Vilnius, Lithuania– The Women’s Democracy Network (WDN), in cooperation with the European People’s Party (EPP), hosted the 2011 WDN Legislative Conference which was held during the Community of Democracies (CD) Ministerial Conference in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The WDN/EPP conference, which brought together women from Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Moldova, Mongolia, Russia, Uganda and the United States, allowed participants to discuss ways to strengthen democracy and increase women’s participation in politics.  The WDN delegation was led by Judy Van Rest, Executive Vice President of the International Republican Institute.  EPP’s delegation was led by Maria Rauch-Kallat, Vice President of European People’s Party-Women.

The three day conference, held June 29-July 1, 2011, began with remarks from the Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas (parliament) Irena Degutiene, Vice Speaker Virginija Baltraitienė, and female members of Seimas who talked about how they ascended to positions of leadership and the roles women have played in the country since Lithuania’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.  Today, Lithuania is led by a female president, defense minister and speaker of parliament.

The delegation also heard about the role of international organizations in promoting gender equality such as the Office of Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson in Lithuania, the European Parliament, the European Institute for Gender Equality, and the Chairperson for Gender Issues at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

WDN delegates then talked about their own experiences in increasing women’s participation in political campaigns, parliament and the defense of human rights.  They also discussed ways to increase cooperation between their countries.  During this dialogue, one of the WDN members shared her advice on what should be considered before running for office.  “In politics, your family is concerned about how you will be perceived in politics, they may be afraid that there will be attempts to insult you, and that these occurences will ruin the drive you have to run for office.  But you have to remember that your internal conviction will give you the strength to overcome these challenges and pursue candidacy because at the end of the day, you want to make a mark, you want to make a change.” 

Prior to the Sixth CD Ministerial Conference, the WDN delegation took part in the CDs’ Working Group on Gender Equality and Women’s Rights, to discuss practical initiatives the CD member countries can implement to increase women’s empowerment at all levels of government.  WDN is a member of the Working Group which is led by U.S. Ambassador-At-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne S. Verveer and the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Evaldas Ignatavičius.

On June 30, the WDN delegation participated in a high-level event with the President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė and the President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen.  The event, entitled Women Enhancing Democracy: Best Practices, highlighted success stories of women world leaders in raising women’s empowerment while sharing their own advice and encouragement to rising women leaders.

WDN delegates Selima Ahmad from Bangladesh and Christine Abia Bako from Uganda served as panelists at the June 30 event, where they highlighted best practices in achieving women’s economic independence and combating violence against women and human trafficking.  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton applauded the gathering of women leaders in her speech stating, “with one-half the population, there is simply no reason women should only be represented at one-fifth of the seats at the table.  In too many places, still today, and in too many discussions affecting the futures of entire societies, women’s voices, their vital voices are underrepresented or absent altogether.  But as we look at new democracies taking hold, from Latin America to Africa and the Middle East and Asia, I think there are so many lessons that can be learned and applied from what happened here in Europe…”  

On July 1, the WDN delegation observed the proceedings of the Sixth CD Ministerial Conference entitled Empowered, Energized, Engaged.  Delegates had the opportunity to hear from heads of state and foreign ministers as they focused on developing and upholding standards of democracy throughout the world.  As the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton stated, “Every national Democracy is a journey: it is something that continues to evolve. In the EU [European Union] we recognize that the journey is best if it shared…the loudest and most eloquent voices have been those of women and young people.”

The WDN/EPP conference provided a unique platform for participants to meet with world leaders who have succeeded in democratic advancement and gender empowerment initiatives.  Through the relationships built and knowledge shared, WDN members were encouraged to implement successful practices in their own countries.  As one member remarked, the experience “made me more motivated to keep fighting, within my means, to empower the women in my own country and around the world.  We have the same ideals and it makes me realize more and more that there are women around the world standing for the same reasons and who want to achieve the same goal – the advancement of women’s empowerment.”