Gender at the Local Level
The Gender at the Local Level programme, an introductory podcast and an invitation to the Municipal Equality Committees of municipalities across the country
"Gender at the Local Level", a multifaceted journey with alternative perspectives. A journey with the Thessaloniki Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Gender Alliance Initiative, the Municipality of Athens and civil society organizations.
Recognizing the need for innovative, interconnective, multifaceted and allied initiatives to address gender equality issues at the local level, Gender Alliance Initiative and the Thessaloniki Office of Heinrich Böll Foundation created, in cooperation with the Municipality of Athens, the programme "Gender at the Local Level.
The objective of the "Gender at the Local Level" (G@LL) programme was to cultivate the capacity of participants to organize and implement, whether cooperatively or independently, action plans promoting gender equality and gender democracy in their local community. Action plans that complement or act as multipliers and which are inspired by the programme’s three pillars of information-awareness-raising, networking-connection and empowerment-support of persons, structures and bodies of local government and the civil society within the boundaries of the Municipality of Athens.
More specifically, the programme was addressed to: a) individuals from services and institutions working in local authorities under the umbrella of the Municipality of Athens and b) civil society groups and organisations active in the fields of education, gender equality, art and culture.
As you can hear in the podcast, the activities of the programme were developed along three axes: The first is about getting to know each other, identifying needs, connecting and networking between the actors and participating individuals; the second includes experiential workshops on empowerment and skills development; and the third is about the overall assessment of knowledge and tools, further strengthening interconnectivity and planning new local alliance actions.
Taking a brief look back at the experience in Athens, we can see that the path for such an endeavour is not always easy or even fruitless. Every difficulty, however, has been an opportunity for a deeper and more meaningful acquaintance and interconnection between local government and the local community. Indeed, as was evident in the evaluations and this podcast documenting the experience, all of us became more open-minded, we made room for more diversity and different perspectives, we met creatively and interconnectively, synthesized inspirations-needs-ideas, coexisted peacefully and in alliance with each other. All in all, it was as if a wall had been torn down. The "insiders" of the Local Authority truly saw the "outsiders" and vice versa. People met in the middle and in equal terms. They recognized the value and importance of each and every person involved, of every sector, public or private, in creating meaningful and transformative actions for equality.
In this podcast you will listen to the Gender Alliance Initiative, the Thessaloniki Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Gender Alliance Initiative, the Municipality of Athens and civil society organisations sharing their experience. We hope that this experience will inspire similar actions in other regions of Greece, a journey of coming together, connection, empowerment and planning actions using equality, acceptance and inclusion as a compass.
In conclusion, we could say that Gender at the Local Level was more than just a programme we ran in 2022. It was a coming together of people who, in a safe, brave and inclusive way, found common ground, goals and dreams for a gender equal and democratic world.