#ProgressivesSpeakUp 2023

This year’s School took place in Valencia from 2 March to 3 March.

Together with PSOE Group of the city of Valencia, Young European Socialists (YES), Party of European Socialists (PES), PES Women, PES Group in the European Committee of the Regions and S&D Group in the European Parliament, FEPS was proud to present the fourth edition of the School of Young Elected Politicians, a training for young people coming from all over Europe, elected at the local or regional level, who have the ambition to make progressive change happen in their respective communities.

A Europe for women!

The pandemic has further exacerbated gender inequalities, with many women becoming full-time home carers and educators while providing the majority of essential services outside the home.

At the same time, incidents of domestic violence rose dramatically during the lockdowns. The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) highlighted in its Gender Equality Index 2022 that the EU’s 2022 score was still far behind acceptable figures.

This year’s School focused on a key battle of the progressives: ending gender inequality and violence against women.

Young progressive locally and regionally elected politicians can make a difference when it comes to designing and implementing effective gender equality measures, thus contributing to a feminist vision of the European Union that safeguards achievements so far and pushes for faster progress in gender equality. They also have a role to play in the fight against gender-based violence, as much of their work has a direct gender impact.

The programme

The format of the School was very interactive and innovative: a participatory lab!

Participants joined three discussion tables of their choice where they learned from the exchange of good practices, with the help of expert speakers and a facilitator.

Applicants chose the most relevant topics (related to gender inequality or violence against women) to be addressed during the participatory lab, which was divided into three sessions, each accommodating two parallel tables. Selected participants chose which of the two tables to attend in each session. The schedule of the participatory lab was as follows:

Agenda

Thursday, 2 March 2023

14:00 – 15:00 – Political communication training!

• Introduction: Are you up to date?
• Creating: It’s time to get started

15:00 – 15:25 – Opening of the school

• Sandra Gómez, Vice-Mayor of Valencia
• Christophe Rouillon, President of the PES Group in the Committee of the Regions and Mayor of Coulaines, France
• Ruben Alfaro Bernabé, Mayor of Elda, former Young elected politician

15:25 – 15:30 – Family picture

15:30 – 17:30 – First session

• Table 1: Lab on The gender pay gap at work: time for equality
• Table 2: Lab on Ending domestic violence

17:30 – 18:00 – Speed dating – networking!

18:00 – 20:00 – Second session

• Table 1: Lab on Gendering mobility
• Table 2: Lab on Education & Campaigns: Raising awareness to end violence against women

20:00 – 23:00 – Dinner & social event by PES

Friday, 3 March 2023

10:00 – 11:40 – Third session

• Table 1: Lab on Welfare, Care and Gender : Feminist Perspectives on Welfare Policies

– Ana Berenguer Giménez, General Director of Analysis and Public Policies for the Region of Valencia

– Aleksandra Vasiljević, Deputy Mayor of Velenje, Slovenia

– Damijan Zrim, Member of the National Assembly of Slovenia & Secretary General of the SD Youth Forum

– Laeticia Thissen, Policy Analyst on Gender Equality, FEPS

• Table 2: Lab on Improving participation in decision-making, including politics

11:45 – 12:00 – Closing remarks

• Alicia Homs Ginel, YES President and Member of the European Parliament
• Katarina Barley, PES Executive-Vice President and Vice-President of the European Parliament

12:00 – 15:30 – Bike ride and lunch by PES

16:00 – 20:30 – PES Group conference “It’s women’s time! Ending gender inequality and violence in every place”

20:30 – 22:00 – Official reception

22:00 – onwards – Drinks!

Eligibility rules

To be eligible for the School, it was compulsory to meet the following criteria:

• EU nationality is mandatory
• Participants must be elected at the local or regional level, or be an official candidate for the next local or regional elections  
• The age limit of the participants is 40 years
• Participants are expected to attend all sessions of the programme, from the afternoon of Thursday, 2 March, to the evening of Friday, 3 March
• A good level of English is required 

More information on PES European Committee of the Regions‘ website.