“Les Elegides” will gather local elected women from all over the world in Mallorca

Political representatives from Tunisia, Senegal, Bolivia, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Niger, Morocco and Palestine will participate to the international meeting of local elected women, which will take place at the Fundació Sa Nostra in Palma from 10-12 November. All mayoresses and councilors of Mallorca are also invited.

“This will be the first time that Mallorca will serve as the stage for several days that will bring together elected women from all over the world”, announced the president of the Majorcan Solidarity Fund, Maria Antònia Mulet, during the official presentation with the manager of the entity, Catalina Socies.

Among the participants to “Les Elegides” are the mayor of Tunis (Tunisia), Souad Abderrahim, and the former mayor of Dakar (Senegal), Soham El Wardini. Both were the first women to hold these positions in their respective countries.

The 296 women who hold elected positions in the different councils of Mallorca are also invited. “As President of the Majorcan Fund, but also as an elected woman, holding the reins of my municipality Algaida, I take the opportunity to call for the participation of all women with public positions in Mallorca,” said Maria Antònia Mulet during the presentation. She explained that the event would be “a space opened to exchange experiences and reflect on the challenges faced by public policies to guarantee full and equal socio-political participation between men and women around the world”. 

“The objective of this first international meeting of elected women is to make visible the participation of women in decision-making, to create collaborative networks and to promote equal gender leadership in political and public life, essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 5 of the 2030 Agenda”, explained the manager of the Majorcan Solidarity Fund, Catalina Socies.

A 3-day meeting

10 November: inaugural conference on “How to encourage the leadership and representation of women in local government through international cooperation” with the Mayor of Tunis (Tunisia), Souad Abderrahim, and the former mayor of Dakar (Senegal), Soham El Wardini.

11 November:

• 1st round table about “The role of elected women’s networks at the local level” with examples of REFELA (Réseau des femmes élues locales d’Afrique), ACOBOL (Associación de concejalas de Bolivia) and Basqueskola Sarea (Basque Country)
• 2nd round table: dialogue between Maria Ramón, one of Mallorca’s youngest mayors, Rita Abou, Lebanese councilor and Vitalia Llave, from Bolivia, about the role played by young elected women in promoting sustainable development policies
• evening devoted to the exchange of good practices among the elected officials through four debate spaces.

12 November: institutional visits

More information

• Registration is open
• All information on https://leselegides.cat/