Rosario strengthens community care networks to advance women’s leadership

^{Photo: Courtesy of the Lola Mora Civil Association} 

In the Ludueña and Empalme Graneros neighbourhoods, in northwestern Rosario, the work that sustains everyday life has been organized through community networks for decades. These responsibilities, carried out primarily by women, ensure access to food, provide care and emotional support, connect people with public services, and respond to multiple needs in communities facing high levels of social vulnerability.

Between October 2022 and April 2025, UN Women Argentina and the Lola Mora Civil Association implemented the Promoting Community and Subnational Care Policies and Actors in Argentina programme, with support from the Open Society Foundations. The initiative emerged at a time when many of these community networks had been weakened by institutional fragmentation and fewer opportunities for dialogue with public authorities. Its objective was to strengthen those connections and promote a shared care agenda among community organizations, women and local government. 

Rebuilding connections through care

The initiative brought together women-led organizations across both neighbourhoods, made existing community care networks more visible and supported the participatory development of locally driven agendas.

In Empalme Graneros, the programme built on an already established network. In Ludueña, however, the process marked a new beginning. Through dialogue and collective action, women created a community care network where no such coordination space had previously existed.

Over the course of the programme, 2,750 community leaders from 142 community organizations and community care networks participated. Many began to identify themselves as community caregivers, giving visibility and recognition to work they had carried out for years without formal acknowledgement. 

Training programmes, peer learning spaces and the certification of completed training pathways helped establish community care as an essential social and political contribution. At the same time, they strengthened leadership, organizational capacities, and participants’ collective confidence. 

Community-based learning with public recognition 

One of the aspects participants valued most was access to training designed by and for the communities themselves. Developed jointly by the Lola Mora Civil Association and local women, the curriculum covered topics including care, gender-responsive leadership, the prevention of different forms of violence, masculinities, sexual and reproductive health, and self-care.

Receiving a certificate endorsed by UN Women, the Lola Mora Civil Association and the Municipality of Rosario carried strong symbolic value, particularly because the ceremonies took place in community spaces built through collective effort. For many women, it was the first time that the work they carried out every day in their communities had received formal public recognition.

Beyond strengthening individual capacities, the programme reinforced collaboration among community organizations and fostered closer coordination with public institutions. 

^{Photo: Courtesy of the Lola Mora Civil Association} 

Building bridges between communities and public policy 

From the perspective of the local government, the programme helped rebuild trust between community organizations and public institutions, creating opportunities to address long-standing challenges in the neighbourhoods through joint action.

Among the programme’s achievements was the strengthening of the municipal response to gender-based violence in the Northwest District, including the establishment of a dedicated territorial response team, a priority identified by community organizations during the programme’s working groups.

The lessons learned and priorities identified through the initiative have also informed other strategic city processes, including urban transformation projects in the area.

Following the programme’s completion, the women’s networks remained active and expanded their participation in municipal institutional spaces, including the Gender-Based Violence Advisory Board and the Municipal Gender School. 

Caring, organizing and driving change from the local level

Rosario’s experience demonstrates that investing in community organizations and women’s leadership generates sustainable change by recognizing the public value of care work as a foundation for sustaining life and strengthening social cohesion.

The programme strengthened existing community care networks while consolidating a collaborative approach based on participation, listening, shared responsibility and the joint development of solutions alongside public institutions.

The lessons generated through this initiative provide a strong foundation for advancing comprehensive care systems that respond to local realities, recognize those whose work sustains everyday life, and strengthen lasting partnerships between governments, community organizations and society as a whole.