#EDD18: attend our Auditorium session “Cities for girls and young women = cities for all”

PLATFORMA/CEMR, Plan International, UN HABITAT, and United Cities and Local Governments – Africa are organising an Auditorium session at the European Development Days 2018 on 6 June at 11.30 in Brussels. Speakers will focus on the importance of strengthening girls’ and young women’s representation and voices in urban spaces as a way of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (specifically 11 and 5) and the New Urban Agenda.

For its twelfth edition, EDD 2018 will aim at bringing together the European Union’s commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Gender equality and women empowerment are at the core of European values and enshrined within the EU’s legal and political framework. This is why the event will focus on the vital role of women and the need for their full and equal participation and leadership in achieving the SDGs.

Specifically, the session will explore challenges, best practices and untapped potential of empowering girls and young women to build safe, accountable, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable cities. Panelists will recall the need to pay specific attention to vulnerable groups in public space, to engage boys and girls, women and men, in local decision-making; and to ensure a gender-sensitive, child-friendly, and child/youth participation implementation approach at all levels.

The recommendations from this session will inform upcoming political processes at UN level (UN HLPF session that will review SDG11), EU level (European Development Consensus & GAP), and local level (CEMR Bilbao Conference).

Each month, 5 million people are added to the cities of the developing world, and it is estimated that by 2030, approximately 1.5 billion girls will live in urban areas. Adolescent girls around the world share similar experiences of insecurity, sexual harassment, and feelings of exclusion while at the same time they envision future cities that are well-lit, wellplanned, well-maintained, and where they are given space to participate.

Among the speakers are:

• Celestine Ketcha Courtes, President of the network of local elected women of Africa (REFELA), Mayor of Bangangté, United Cities and Local Governments – Africa
• Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, Chief Executive Officer, Plan International
• Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN-Habitat Executive Director and UN Undersecretary-General
• Frederic Vallier, Secretary General, Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR)
• Lais Rocha Leao, EDD Young Leader, Brazil
• Vince Chadwick, Brussels Correspondent for Devex (moderator)

At EDD 2018, PLATFORMA will welcome you in the “Global Village City Hall”, a large stand shared with AIMF, CLGF, UCLG and UCLG – Africa.

For more information, follow #EDD18 and #shEDDs on Twitter.

Register to the EDD before 18 May!

Discover our joint publication with AFCCRE “Promoting gender equality – Towards a gender-based approach in decentralised cooperation projects“.