The Basque Parliament hosts the conference "The role of democratic institutions in a global context of anti-egalitarian backsliding"
- Institutional representatives and international experts analyse strategies to strengthen equality in the face of global setbacks
- The conference is organised by the Basque Parliament and Emakunde, in collaboration with the Women's Institute
The aim is to reflect on the most effective way to deal with the discourses contrary to equality, human rights and democracy that are gaining ground in our society. The inauguration was carried out by the President of the Basque Parliament, the Director of Emakunde and the Director of the Spanish Women's Institute.
In her welcome greeting, the President of the Basque Parliament, Bakartxo Tejeria, stressed "the firm commitment of Basque institutions to the equality of women and men". After pointing out the progress made "thanks to the joint work with Basque society", she warned that "the worrying regression of rights and freedoms that we are experiencing at a global level also affects the equality of women and men". In the face of this regression, which "not only hinders progress but threatens what has been achieved", he advocated "remaining alert and continuing to work", because "equality between women and men, as well as a human right, is a strategic need for the deepening of democracy and for the construction of a fairer, more cohesive and developed society, socially and economically".
The director of Emakunde, Miren Elgarresta; recalled that "the Law has changed but society must also be changed", after reviewing and highlighting the changes incorporated in the equality law that has generated, among other actions, equality plans in the institutions. Finally, the director of the Women's Institute of Spain, Cristina Hernández, closed these institutional speeches by thanking both the Basque parliamentarians for their involvement in this issue, as well as the Basque Parliament and Emakunde for promoting alliances between institutions to face the complex times we live in.
This was followed by different specialists who addressed experiences and proposals to deal with the current context. Specifically, we had the participation of Yulia Netesova, head of the Democratic Governance and Gender Unit of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights; Helena Argerich i Terradas, Equality technician of the Equality Office of the Parliament of Catalonia; José Campi-Portaluppi, Director of Communication and Outreach at Equimundo; and Jennifer Rodríguez Bruno, Global Advocacy Manager at MenEngagee Global Alliance.
The day concluded with a space for reflection and exchange between speakers and attendees, moderated by Maitena Salinas, with the aim of promoting debate and sharing approaches that contribute to strengthening the democratic institution’s commitment to equality.
