The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities has sponsored two thematic workshops (“LABs”) during the World Forum for Democracy focusing on the question “Gender Equality: Whose Battle?”, which took place from 19 to 21 November 2018 at the Palais de l’Europe, Strasbourg (France). The President of the Congress Chamber of Regions Gunn Marit Helgesen (Norway, EPP/CCE) participated in the Forum’s opening ceremony on 19th November, and several Congress members provided input during the three days of debates.
The 2018 Forum, which is dedicated to gender equality and women’s rights, focused on women’s public, political and economic participation and on combating violence against women in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Three plenary sessions were held on Monday 19 and Wednesday 21 November, as well as 13 thematic workshops and eight roundtable sessions, all scheduled for Tuesday 20 November.
The Congress was sponsoring several LABS, including LAB1 – What if she runs? Better representation through higher female participation in elections. This LAB focused on three initiatives, in Albania, India and Mexico, highlighting ways of bringing down structural barriers that hinder women from running in elections and participating in decision-making processes. Congress members Dusica Davidovic (Serbia, SOC) and Bryony Rudkin (United Kingdom, SOC) have spoken at the LAB, which is was moderated by Christopher Yvon, UK Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe. The two Congress members were invited to comment on the impact, transferability, sustainability and risk of the initiatives.
The second LAB sponsored by the Congress, LAB 12 - Participatory democracy: a necessary boost for women’s power? - explored the effectiveness of (e-) participatory tools and their impact on including women in decision making. It will also looked into the quality criteria for participatory democracy to succeed in representing diverse women’s voices in the long term. The participants discussed an initiative by the municipality of Messina (Italy) that aims to develop inclusive approaches involving women, young people and individuals at risk of exclusion and an initiative by the City of Ghent (Belgium) to provide a platform for the voices of women of 150 different nationalities. Stewart Dickson (United Kingdom, ILDG) and Nina Björby, Vice President of the Assembly of the European Regions (AER), participated in the LAB, which was moderated by Meglena Kuneva, Permanent Representative of the EU Delegation to the Council of Europe.
In addition, some 30 representatives from Ukrainian and Georgian local authorities participated in the Forum and run a workshop, on 22 November, on “Gender equality at local level: Encouraging participation and equal opportunities”. These two delegations are participating as part of the Congress's co-operation activities, in particular the Council of Europe project “Strengthening democracy and building trust at local level” currently being implemented in Ukraine.
