[Brussels, 21 November 2013] On 14 and 15 November 2013, EWL staff members Gina Horst and Karima Zahi participated in the conference “Women, Power and Politics” in Oslo. The international conference, organised by FOKUS (Forum for Women and Development), the National Centenary Committee and PRIO (The Peace Research Institute Oslo) aimed at celebrating one Century of Women’s Right to vote in Norway, by discussing what has been achieved during the past 100 years and by looking at what still needs to be done- in Norway and all over the world.
High level and inspiring speakers, such as former Norwegian Prime Minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland, the UN Women Executive Director, Ohumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Shirin Ebadi, underlined the importance of the conference and celebrating achievements, but drew attention also to challenges in the future : How can we make a better use of the legal instruments available for gender equality ? How can we achieve parity in political participation and decision-making ? How can we react to the financial crisis, hitting women more and more ? And how can we further empower women in conflict and peace processes, in the regions of the Arab spring and beyond ?
The EWL was very happy to have the opportunity to participate in this high level event, thanks to the support of the Mission of Norway to the EU. This conference gave us the possibility to hear more about the situation of women’s rights and gender equality outside Europe, as well as to discuss the upcoming elections in Europe in regard to our 50/50 Campaign and our European Political Mentoring Network with different participants.
This gave us the possibility to find high level supporters, who will be presented to you in the coming newsletters, for our Campaign, in order to reach more visibility for our request : No modern European Democracy without Gender Equality !
More information on the website paritydemocracy.eu
