Policy paper by the Human Rights Cities Network following this event:
The role of cities in enhancing voting rights in European Parliament elections and beyond
HUMAN RIGHTS CITIES WEBINAR
Joint initiative between
the Human Rights Cities Network & the Global Parliament of Mayors with
Barcelona 1st European Capital of Democracy (ECoD)
6 May 2024 @ 15:00 CTE
Enhancing Human Rights in Cities with the right to vote : the 2024 European Parliament Elections
REGISTER HERE!
KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
The Role of Cities in Upholding the Right to Vote
Mr Ricardo Rio, Mayor of the City of Braga/Portugal and President of the Global Parliament of Mayors (GPM)
Ricardo Bruno Antunes Machado Rio is an accomplished economist and the current mayor of Braga, Portugal. His professional background includes roles as the General Secretary of the Portuguese Association of Financial Analysts and Director of the Capital Markets Institute of Euronext Lisbon, as well as serving as a university professor at several institutions. He transitioned into public service in 2001 and became the mayor of Braga in 2013, where he has been instrumental in transforming Braga into a smart city, and is now serving his third term.
Beginning in August 2023, Rio assumed the role of Chair of the Executive Committee of the Global Parliament of Mayors, an organization he joined in 2018 and has been a part of the Daily Board since 2019.
PANELLISTS:
The Importance of Citizens’ Engagement in the 2024 EU Elections
Mr Michael Lidauer, Senior policy advisor, co-founder of Election-Watch.EU
Michael Lidauer is a scholar-practitioner, senior policy advisor and co-founder of Election-Watch.EU (wahlbeobachtung.org), advocating for non-partisan election observation inside the European Union and beyond. In 2019, the Election-Watch.EU network conducted the first comprehensive Election Assessment Mission to the European Parliament elections.
A social anthropologist and political scientist by training, Michael has been working in international democracy promotion and peacebuilding for over 20 years, including for the EU, OSCE/ODIHR, IFES, International IDEA, and The Carter Center as election observer, conflict advisor, mentor and trainer, and as independent evaluator. Outside Europe, his regional specialisation lies in South and Southeast Asia, in particular Myanmar. His publications on elections and electoral support extend to a variety of peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and policy papers.
Good Practices from the Cities
Sindelfingen City
Dr. Kibreab Habtemichael Gebereselassie, Head of the Department of International Affairs and Europe
Head of the Department of International Affairs and Europe, City of Sindelfingen. Senior Lecturer & Researcher at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences & Senior Lecturer & Researcher at the German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer. Expert in Politics & Administration Nexus, Migration & Human Rights, International Affairs and Sustainable Development.
The Role of Pan-European Civil Society for EU Election Campaign
Mr Benjamin Goodwin, Communications and Campaigns Officer, European Civic Forum
Benjamin is the Communications and Campaigns Officer at the European Civic Forum. There, he leads ECF’s communications outputs, from social media to publications and audiovisual content. He is also in charge of ECF’s European elections campaign, leading ECF’s participation in the pan-European “Civil Society for EU” campaign. Originally from the UK, he has a BA in Politics & East European Studies from University College London and an MSc in Political Science from the Free University of Brussels.
Enhance the right to vote at the local level beyond the 2024 European Elections
Ms Margarita Spasova, Acting Director, Human Rights Cities Network (HRCN)
Margarita Spasovais the Acting Director of Human Rights Cities Network. She has worked in thecivil society sector for almost 10 years. Her academic background is in European Union law andinternational migration and professionally she has focused on topics connected to human rights,migration, gender equality and democratic participation.Her experience spans from training and project management to research and advocacy.In the lastfew years, she has worked extensively on monitoring women’s and youth participation in electionsand on researching good practices for enhancing political representation
THANK YOU to the excellent Speakers of today’s Human Rights Cities Webinar !
Their respective perspective contributed to raise the essential role municipalities can play as a Human Rights Defender (HRD) to safeguard and promote democracy. This, not only in the context of the crucial forthcoming 2024 EU Elections, but mainly throughout different electoral cycles, at various levels. Local authorities are a fundamental link to open an efficient communication channel to rebuilt trust between the population and decisions makers, on one hand to bring Europe in the cities and on the other hand, to bring a diversity of voices heard from the cities to the European arena.