Ahead of the PES Congress in Berlin, PES Women is hosting its 2022 Annual Conference in cooperation with ASF, the women’s organisation of the SPD, on 13 October at the Willy Brandt House in Berlin, Germany.
This year’s conference, “#MakeHerCount in times of crisis – progressive answers to gender blindness”, will spotlight the different and often worse effects that crises – be they economic, wars and conflict, or the climate emergency – have on women.
PES Women’s vision is that gender equality must be an aim in itself, and at the same time, it must be an essential part of how we tackle every crisis before, during and after it has occurred. Crises need to be looked at through a gender lens. Moreover, women need to be active agents in developing these solutions, especially considering the underrepresentation of women in policymaking and leadership roles.
PES Women President Zita Gurmai said:
“After a three-year break due to the pandemic, it will be great to see everyone in person and hold this exchange about women’s rights worldwide: our rights are directly affected by each crisis, including our bodily safety and autonomy. From Hungary and Poland to the US, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Iran, we are seeing that the deterioration or elimination of human rights and democracies affect women particular harsh.
“The same can be said about the climate emergency, which affects women disproportionately, even though women and girls are leading climate activism, only 25% of climate negotiations are women. There is a glass ceiling wherever we look. We need to break it down together.”
Speakers at the #MakeHerCount Conference include EU Commissioner Helena Dalli, EU Parliament Vice-President Katarina Barley, S&D Group Chair Iratxe García Peréz, S&D FEMM Chair Robert Biedron and various key experts and members of the PES political family. All the information can be found on the event application: https://pes.lineupr.com/pes-women-annual-conf-2022/
Furthermore, there will be an art cooperation by Berlin-based textile artist Sophie Utikal, who will display her work Flexing and her newest work through dedicated postcard-prints
PES Women is a standing committee of the Party of European Socialists, which is holding its Congress in Berlin from 14-15 October.
“With Courage. For Europe.” – under this heading, progressive heads of government, European Commissioners, party leaders, delegates, activists and international guests will meet at the PES Congress to discuss the current challenges facing Europe.
Among the participants in Berlin will be German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans, and many others.
Held in cooperation with Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Congress will adopt a resolution presenting the common progressive agenda to lead Europe through change. Support for Ukraine, energy, the cost of living, fundamental rights, and the alliance between ecological and social progress – these topics, and more, will be in focus at the high-level event.
For the programme, visit: https://events.pes.eu/
