Bruxelles 31 March - 4 April 2014

The project provides a programme of support and capacity building to women that are interesting in becoming candidates in order to help them realize their goal.
 

The cross parties group of 13 actual and would be candidates for EP elections, coming from the 13 project member States, can’t wait for the Programme to begin!

How did you get involved in politics? What were the drivers? What experience did you get? What has happened that motivated you? What, if any, barriers you have faced as woman in developing your political career?

Sharing experiences and backgrounds is the best way to start and know each other.

In the EU's unique institutional set-up:

- The EU's broad priorities are set by the European Council, which brings together national and EU-level leaders

- Directly elected MEPs represent European citizens in the European Parliament

- The interests of the EU as a whole are promoted by the European Commission, whose members are appointed by national governments

- Governments defend their own country's national interests in the Council of the European Union

“Women for Elections” Coaching and Training Session:

With Niamh Gallagher and Michelle O’Donnell, Co-Founders of Women for Election not-for-profit, non-partisan organisation whose mission is to inspire and equip women to succeed in politics

How to make the most of canvassing the 10 essentials

Get a team around you - Map out your terrain - Establish a schedule - Dress right - Respect and engage

Ask, don’t spiel - Don’t argue - Don’t accept an offer of a cuppa - De-brief - Follow up

The ‘5 CS’ for women under-representation:

CONFIDENCE: women are less likely to go forward for selection

CASH: women have less access to resources than men

CANDIDATE SELECTION PROCEDURES: the processes by which political parties select candidates poses a significant obstacle to women’s political participation

CULTURE: a gendered culture is prevalent even within left-wing parties

CHILDCARE: women are more likely to have this responsibility

“Women for Elections” Coaching and Training Session, spread into two steps:

Step 1: Building the confidence to run

Why don’t women just go for election? The issue, in many cases, is confidence and evidence from around the world shows that women are simply less likely than man to put themselves forward for selection and election

“Women for Elections” Coaching and Training Session:

Step 2: Campaigns and Communications

Learning how to design a political campaign and how to develop ones message and media

Key aspects:

- The smallest team can win

- The biggest spenders in elections don’t always win

- You don’t need as many votes as you think

- Go build a team and make it your team

The European Parliament has been steadily gaining power over recent decades and now acts as a co-legislator for nearly all EU law. Together with the Council, the Parliament adopts or amends proposals from the Commission. Parliament also supervises the work of the Commission and adopts the European Union's budget. See how it all works here.

Beyond these official powers the Parliament also works closely with national parliaments of EU countries. Regular joint parliamentary assemblies allow for a better inclusion of national perspectives into the Parliament's deliberations.

The European Parliament is the only directly-elected EU body and one of the largest democratic assemblies in the world. Its 766 Members are there to represent the EU's 500 million citizens. They are elected once every five years by voters from across the 28 Member States. Do you want to know how the Parliament is organised? Once elected, Members organise along political lines. They form political groups to better defend their positions. Currently there are seven groups. Most of Parliament's in-depth work is done in specialised committees that prepare reports that will later be voted on in the plenary. The Parliament's rules of procedure provide a detailed framework for the Parliament at work. Being a representative of all European citizens, the assembly's multilingualism has become one of its most important aspects. Parliamentary documents are published in all the official languages of the EU and every MEP has the right to speak in the official language of their choice.

Normally MEPs vote by show of hands, and the President of the sitting determines the majorities in each case. If the show of hands is unclear, the president calls for an electronic vote to secure a more precise result. A roll call vote must be taken if requested by a political group or at least 40 Members the evening before the vote. In this case, the individual vote cast by each MEP is recorded and published in an annex to the minutes, unless voting by secret ballot has also been requested. In plenary, the European Parliament normally takes decisions by an absolute majority of votes cast. A quorum (minimum number of Members who must be present in order for the result of a vote to be valid) exists when one third of the component Members of Parliament are present in the Chamber. If the president, at the request of at least 40 Members, establishes that the quorum is not present, the vote is held over to the next sitting.

Discussing about motivations, barriers and ambitions in politics with women MEPs.

With MEP Diane Dodds, Independent in the European Parliament, Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland

With MEP Zuzana Brzobohatá, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, Czech Social Democratic Party
 

The Magnificent 13 are now ready to go back, get elected and to mobilize other women to get involved in politics.