy makers were invited to this meeting, and the cooperation continues.

Climate change and growing industries have changed people’s lives in the Nordic and Russian Arctic. Researchers from Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia collaborated in this project to study the changes in a gender perspective.

A research network was formed through the project, with an aim to stimulate dialogue and strengthen the cooperation between researchers from different universities. The project also wanted to contribute to cooperation between researchers and actors involved in gender equality issues in the region.

The researchers explored the changes in livelihood opportunities and also conducted fieldwork in the region. They interviewed inhabitants in various occupational groups and the results were discussed at a number of workshops and at a final seminar in September 2014. The goal was for the seminar to lay the groundwork for a more extensive research project.

Research from the project was also presented at a conference titled Voices in Nordic Gender Research at Roskilde University in 2014.