The pandemic has brought to light the tremendous impact that the public health crisis has had over especially women, which is reflected in the scarce situation of care systems, the increase in gender-based violence, and the reduction of income and employment opportunities, among other things. For this reason, committed to achieving SDG 5 by generating actions for gender equality, the EU-LAC Foundation conducts various activities articulated towards the construction of an EU-LAC International Women Network.
The purpose of this network is to advocate for public policies of international reach for stimulating environments of gender equality and equity in the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean, e.g. by sharing examples of good practices around inclusive and sustainable recovery by women in both regions. To this end, the network’s actions are built through dialogue and partnership, and the mutually beneficial exchange resulting from North-South and South-South cooperation in accordance with SDG 17. The EU-LAC International Women Network will also stimulate the articulation of proposals on how to streamline and improve public and public-private initiatives and instruments already developed, in order to move towards a development model that is oriented towards sustainability and equality and thus strengthens the relationship between the EU and LAC. In 2022, the EU-LAC Foundation conducts a set of activities to develop a bi-regional roadmap for an equitable and sustainable response to the COVID-19 crisis. Accordingly, the network’s participants collaborate with the Foundation’s membership to promote public policies and thus make their contribution to the SDGs 5, 8, 9, 12, 17.
The EU-LAC International Women Network unites leading personalities and representatives of organisations of notable work related to the gender agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean and the countries of the European Union, including the Regional Office of Latin America and the Caribbean of UN Women, the Division for Gender Affairs of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Directorate-General for International Partnerships for Latin America and the Caribbean of the European Commission, EUROSOCIAL+, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Italo-Latin American International Organization (IILA), Expertise France, Fundación Carolina, Fundación Internacional y para Iberoamerica de Administración y políticas públicas (FIIAPP), WIDE+, Gender and Trade Network of Latin America, Red de Politologas, Ibero-American Network of Municipalities for Gender Equality, Alianza por la Solidaridad, Ibero-American League, German Institute for Global Studies (GIGA), Universities Caribbean, UNESCO - Cluster Office for the Caribbean, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the National Institute of Women and the Senate Chancellery of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
