The meeting of the Network of the Locally Elected Women of Africa (REFELA, in its French acronym) was held in Rabat, on 12-14 April 2015. This meeting was in line with the strategic partnership developed in Morocco between the REFELA, UN-Women Multi-Country Office for the Maghreb (Morocco) and the Direction des cadres administratifs et techniques du Ministère de l’Intérieur, the Moroccan body responsible for administrative and technical officers.
The meeting was also consistent with the partnership project developed in 2013 between the UN-Women Multi-Country Office for the Maghreb (Morocco) and the Direction générale des collectivités locales du Ministère de l’Intérieur, the official Moroccan body responsible for local authorities, in order to promote the participation of women in local matters management and to strengthen gender-responsive territorial governance.
The meeting aimed to encourage exchanges based on sharing fundamental concepts and best practices, related to the networking, planning and budgeting responsive to gender and to recreate a space for dialogue and advocacy for the strengthening of women leadership on the regional and local levels.
Several personalities and officials participated in the opening session of the meeting, namely Mr. Abdellatif Bencherifa, Wali Directeur Général des Collectivités Locales, Mr. Abdelouahhab El Jabri, Gouverneur Directeur de la formation des cadres administratifs et techniques du Ministère de l'Intérieur of Morocco, Mr. Souleymane Idrissa Maiga, UCLG Africa Operations Director, Mrs. Fatimattou Mint Abdel Malick, REFELA President and Mrs. Leila Rhiwi, UN-Women Maghreb Representative.
The opening session was then followed by the meeting of the Executive Bureau of the REFELA where many questions were addressed by the members present. The working groups followed and continued for the second day where the participants discussed gender-responsive budgeting and presented some of their experiences and best practices.
- For more details about the event, you can read our article here.
- For more information about the REFELA, you can visit their website here.
Source: UCLG-A