In these moments of crisis, there is a greater demand for leadership by the central state and sub-national levels, together with the need for clear frameworks of action and coordination that adequately respond to the systemic nature of the health and socio-economic impact, implementing measures that help to overcome it. With a view to an effective recovery, the role of the state, as a strategic coordinator and balancing mechanism of different capacities and interests, is fundamental for the coordination of long-range processes that ensure social cohesion and prosperity in accordance with democratic principles and international commitments on gender equality.

The territorial approach in policies and actions developed in the context of socio-economic recovery is essential for national policies to provide a framework and promote development and the economy in the territories, and, in a broader sense, a better quality of urban life.

The LAC-EU Roundtable promoted by the current Presidency of MINURVI (Assembly of Ministers and Highest Authorities in Housing and Urban Development of Latin America and the Caribbean), with the support of EUROsociAL+, the European Union’s programme for social cohesion in Latin America in association with UN Habitat seeks to exchange experiences, strategies and approaches between the two regions to face the socio-economic crisis derived from the pandemic, addressing the contribution from urban and territorial development, as well as from housing and the construction sector, to socio-economic recovery responses in cities.

The meeting is structured in two sessions:

• Wednesday, 26 May 2021 (09:00 Colombia-16:00 Brussels):Ministerial round table.

See session recording

• Thursday, 27 May (08:45 Colombia-15:45 Brussels): Technical round table

See session recording

One year ago, the International Labor Organization, the European Union’s EUROsociAL+ programme and the Argentinian Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security decided to join forces and work together to develop a series of virtual forums for dialogue and exchange on measures that, in terms of health and safety at work, countries were adopting in the face of COVID-19, both at the most critical moment of the crisis and for the reactivation of production and the economy, and for the recovery of employment.

The round table meetings focused on four economic sectors that have been especially affected by the crisis – construction, transport, domestic work and wholesale markets, the common thread of each encounter being occupational health and safety measures, the role of social dialogue and the sectoral agreements reached.

The publication presented today systematises the national responses shared at these sessions, as well as a series of reflections on the lessons learnt during the pandemic and the challenges facing occupational health and safety in the future.

The webinar, organised by the European Union EUROsociAL+ programme, is one of the inaugural activities of the Generation Equality Forum, the global meeting promoting gender equality, convened by UN Women and jointly organised by the Governments of Mexico and France, with the leadership and participation of civil society. Twenty-five years after the historic Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the most comprehensive framework for achieving women’s empowerment and gender equality, the Forum, to be inaugurated in Mexico City, which will culminate in Paris in June 2021, will review progress and shape a programme of specific measures to move forwards towards gender equality between now and 2030.

In this framework, the virtual event “Cooperation for Action: Reducing Gender Inequalities as a Key to Social Cohesion in Latin America and Europe” aims to generate a space for discussion around gender commitments and challenges to be faced by European and Latin American States in light of the global agenda and the current Covid-19 crisis. The power of women’s rights activism, feminist solidarity and youth leadership to bring about transformative change will be celebrated.

Indications for registration and participation

The event will be held through the virtual platform of the Generation Equality Forum as part of the activities of the Mexican chapter. The languages of the event are Spanish and English, and there will be simultaneous translation in three languages Spanish, French and English. To access the event, it is mandatory to register on this platform using the following google form. Between this weekend and next Monday you will receive a link confirming your registration for the Generation Equality Forum. The panellists will receive a different link.

How do you find our virtual session?

The virtual session “Cooperation for Action: Reducing Gender Inequalities as a Key to Social Cohesion in Latin America and Europe” will be at the time and day indicated above in the FEMINIST CONVERSATIONS AREA. Our title will find it for you.

Latin America is going through one of the largest processes of human mobility in recent times, which is the product of various circumstances such as an increase in poverty, persecution, conflicts, humanitarian crises, insecurity, violence, natural disasters, etc. In this context, an element to consider is that there are migrants and refugees’ legal needs that require attention because they are not being met. Their special condition of vulnerability recognised in the Brasilia Rules, among other norms, obliges states to attend to these needs. The role of the Public Defender’s Offices to meet these legal needs is of fundamental importance since, probably, they will be one of the few national institutions that can provide guidance, legal advice, representation and advocacy so that migrants and refugees can access their rights and get justice.

EUROsociAL accompanies the Inter-American Association of Public Defender’s Offices (AIDEF) in the creation of an Inter-American Network for the Defence of People on the Move and a Regional Defence Model for People on the Move to improve access to justice for the migrants and refugees in the region. In this framework, the objective of the webinar is twofold, on the one hand to generate a space for the exchange of experiences, strategies and mechanisms to improve care services for migrants and refugees, as well as best practices between institutions in Europe and Latin America. And, on the other, to present the proposal for an Inter-American Network of Legal Assistance for People on the Move and the Regional Defence Model for People on the Move, prepared within the framework of the AIDEF with the support of EUROsociAL+.

The pandemic has caused a crisis of enormous proportions, although its effects vary from country to country. More robust states, from the point of view of their productive systems and their social protection structures, have better resisted the onslaught wrought by the drop in domestic and international demand.

However, in general terms, along with negative growth, the destruction of companies and jobs, in many national contexts the crisis has exposed pre-existing structural problems and exacerbated inequalities.

This bi-regional dialogue, organised by the EU Programme for Social Cohesion EUROsociAL+, is aimed at addressing the role of social resilience in recovery and reactivation plans in Europe and Latin America, in other words, how such plans connect an economic relaunch with social investment.

Authorities from 15 institutions in the country participated in the 2nd Dialogue Round Table of EUROsociAL+ in Colombia, to approve the roadmap with the nearly 30 actions that will be implemented throughout 2021 by the EU EUROsociAL+ Programme together with the Colombian institutions.

The EUROsociAL+ cooperation model is based on the principle of demand and on permanent dialogue on public policies through the exchange of expertise and public knowledge between the European Union and Latin America. The process to define which actions EurosociAL will implement in each country culminates in the “Dialogue Round Tables”, which are spaces for inter-agency coordination to prioritise the demands of the Latin American countries and improve the coherence, impact and sustainability of the public policies the programme supports.

New about 2ª Mesa de Diálogo de EUROsociAL+ en Colombia

The human and economic consequences of the great global health crisis caused by COVID-19 is forcing us to innovate in public policies in the countries of Latin America and Europe, to improve resilience and achieve the objectives of the 2030 Agenda, leaving no one behind.

This discussion shares the content of the second issue of RECÍPROCAMENTE magazine, which this issue focuses on the post-pandemic reconstruction as a key element of social cohesion. The discussion will feature the participation of writers from this issue.

RECÍPROCAMENTE, a magazine issued by the EU EUROsociAL+ programme, is a forum for sharing points of view from both the European Union and Latin America on common problems that require shared solutions. It features high-level contributions whose authors are from both sides of the Atlantic, addressing key issues for an inclusive and resilient recovery.

Articles and the full magazine are available, in English and in Spanish.

Participants:

• Jorge Onrubia. Doctor in Economics and professor at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM-ICEI). Associate researcher at the Foundation for Applied Economics Studies (FEDEA)
• Lourdes Bermejo.Doctor in Educational Sciences and Vice President of Gerontology at the Spanish Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology (SEGG).
• Rodrigo Martinez. Social Affairs Officer, Social Development Division, ECLAC.
• Nadine Gasman.President of the National Women’s Institute (INMUJERES) of Mexico.
• Marc Litvine.Head of Sector Regional Programs and for Latin America, EU International Partnerships. European Commission.
• Juan Manuel Santomé.Director of the EU EUROSociAL+ Programme.
• Laura Cárdenas Lorenzo (moderator). Journalist and communication expert at EUROsociAL+.

Due to the COVID-19 health crisis, several electoral processes in different Latin American countries have been postponed, affecting the political-electoral rights of women. This has been the central theme of reflection in this virtual activity organised by Electoral Transparency and CAOESTE with the participation of the Association of Electoral Magistrates of the Americas (AMEA) and the area of Gender Equality policies of EUROsociAL+.

The panel of speakers and presenters was made up of:

Karla Verónica Félix Neira, adviser at the Electoral Institute of Coahuila (IEC) and member of CAOESTE

Katia Uriona Gamarra, former president of the Supreme Electoral Court of Bolivia and EU EUROsociAL+ Programme representative, who presented the Perspective of Parity Democracy and Political Violence against women in the framework of the regional action of the Observatory of Political Violence with the Association of Electoral Magistrates of the Americas (AMEA).
Doris Ruth Méndez Cubillos, magistrate of the National Electoral Council of Colombia and AMEA representative, addressed the challenges and actions needed to guarantee the political participation of women in elections in Colombia in the context of the pandemic
Myrtha Varela de Durán, Secretary General and Alternate Magistrate of the Electoral Tribunal of Panama and AMEA representative, analysed the impact of COVID-19 on the political and electoral participation of women as voters and candidates in Panama.

This virtual dialogue is part of the dissemination of the publication “Covid-19 in women’s lives – the global care emergency” undertaken by the Inter-American Commission of Women/OAS in association with the European Union through its EUROsociAL+ programme, in response to the deepening inequality in the distribution of domestic and care tasks and the increase in the unpaid workload borne by women.