On November 28, changemakers from the AGENCY project met in Brussels together with ENoMW and femLENS for a day of an advocacy at the European Parliament.

As part of our project AGENCY: VOTE WITH HER, ENoMW brought migrant women changemakers from all over Europe to the European Parliament for an action day to ‘amplify migrant women’s political voices’ at European level.

The day included a number of sessions with discussions on a range of topics with speakers speakers from across European social and political spaces, visit to the Parliament, a drop in into the LIBE LIEBE committee meeting, and a small action by the Changemakers with photographs from the photovoice campaigns.

The first panel was LOCAL LEVEL POLITICS: HOW TO POSITIVELY IMPACT MIGRANT WOMEN AND COMMUNITIES?
– moderated by Olena Soinikova, AGENCY Project, Greece.
Speakers included:
– Maimouna Haïdara, lawyer, deputy mayor of Stains in charge of access to rights and fight against
discriminations
– Hélène Bidard, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of equality between women and men, youth, and popular
education, candidate to the 2024 European Parliament elections
– Myriem Amrani, president of St-Gilles CPAS
– Rania Al Najjar, AGENCY project, Cyprus

Second session of the day focused on the EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: HOW CAN THE EU BETTER PROTECT MIGRANT
WOMEN’S FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS? – moderated by Farhana Akter, AGENCY Project, Portugal.

Speakers included:
– MEP Malin Björk (LEFT, Sweden)
– MEP Carina Ohlsson (S&D, Sweden)
– MEP Monica Silvana Gonzales (S&D, Spain)
– Yoselina de la Cruz Guevara López, AGENCY project, Italy

The final session was WOMEN’S RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS: HOW TO INFLUENCE DECISION-MAKING
THROUGH ADVOCACY, ACTIVISM AND LEGAL ACTION? – moderated by Majda Mansory, AGENCY Project, France.

Speakers included:
– Dr Noura Raad, lawyer, co-president of the European Network of Migrant Women
– Dr Salomé Mbugua, CEO of AkiDwA – The Migrant Women’s Network Ireland, Member of the Irish Human
Rights and Equality Commission
– Viviane Teitelbaum, vice-President of the Parliament Francophone (Belgium), European president of the
International Council of Women, Vice President of the European Women’s Lobby
– Lee-Anne Paula Fraschia, AGENCY project, Italy.