European Women's Lobby, Brussels, Belgium
From the Global Women's Network
| European Women's Lobby, Brussels, Belgium | |
|---|---|
| Logo: |  |
| Street address: | 18 rue Hydraulique
1210 Saint-Jos-ten-Noode |
| City: | Brussels |
| Country: | Belgium |
| Location: |
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| Location coordinates: | 50° 50' 54" N, 4° 22' 18" ELatitude: 50.8482042 Longitude: 4.3717534 |
| Contact number: | +32 2 217 90 20 |
| Contact email: | ewl@womenlobby.org |
| Website: | http://www.womenlobby.org/ |
| Twitter: | http://twitter.com/#!/EuropeanWomen |
| Facebook: | http://www.facebook.com/pages/European-Womens-Lobby/169340673246 |
| Target: | Girls and Women |
| Organization type: | Women's network (network/coalition of people or organizations) |
| Sectors: | Economic Empowerment, Immigration/Migration, Labor Rights, Legal Rights, Leadership, Peace and Conflict, Political Participation/Governance, Public Policy, Reproductive Rights, Violence Against Women |
| Year founded/registered: | 1990 |
| Annual budget: | EUR1,024,231.29 |
Summary
The EWL’s mission is to promote real and effective equality between women and men, in all spheres of public and private life, across the EU.
About
The mission of the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) is to work to achieve equality between women and men, to promote women’s rights in all spheres of public and private life, to work towards economic and social justice for all women in their diversity, and to eliminate all forms of male violence against women. The EWL works through democratic processes with its members for the mainstreaming and monitoring of gender equality and women’s rights perspective in all areas of European Union policy and for the achievement of parity democracy at all levels and in all areas.
Through its wide membership, the European Women’s Lobby aims:
To support the active involvement of the membership in working to achieve equality between women and men and ensure the representation of women from different parts of the European region; To engage in systematic learning and exchanging of experiences amongst the membership through democratic processes in order to achieve a sustainable and efficient women’s movement in Europe; To activate and mobilise members by means of information / lobbying resources, trainings, systematic dialogue and exchange, in order to actively engage with EU policy shaping, implementation and monitoring of legislation at national level; Through analysis, evaluation and monitoring, to provide regular input on EU policy developments and implementation that have an impact on women’s lives and on the promotion of equality between women and men with specific reference to the EU Treaty obligations, legislation, policy framework and programmes on equality between women and men, the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the United Nations Beijing Platform for Action, as well as the UN Millennium Development Goals, in line with the EWL Strategic Aims; To take into account the needs, specific inequalities, and perspectives of different groups of women, and the diverse experiences of women at all stages of their life cycle. This perspective informs both EWL internal policy and organisational development as well as the development of partnerships and joint working relationships with organisations that represent the many women that face multiple discrimination in the European Union and globally.
Activities
The EWL works towards a vision of a peaceful, social and democratic European Union built on a culture of respect for human rights, equality, peace and solidarity, in Europe and globally, where women and men have equal rights, full enjoyment of their personal integrity and choice, an equal share of social, cultural and economic resources, caring and family roles, and are equally represented in decision making.
The EWL carries out its work towards this vision within a feminist perspective and based on the following values:
Equality – between women and men in all areas of public and private life; Solidarity – with all women and men experiencing exclusion, discrimination, oppression and violence; Respect – for difference and diversity; Parity – especially in relation to decision making; Freedom – for all women to decide for themselves on all matters of personal/physical integrity and choice; Peace – promote a culture of peace; Justice – for all; Empowerment – of all women; Cooperation and consensus building – as our approach to difference and conflict; Accountability – to each other, to those we represent and to funders; Openness and transparency – in relation to communication and working methods; Independence – from any religious or political party affiliation.
The European Women’s Lobby works through democratic and transparent procedures to represent the diversity of European women at the European and international level.
Lobbying The EWL conducts lobbying activities in all areas of interest to women, taking into consideration the European-level political agenda. The guiding principle behind the EWL’s work is the realisation of equality for all women and men. The EWL also monitors the use of gender mainstreaming, which implies incorporating the needs and perspectives of women into all issues. This strategy has broadened the scope of its projects and lobbying activities considerably. The EWL is also active in areas which have not traditionally been considered ‘women’s issues’ and attempts to exert pressure in regards to all texts and programmes with an influence on women’s lives.
Policy and advocacy work The EWL works every day on content work following the European political agenda and working on specific topics with concern to women’s rights . Thereby, the EWL writes Position Papers, policy documents agreed by the members, and other kinds of contributions and statements in order to affect policy and legislation in and beyond the EU.
Projects The EWL conducts, coordinates and supports trans-national projects related to women’s rights focusing on different areas of concern.
Information-related activities A large part of the EWL’s work relates to communication and information exchange. The first priority in this area is to provide the necessary information to the member organisations of the EWL, but due to the complexity of the European institutions, policies and decision-making , the EWL’s information-related activities have had to expand considerably over recent years. The main communication tools are:
The weekly Newsletter providing updates on news, appeals for action, opportunities, events and new resources. The quarterley ’Women’s Voice’ providing in-depth analysis on topical matters. The EWL website with regularly updated information about the organisation and its activities.
Calls for lobbying actions. The EWL regularly sends out calls for lobbying actions in its different areas of work to members and interested individuals. Those calls usually consist of a briefing and a model lobbying letter to be sent to relevant decision-makers as indicated.
Press releases. The EWL regularly issues press releases on important issues related to gender equality or about EWL actions. Requests for information and group visits. Many groups and researchers from around the world visit the EWL, which also responds to dozens of requests for information every month.
