11th IPU Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians

During the 11th IPU Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians, a special session will be held on Intergenerational alliances for gender equality. This session is being held in the context of the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and at a time when progress on gender equality has become uneven, even showing signs of backtracking, including among younger generations. 

Generational progress for gender equality is needed. Young MPs are often on the front lines of the fight for equality, but they are not alone: there is a wealth of experience among more senior political leaders, who have been working to advance gender equality for years. This experience, coupled with the energy, innovation and fresh perspectives of young political leaders, can make for an unstoppable force for transformative change.

Uniting behind a renewed and intergenerational push for gender equality, during this special session, young and more senior parliamentarians will engage in a structured conversation and working groups to compare the differences and similarities in the advancement of equality today and in previous decades and develop new actions together.

Agenda

• Part 1 - Gender equality across the generations: What’s changed? What hasn’t? (14:30 – 15:45) From an intergenerational perspective, young and more senior parliamentarians will engage in a structured conversation to compare the differences and similarities in the advancement of gender equality today and
  in previous decades. Senior parliamentarians and gender equality experts will be invited to share perspectives and lessons learned from mobilization and action taken over the past few decades. Young parliamentarians and youth gender equality advocates will be invited to share recent findings and lessons learned from current action to advance gender equality. 

• Part 2 - Intergenerational working groups: Sharing perspectives, building coalitions and shaping solutions to accelerate equality (16:00 – 17:30) Building on the previous session, young and more senior MPs will work together in groups to explore views between and within generations on gender equality, unpack new obstacles to promoting equality compared to 15-20 years ago, and develop new collective actions in key areas, such as: parity in political participation, equality in the law, gender-sensitive institutions, and combatting violence against women and girls.

• Part 3 – Intergenerational working groups: Findings and recommendations (17:30 – 18:00) Participants will report back in plenary following the working groups. 

The special segment is being organized under the WYDE | Women’s Leadership Initiative, a collaborative effort funded by the European Union and implemented by UN Women, together with International IDEA, the IPU, and United Cities and Local Governments. The initiative works to advance women’s full and effective political participation and decision-making at all levels, especially among those most often left furthest behind.