The monthly meeting of WIIS Italy “A conversation with …” was held on June 9th. This month we had the honor of hosting Marta Grande, the first woman President of the Foreign and European Community Affairs Committee in the Chamber of Deputies, as well as the youngest to fill this position.
The meeting, moderated by the President of WIIS Italy, Irene Fellin, allowed for a discussion of different topics. Starting from a reflection on her role, President Marta Grande shared her experience by describing the role of the Commission and the important work it does. She also discussed the important role of Italian diplomacy and its tradition of strong values and mediation skills, although this may not always visible to the public.
Broader reflections, also guided by questions from the moderator and the participants, focused on women in politics, who are unfortunately still a minority even if some steps have been taken. President Marta Grande stressed the importance of a female presence in politics as fundamental for bringing a different point of view key for finding solutions to social problems.
“We already have the courage to speak, we need to be sure that our words are collected” is one of the various food for thought shared by President Grande, inviting the women present also to take their spaces, get involved in debates to ensure that gender issues and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda can be put on top. There is still ample room for improvement, and much remains to be done, but President Marta Grande wanted to conclude with a note of optimism by noting how the new generations seem to have a different mentality regarding gender issues and can therefore gradually bring a real change.
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