FEMUM-ALC
About Us
FEMUM/Latin America and Caribbean (Federation of Women Municipalists of Latin America and the Caribbean) is an organization that was established in 1998 in Quito, Ecuador, with the participation of women local authorities from 11 countries from the region.
FEMUM Goals:
• To create equal political participation of women in member countries,
• To strengthen the spaces for incorporating a gender focus in the local governments.
FEMUM creates opportunities for grassroots women in cities to have true citizen participation through the promotion of women mayors, councilwomen, attorney-generals, aldermen and other local authorities. FEMUM upholds the idea that grassroots women's interests, aspirations, and opinions must be taken into account at the moment of making decisions on public works, budget and municipal public policy in general.
FEMUM's work has to do fundamentally with the strengthening of women's political participation in local governments, as authorities and as grassroots organizations. This is all done without ignoring themes of safety, domestic violence, employment needs and the particularity or diversity of each one of the municipalities.
Given that the organization is spread through Latin America and the Carribean, FEMUM works regionally to support women's participation in governance especially in relation to development.
FEMUM believes that we can contribute with the socialization of important successful experiences that exist in the region in the local governments, and the advances that in the theme of political participation with equity that we have in different countries.
FEMUM believes that the local sphere is a window of opportunity for women's empowerment, especially for grassroots women. The principal concern of FEMUM is the promotion of women as local actors to participate in the local government and the management of development projects.
In the LAC region, entry into high level of government is a reality for only elite women if any. On the other hand, the local space, neighborhood or district implies the idea of a community which ideally promotes safety, citizenship, welfare, and opportunities for all. In this path, women need to have with policies, services, municipal teams based in the gender perspectives and a special platform to promote alliances and organizations in order to gain power.
FEMUM believes that women`s empowerment requires more women in decision-making positions, but this does not guarantee that the gender agenda will be addressed. Women who are authorities often are not aware of grassroots women`s concerns and even when they are, they lack power amongst their male peers to address women`s agenda in government agencies. In exchanging knowledge and building a common political platform female authorities and grassroots women strengthen each other and advance women`s empowerment.
FEMUM has created different spaces for grassroots women and female authorities to come together. The training program in Political Marketing and Public Management was a pilot experience in which almost 60 women learned about national and local political tool, like the Law of Gender Equality and how to operate its mechanisms through internal and external pressures of government agencies.
HC Activities
FEMUM is primarily involved in the Governance Campaign. Networking with other members of the Huairou Commission, FEMUM has supported the work of grassroots women in Peru and Argentina. Much of this work involves connecting grassroots organizations to governments and local authorities to promote the grassroots agenda. FEMUM has been particularly active in the MDG3 Initiative and has been working to increase women in leadership roles and support improvement of women as leaders. HC Activities
FEMUM creates opportunities for grassroots women in cities to have true citizen participation.
The local sphere is a window of opportunity for women’s empowerment, especially for grassroots women.
Approach
FEMUM uses many approaches to actualize their mission to include women in political spheres and empower women to voice their needs in local and national governance.
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Skills transference and capacity building: political marketing and public management toolkits will be used to train grassroots women leaders and for technical support to local governments. In national and international exchanges such toolkits will be reviewed and expanded.
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Networking: national and international exchanges will take place for exchanging knowledge and practices on gender and women`s political participation.
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Advocacy: conduct dialogue with and provide technical support to local government for institutionalizing social mechanisms of vigilance
- Use of media to promote grassroots voices and female local authorities at municipal and national levels.
One of the best practices we want to promote is the exchange, intra-national or inter-national, between women leaders, around the experiences in political arena, their strategies to improve the participation, formalized the gender agenda in the governmental machinery or mobilization of women movement around local development include of defense of women platform and policies. The idea is promote the exchange between social and political leaders, between regions of Peru, and between Peru and Ecuador and Bolivia, the Andean region in South America. The FEMUMALC has a historical alliance with leaders, from grassroots and municipals, and connection with the new municipal authorities of Ecuador, specially Quito (capital), and with network of Women Municipalities of Bolivia, and leaders of Santa Cruz.
In Peru, FEMUM as part of MDG3 Campaign, has also outlined the following strategies for accomplishing their goals:
1. Alliances with networks, organizations, NGOs, others to support the activities and grassroots women
In Ica and Ayacucho, FEMUM developed a strategy of alliances to support our initiatives in the short term and beyond including alliances with corporations, NGOs and other local networks in Chincha Baja. Similar alliances were formed in Ayacucho. The most important alliances in this period were with two networks of municipal women, REDMUALIC (Network of Lima and Callao) and Ayacucho. Working in parallel to the other work of FEMUM, we focus on strengthening alliances with congresswomen in the National Parliament.
2. Technical and political support to develop new tools on gender agenda
In Villa El Salvador, FEMUM created tools around an action plan for equality to support the translation of skill to a municipal level. In parallel to this initiative, FEMUM provided tools and offered new approaches to authorities to organize a special entity to monitoring and social vigilance around municipal policies. During these months we have to expand new modules to VES municipal team (PEO, Good practices on gender in local government, and marketing)
3. Promote news tools to improve the participation of women in Local issues
Develop materials for a training program in public management and political marketing with new approaches and information on how to improve the participation of grassroots leaders and women authorities in local governance and political issues.
Also influence the expansion of a Women's Political Platform of grassroots women of Chincha Baja and Tambo de Mora (ICA) and HUANTA (Ayacucho), as vital tool to negotiation, promotion of women rights, needs and demands in the local sphere.
4. Promote news spaces and approaches to women leaders around social vigilance
We influenced the creation of an Observatory of Women of Chincha/Tambo, organize training workshops with women leaders (and others special participants), Visits and meetings with local leaders to coordination and monitoring, and sponsored local activities of diffusion and negotiation of women platform.
5. Alliances between women leaders to improve the public presence
As a vital strategy of our initiative we promote spaces and opportunities to strengthen alliances between women leaders from diverse origins and trajectories. Organize a visit of Council Board of Network of municipal women of Lima and Callao with Local Observatory of Chincha and Tambo. Also other opportunities during the training program in Lima were to increase action in the media and to generate initiatives in common between grassroots mobilization, municipal leaders, and politicians.
6. Advocacy with Authorities and Municipal teams
FEMUM has presented strong work during the development of this initiative. As meetings of work to organize actions, presentation or negotiation, give Technical support in design tools and materials and get finally commitments and support. Also, we have a permanent communications to formalize the activities.
7. Technical support to grassroots women initiatives
About Observatory of Women of Chincha/Tambo, organize training workshops with women leaders (and others special participants), Visits and meetings with local leaders to coordination and monitoring, and sponsored local activities of diffusion and negotiation of women platform. Around Women Platform of HUANTA, organize one program of visits to convoke and sensibility with different groups of women (Andean and Amazonian leaders), and sponsored local activities of diffusion and negotiation of women platform
8. Develop abilities in women leaders about public management issues
We have prepared a special training program for women leaders with new approaches. These can include toolkits to help a good performance in local issues along with planning tools and information on Public Budgets. Besides these, we provide ideas about models of social vigilance, tools and good practices around Plan of Equality. During these months we have to elaborate a new module about Security and Violence, to respond a demand of women leaders.
9. Develop abilities in women leaders about politic marketing
FEMUM has focused on the elaboration, presentation and distribution of materials of Politic Marketing to women leaders. One important tool was a video of successful electoral process. FEMUM has also created opportunities for women leaders to access to media. We have disseminated two public statements, created press releases, interviewed in radios, expanded internet communications, and others. We organized an important conference of press in Lima with national TV and press and another in Huamanga, the capital of Ayacucho. Other huge opportunity was the coverage of National Audience in Parliament, with transmission in live and prerecorded.
We will help a new project of our alumni, a grassroots woman (who lives in shantytown) with political aspirations, to organize a new internet radio program called "Ambiente Politico". She will spread the Word about our activities, MDG3 initiative, WUF+5, and others.
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