Silvana Koch-Mehrin Activity Report – Q1

2014

Silvana Koch-Mehrin Activity Report – Q1 2014

1

Overview

Breakfast Debate: Building Dream Europe – What to keep and what to cut - 23 January Women’s  Forum  Brussels  2014  – Reshaping trust in  Europe  with  women’s  vision  – 28 January Meeting Irish female candidates for the European Parliament election - 12 February Conference: EU Public Affairs – How do I work with MEPs? - 13 February EU Parliaments in global governance - 18 February International  Women’s  Day:  Contribution  to  “Women  in  Parliaments,  Inspiring  Change” - 08

March Crans  Montana  African  Women’s  Forum - 21 March The  Guardian  Public  Leaders’  Summit  - 25 March

Silvana Koch-Mehrin Activity Report – Q1 2014

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Event: Breakfast Debate: Building Dream Europe – What to keep and what to cut –

Date: 23 January

Overview

On Thursday, 23 January Silvana Koch-Mehrin  was  taking  part  in  a  breakfast  debate  on  “Building  Dream Europe – What  to  keep  and  what  to  cut“,  organised  by  the  EU  40  network. In these difficult times,  in  which  the  “European  Dream”  risks  to  be  undermined  by  multiple  threats,  Cambre  and  EU40, in partnership with the European Parliament Library, collaborated for the organisation of this breakfast debate tackling various issues regarding the Future of the European Union. The event was to be joined by speakers with different backgrounds trying to find some answers on what can be kept and improved and what has to be cut out from the current scenario in order to allow the Europeans to live the European Dream. –

Silvana Koch-Mehrin Activity Report – Q1 2014

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Event: Women’s  Forum  Brussels  2014  – Reshaping trust in  Europe  with  women’s  vision

Date : 28 January

Overview

On 28 January, Silvana Koch-Mehrin  was  speaking  at  the  „Women’s  Forum  Brussels  2014 – Reshaping  trust  in  Europe  with  women’s  vision“.  Silvana  Koch-Mehrin was panellist in the opening session  of  the  on  the  topic  of  “European  tools  to  build  a  competitive  economy”.  European  Union  economic policy is geared towards steady growth and more jobs in the EU. While aiming to stabilize the economy in the short term and increase potential growth in the medium term, it also addresses different  longer-­‐term  challenges,  such  as  population  ageing  and  globalization.  Which  tools  (political,  technical, legal) exist within the European Union which help foster the economy? Do they correspond to the current economic situation in Europe and its many challenges?

The  Women’s  Forum  Brussels  was  created  to  bring  together  women  members  of  the  European  Parliament and women from European business, to debate on how trust is being reshaped in Europe. To be held in the European Parliament in Brussels, the event will convene around 150 participants, opinion leaders, from business, politics, NGO, civil society and academia around Europe.

Silvana Koch-Mehrin Activity Report – Q1 2014

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Event: Meeting Irish female candidates for the European Parliament election –

Date: 12 February

Overview

Organised  by  “Women  for  Election“,  Silvana  Koch-Mehrin spoke on 12 February 2014 to a delegation of  20  female  candidates  from  Ireland  contesting  this  year’s  elections  on  the  local  and  European  level.  Silvana Koch-Mehrin shared her experience about being a female candidate and expressed how important encouraging women to run for a Parliament is to her, as the percentage of female Parliamentarians needs to rise.

Women for Election is an Irish not-for-profit, non-partisan organisation fighting for a balanced participation of women and men in political life.

Silvana Koch-Mehrin Activity Report – Q1 2014

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Event: Conference: EU Public Affairs – How do I work with MEPs?

Date : 13 February

Overview

On Tuesday, 13 February 2014 Silvana Koch-Mehrin spoke at the 4th Conference on EU Public Affairs on  the  topic  of  “How  do  I  work  with  MEPs?”,  organised  by  Quadriga University of Applied Science and European Agenda.

Working  with  MEPs  can  be  very  rewarding  but  requires  a  lot  of  preparation,  as  there  are  certain  do’s  and  don’ts  that  need  to  be  taken  into  account.  This  best  case  will  provide  insights  into  the  work  of  an MEP and show how collaboration between MEPs and lobbyists really works.

Silvana Koch-Mehrin Activity Report – Q1 2014

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Event: EU Parliaments in global governance

Date 18 February

Overview:

The  Parliamentary  Forum  on  “EU  Parliaments  in  global  governance”,  hosted  by  Miguel  Angel  Martínez and Othmar Karas, European Parliament Vice-Presidents responsible for relations with national Parliaments, focused on the question on how to improve cooperation in multilateral assemblies between EU National Parliaments and the European Parliament.

Silvana Koch-Mehrin  spoke  at  the  session  on  “Connecting  Parliamentarians:  Global  Parliamentary  Initiatives”  together  with  Arnaud  Leroy,  Member  of  the  Assemblée  Nationale,  France;  Vice-President, GLOBE Europe, the Global Legislators Organisation, Alain Destexhe, Member and former President of Parliamentarians for Global Action and Jo Leinen, Member of the European Parliament; Campaign for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA).

The key questions were how Parliamentarians from across the world could work together effectively on concrete issues, what organisations, networks and initiatives existed as well as how online communication, social networks and videoconferencing could strengthen these networks.

Silvana Koch-Mehrin Activity Report – Q1 2014

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Event: International  Women’s  Day:  Contribution  to  “Women  in  Parliaments,  Inspiring  Change”  –

Date 08 March

Overview

On  the  occasion  of  the  International  Women’s  Day  2014,  Silvana  Koch-Mehrin contributed to the project  “Women  in  Parliaments,  Inspiring  Change”  by  the  “Women  in  Parliaments  Global  Forum”  (WIP),  sharing  two  statements  on  “I  want  you  to  inspire  to…”  and  “I  was  inspired  by…”.  Female  Parliamentarians from more than 50 countries from all the continents as well as political personalities from the WIP Advisory Board contributed statements to the campaign. - See more at: http://www.koch-mehrin.de/international-womens-day-contribution-to-women-in-parliaments-inspiring-change/#sthash.qqEdMTne.dpuf

Silvana Koch-Mehrin Activity Report – Q1 2014

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Event: Crans  Montana  African  Women’s  Forum

Date: 21 March

Overview:

On Friday, 21 March 2014 Silvana Koch-Mehrin  hosted  a  session  on  “The  Growing  Role  of  Women  in  Parliaments  in  Africa”  in  the  framework  of  the  Crans  Montana  African  Women’s  Forum.

Speakers at the session were:

•Ms  Maia  Panjikidze,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, Georgia

•Ms  Thandi  Cecilia  Memela,  Dep.  Speaker,  National  Council  of  Provinces,  South  Africa

•Ms  Anne-Marie Lizin, Hon. Speaker of the Senate, Belgium

•Ms  Mmasekgoa  Masire-Mwamba, Dep. Secretary General, Commonwealth Secretariat

One of the outcomes of this special session was the agreement echoed by all participants that having more women in decision-making positions has a significant impact in Africa and worldwide. For Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, Deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, there is a clear understanding that something changes when more women are empowered. However,  “more  tools  to  calculate  the  real  impact  of  women  in  parliaments  are  needed”,  she  said  during her speech.

Anne-Marie Lizin, Hon. Speaker of the Senate of Belgium, said  that  “the  law  changes  when  there  are  more  women  in  Parliaments”,  because  Parliaments  with  more  female  representation  are  addressing  issues  related  to  women’s  rights,  gender  quotas  and  reproductive  rights.

Furthermore, the importance of more women in top positions to tackle negative gender stereotypes was  raised  by  the  panel:  “women  representation  is  not  only  about  balancing  the  statistics,  but  about  transforming  gender  stereotypes”  said  Thandi  C.  Memela,  Deputy  Speaker  of  the  National  Council  of  Provinces in South Africa.

Silvana Koch-Mehrin Activity Report – Q1 2014

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Event: The  Guardian  Public  Leaders’  Summit

Date: 25 March

Overview

On Tuesday, 25 March 2014 Silvana Koch-Mehrin spoke at  the  “Guardian  Public  Leaders  Summit”  in  London.

The Guardian Public Leaders Summit, now in its eleventh year, brings together key speakers from a wide variety of sectors to explore the challenges and opportunities facing public servants. The audience is a senior mix of local and central government professionals in addition to those in the third sector responsible for delivering services.

Silvana Koch-Mehrin Activity Report – Q1 2014

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Silvana Koch-Mehrin gave a presentation on public sector leadership during the global perspective session. The talk was part of the Global Leaders Series, a high profile set of talks and interviews from inspiring public service leaders from across the globe.

One of the key themes of the series is the challenge of tackling long term societal problems within short-term  democratic  cycles.  Youth  unemployment  is  one  of  this  year’s  themes  for  the series.