Brnabic Opens Global Conference of Women Parliamentarians in Belgrade

National Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabic opened the Global Conference of Women Parliamentarians in Belgrade, a gathering held under the auspices of the Inter-Parliamentary Union from 2 to 4 June. Serbia’s National Assembly is hosting the three-day event, which has drawn 427 delegates from 65 countries.

Among the participants are 206 parliamentarians and five parliament speakers, placing Belgrade at the centre of a global debate on the role of women in legislatures for three days. In her opening address, Brnabic directed her message towards empowering women as decision makers, not only as participants in political life.

What is the conference focused on?

The theme of the gathering is progress on gender equality and the removal of stereotypes that hold back the political advancement of women. These are issues the Inter-Parliamentary Union has tracked for years through its reports on the participation of women in parliaments worldwide, and which remain unevenly addressed in legislatures.

The conference brings together delegations of varied political and regional backgrounds, opening space to compare experiences from countries with very different models of representation. The agenda covers several clusters of issues:

• the participation of women in decision making at the highest levels of government
• the obstacles and stereotypes that affect women’s political careers
• the exchange of practices between parliaments that are members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union

For the host country, an event of this kind is also a diplomatic opportunity. Bringing more than four hundred delegates and five parliament speakers together in one place is not a common format, and the National Assembly is using it to present itself as the organiser of an international parliamentary event.

Why does hosting matter for the Assembly?

By opening the conference, Brnabic placed the institution she leads in the role of host for one of the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s regular global formats. Her message about empowering women as decision makers fits the theme of the event, but also the wider context in which Serbia seeks to demonstrate an active role within international parliamentary bodies.

The conference is dedicated to progress on gender equality and to removing the stereotypes that hold back the political advancement of women, which was set out as the core framework for the three days of work by the delegations.

The presence of 206 parliamentarians signals that the gathering is not ceremonial but working in character. Delegations from 65 countries will exchange experiences over the three days, and the conclusions of such conferences usually feed into recommendations that member states later apply in their own parliaments.

Belgrade is the host until Friday, 4 June, of a debate that reaches beyond a single country. Whether the conclusions reached at this gathering will genuinely shift the representation of women in legislatures will only become clear through their implementation in member parliaments. How do you view the role of women in political decision making in Serbia?