OSCE Office organizes conference to promote women in local governance

BAKU, 3 June 2010 - The importance of increasing women’s participation political life is the main focus of a conference organized today by the OSCE Office in Baku together with local non-governmental organizations.

Women are increasingly taking an active role in the political life of Azerbaijan. In the last municipal election, held in December 2009, women were elected to 26 percent of the seats on municipal councils, an increase from 4 percent in the previous election.

 “I hope that this six-fold increase was the beginning of a new era for women in Azerbaijan's political life. I hope women will actively participate in the November 2010 parliamentary elections,” said Ambassador Bilge Cankorel, the Head of the OSCE Office in Baku.

The conference, co-organized with the NGOs Leader Women and the Institute for Democratic Development also featured a panel discussion on ways to increase women’s involvement in political decision-making.

The OSCE Office in Baku plans a series of countrywide training sessions for women on leadership and advocacy skills before the parliamentary elections. The training sessions, which particularly target remote regions, are intended to invigorate the political life of the country and improve the level of civic participation of women’s groups. Participants in the training sessions will develop pilot advocacy campaign projects addressing local concerns.