The EU-LAC Foundation, through the EU-LAC Women’s International Network (EU-LAC WIN), carried out the EU-LAC Birregional School of Local Political Leadership for Women 2025, a programme designed to strengthen the political leadership capacities of women at the municipal and community levels in Latin America, the Caribbean and the EU.
From 18 to 26 November, a group of fifteen women leaders from diverse rural and urban territories—selected through a rigorous application process—took part in an intergenerational, bi-regional and intercultural learning space.
In a bi-regional context marked by deep gender inequalities in access to and exercise of political power, the local and municipal level continues to be one of the most lagging areas in terms of women’s political participation and leadership. In response to this reality, the School was conceived as a strategic and transformative initiative rooted in local communities: not only as a technical training programme, but also as a space for sharing local experiences, fostering political peer support, showcasing community leadership, and strengthening bi-regional networks that connect local action with global agendas.
Throughout the programme, participants engaged with the main challenges faced by women in territorial leadership. They explored topics such as strategic communication for political incidence at the municipal level, access to resources and tools for local governance, and the importance of integrating holistic wellbeing and self-care into leadership processes. The School also delved into feminist approaches to negotiation in institutional settings, strategies to prevent and address different forms of political violence, and the construction of community alliances that reinforce collective action. The process concluded with the development of personal and collective roadmaps aimed at consolidating participants’ political leadership within their respective territories.
The activities also included the roundtable discussion “German Political, Scientific and Cultural Cooperation”, held at the Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut (IAI), which offered a space to reflect on opportunities for bi-regional cooperation, exchange local experiences and identify shared challenges related to exercising political leadership at the territorial level.
In addition, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November), participants met with the Latin American Women’s Association Xochicuatl e.V. and joined the public demonstration at the Brandenburg Gate.
