Buenos Aires, Argentina– Founding members of the Women’s Democracy Network’s (WDN) Argentina country chapter, Congresswoman Gladys Gonzalez (left) and Dr. Raquel Munt (right), organized a conference on December 4 entitled Political Empowerment for the Women of Republican Proposal (PRO) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  The conference brought together 170 female national and local elected officials from across Argentina to reinforce a network of women activists and focus on capacity building.  

The conference was the culmination of a project carried out by WDN’s Argentina chapter that saw Gonzalez and Munt travel to 10 regions of Argentina to offer educational workshops and trainings designed to encourage women to become politically and civically active regardless of their political beliefs.  The two women trained 1,300 women around the country while simultaneously building a network of civil society leaders and elected officials.                                                                                                                                   

The conference was aided by two experienced WDN partners from Colombia and the United States.  Marta Lucia Ramirez, former Defense Minister, former Foreign Trade Minister, former Senator and recent presidential candidate from Colombia, advised participants to hold strong to their values and emphasized that to be a politician means to be a good listener because you are elected to serve the people and your country.

Ana Carbonell, former Director of Hispanic Outreach for the 2004 Bush/Cheney presidential campaign and a political and communications consultant, has more than 20 years of expertise in the political, legislative and public policy spheres.  She instructed participants on communications and message development, stressing that coalitions among women are vital to achieving their shared goals.

WDN Deputy Director Erika Veberyte informed participants of WDN’s global network of women leaders and what it offers to its members in terms of trainings, shared experiences and resources.

The conference was opened by the head of the government of the City of Buenos Aires Mauricio Macri who spoke about the importance of mainstreaming gender issues in the city and on the national level.

In addition to the conference, WDN Argentina chapter members facilitated a meeting between Veberyte, WDN members and 24 women civil society representatives from Buenos Aires, who expressed their interest in partnering with WDN on future projects.  Veberyte also attended a ceremony for PRO activists who completed a course of study in the PRO School for Training of Political Leaders.  More than 50 women, who belong to the PRO political party coalition, completed the course and received certificates of completion.

WDN Argentina chapter continues its vibrant schedule of activities and is reaching new members in business and civil society to join together to advance the empowerment of women in Argentina.