L-R:Sammy Wagner, alderman of Steinfort; Jérôme Laurent, Mayor of Mertert; Taina Bofferding, Minister of Equality between Women and Men; Emile Eicher, Mayor of Clervaux;
Credit: MEGA
Luxembourg's Ministry of Equality between Women and Men has recognised the commitment of three municipalities in the area of gender equality.
On Wednesday 3 February 2021. Taina Bofferding, Minister of Equality between Women and Men, awarded the municipalities of Steinfort, Clervaux and Mertert a new incentive prize aimed at encouraging good practice for equality at the local level.
This prize recognises the efforts of municipalities which last year showed their desire to act for a better cohabitation of women and men in their territory. The Equality Ministry recalled that the municipalities are essential multipliers to support equality on a daily basis, as they are closer to and can best identify the needs of the population.
During the award ceremony, Minister Taina Bofferding pointed out: “Equality between women and men is a fundamental value of our society and the municipalities are a key player in the achievement of objectives at the local level. I salute the will of the political leaders of the pilot municipalities, who thus demonstrate their commitment to improve the situation through concrete actions in their territory and in their sphere of influence”.
In 2020, the municipalities of Steinfort, Clervaux and Mertert embarked on a pilot project with the ministry to analyse the situation in their territory and actively deal with gender equality, while integrating it into their future decisions. Concretely, one of the municipalities in question has already hired an equality officer to be able to deploy these actions.
It is this structured and progressive approach that the ministry particularly wishes to encourage. The incentive prize is thus aimed at enhancing voluntary initiatives and encouraging other municipalities to develop a strong societal policy.
In the medium term, the agreement signed by these three municipalities will lead to the development of a local action plan. This will not only consolidate their efforts into an official document, but will also guarantee the sustainability of the resulting actions, as well as the possibility of monitoring and evaluating them.
Through this incentive prize, the ministry is opening the way for the establishment of a municipal prize for the best equality practice to be awarded every year to deserving municipalities.
