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Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) recently organised a conference to help combat violence against women in politics. Discussions focused on strategies to reduce gender-based violence and promote the involvement of women in the political sphere.
Women in public and political life in Montenegro face sexism, hate speech and threats of violence on a daily basis. This deters women from taking their rightful seats at the decision-making table. To help tackle the problem, WFD organised a campaign with huge reach.
Members of the parliamentary Club for youth questions and youth policies in the Assembly of North Macedonia, visited their colleagues from the youth club in the Albanian parliament, exchanging experiences, sharing practices, and defining youth priorities for future cooperation between the two parliamentary bodies.
Recently, WFD brought together youth leaders from the main political parties in Albania, to participate in a workshop to strengthen their leadership skills. Held in the region of Gjirokastër, in the south of the country, the event saw 17 youth leaders participate in the activities.
A group of community leaders from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina visited Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland with WFD to learn how citizens and local government worked together to solve problems and improve their city.
Representatives of youth political branches from different parties presented arguments in a debate on economy, international relations, and youth policies in North Macedonia. This was also the final event of the Political Debate Academy organised by Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD).
The inclusion of women and young people is transforming political culture in Bosnia and Herzegovina and having positive impacts for communities and the environment
Within WFD’s “More than a quota” mentorship programme, a group of women politicians from different political parties works on getting the issue on the agenda through advocacy and legislative work.
The “I Vote for Women” campaign presented strong and successful women, who have created positive change in the local communities of B&H. Building trust in women as leaders, these stories aimed to motivate voters to elect more women in legislative bodies of B&H in the local election of 2020.
WFD is supporting Western Balkans Parliaments on their post-legislative scrutiny journey.
The ability to speak your mind in a public or social matter should not be a privilege. We like to think that getting involved in local or even national politics is an option for those willing to contribute and help improve life in their community. Until recently, however, this was not a possibility within reach for Ljubisha Saveski, a 40-year-old father and fashion designer from Tetovo, North Macedonia.
The right to vote is unfortunately still not completely accessible to all citizens in North Macedonia. 76 percent of voting stations have stairs and half of them (49% percent) have no access ramps. One third of access ramps cannot be used, due to improper inclination and width. These are some of the findings of the monitoring of parliamentary elections 2020 in North Macedonia conducted by persons with disabilities.
To support women on their pathway to change, WFD provided direct, individual support to around 30 young women politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina through networking and mentoring, as well as building their skills. Following the programme, young women leaders who took part were at the forefront of a variety of changes and initiatives to benefit the whole of society.
The establishment of a coalition for change rallying government representatives, businesses, education and civil society actors and an important study on the cost on youth emigration, supported by WFD, led to raising awareness on the issue, the inclusion of the cost of youth emigration in the proposal of the government’s Strategy on Economic Migration of the Republic of Serbia and the establishing of the ‘Returning Point” program.
WFD in Serbia has published a ”Guide to Digital Political Communication” which provides instructions on the different modes of digital communication for the content that political parties produce, aiming to help them improve their communication with the younger population.
