[Brussels, 18 June 2021] From 4-7 June 2021, the European Women’s Lobby held its annual General Assembly and Board meetings online. It was a dynamic few days in which we discussed how to progress in the implementation of our vision of a Feminist Europe. We reflected on the activities of the past year and were are once again reminded of the incredible breadth and depth of feminist activism in Europe today, in spite of the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath. We looked ahead to plan our next year’s activities looking to strengthen our ways of working and to improve members’ engagement in our collective efforts for a Feminist Europe.
The growing political backlash against the Istanbul Convention and the deep and persisting inequalities that impede progress in achieving equality between women and men will continue to create a challenging environment for EWL’s work, but will also present opportunities to advance a feminist agenda. A bold intersectional feminist voice must be at the forefront of the resistance against sexism, rising populism, and anti-feminism in Europe.
In this context, we held our first online elections for EWL’s Board of Administration, President and Executive Committee for the mandates 2021-2023. The new Board of EWL was elected by the General Assembly and you can find the list of elected Board members and their alternates on the website here. On Monday 7 June, the newly elected Board held its first meeting, where they elected a new President and Executive Committee. The new Executive Committee then elected EWL’s new Vice Presidents and Treasurer. EWL’s new Executive Committee for the next two years are:
- Réka Sáfrány – Magyar Női Érdekérvényesítő Szövetség (Hungary) – President
- Bettina Pfleiderer – Medical Women International Association (MWIA) (EU-wide) – Vice President
- Linda Gail Schang – Swedish Women’s Lobby (Sweden) – Vice President
- Line Gessø Storm Hansen – Kvinderådet (Denmark) – Treasurer
- Dina Loghin – Romanian Women’s Lobby (Romania) – additional member of the Executive
- Maria Teresa Nevado Bueno – Lobby Europeo de Mujeres en España- LEM España (Spain) – additional member of the Executive
- Christiane Ugbor – Österreichischer Frauenring (Austria) – additional member of the Executive
Big congratulations and warm welcome to the new Board, Executive Committee and President and everyone looks forward to working together and being inspired by each other. You can find out more about EWL’s new President Réka Sáfrány in this article.
The General Assembly was also a moment to say thank you and goodbye to EWL’s outgoing Board members, Executive Committee members and previous President Gwendoline Lefebvre: EWL is grateful for their work, energy and efforts within our governing bodies. We now look forward to continuing our work together to advance women’s rights all over Europe.
