Newsletter – n°34 – June 2015
Initiative worth following
Seminar: “Ending Gender inequality by 2030!”PLATFORMA and The Observatory of the CEMR on gender equality are collaborating to advocate for strengthened decentralized cooperation on gender equality between local and regional authorities in the North and the South.
On the 3rd of June, PLATFORMA and the Observatory, organised, together with UN Women, DG DEVCO, CONCORD and the Practitioners’ Network for European Development Cooperation, a high level panel on the topic “Ending gender inequality by 2030!” during the European Development Days.
The session, moderated by Shada Islam journalist from Friends of Europe, aimed at bringing together speakers from the UN, EU, local and national governments and civil society to discuss key issues to be tackled and the most adequate strategies to be implemented, in order to make gender equality a reality.
The basis for the discussion was the review of Beijing+20, the post-2015 development agenda and “Gender equality, women’s rights and empowerment” as a fundamental objective for the global community and a precondition for sustainable development. The panel also focused on addressing key factors which can contribute to achieving gender equality by 2030 such as political commitment and the involvement of men.
PLATFORMA and CEMR were represented by Fatimetou Mint Abdel Malick, the first Mayor woman in Mauretania (in the town of Tevrah-Zeina), President, African Network of Locally Elected Women Network (REFELA) and Vice-President of the UCLG Standing Committtee for Gender Equality. She expressed her combat for gender equality and claimed that the local level, the level of governance closest to the citizens, has a unique responsibility and important role to implement actions to advance gender equality.
Ms Mint Abdel Malick mentioned the European Charter for Equality of women and men in local life as an example of a tool on how to work with gender equality on the ground. She also added that gender equality is a transversal issue that needs to be addressed and tackled in all areas such as in education, decision-making, access to basic services, in order to be fully achieved. Moreover, she stressed the link between gender equality and eradication of hunger and poverty as a prerequisite in order to achieve sustainable development.
PLATFORMA and the Observatory also participated in the organization of a workshop on the topic “Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals: Financing and measuring progress on gender equality in the post-2015 framework”.
Watch the snapshot of the High Level Panel
