Congress Vice-President and Rapporteur on the South-Med Partnership, Xavier Cadoret (France, SOC/G/PD), welcomed the positive dynamic in Morocco in strengthening women’s political participation as elected representatives, following the September 2021 elections.  "Gender equality and women's participation are essential conditions for any democratic, just and peaceful society, and I can only applaud this development, notwithstanding the many challenges that remain," he stressed at the opening of a seminar to support newly elected women in Moroccan territorial councils.

The seminar was held in Casablanca (Morocco) from 18 to 20 February 2022 and was co-organised by the Congress and the International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF), in co-operation with the Moroccan Women's Democratic Association (ADFM), the Moroccan associations of local and regional authorities and the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior. It was focused on leadership, advocacy, communication and networking as key factors in strengthening the role of women elected representatives at territorial level, both in Morocco and beyond, and in combating sexist attitudes, as well as gender-based discrimination and violence.

This seminar presented an opportunity to increase the knowledge of newly elected women through expert presentations, peer testimonies and exchanges of experience among some 60 participants from Morocco, Tunisia and European countries.  

Among the participants were Zohra Darras (France, SOC/G/PD), Congress member and councillor of the Somme, Soraya Ouldji, Deputy Mayor of Strasbourg (France), Rabeb Hammami and Soumaya Ouerfelli, representatives of the Network of women municipal elected representatives in Tunisia, as well as Simone Susskind, founder of the association “Actions in the Mediterranean” and former member of the Brussels-Capital Regional Parliament (Belgium). Carmen Morte-Gomez, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Rabat, Haoua Acyl, OIF Representative, Fatna El K'hiel, President of the Moroccan chapter of the Network of Local Elected Women of Africa (REFELA) as well as Dalila Loddy, ADFM President also participated in the seminar.

This activity was organised within the framework of the joint programme between the European Union and the Council of Europe "Regional support for the consolidation of human rights, the rule of law and democracy in the southern Mediterranean" (South Programme IV), co-financed by both organisations and implemented by the latter.