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A four-person delegation of the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) led by party chairman, Mr. Menghesteab Asmerom, attended a two-day conference of the Progressive Alliance (PA) in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, between 22 and 23 May 2015. All deliberations at the plenary sessions and discussion group workshops of the conference were focused on the theme “gender equality and decent work”. The final 14-point Action Plan the conference adopted had carried the slogan, Gender Equality: – Not just words but deeds!”

Hosted by the Dutch Labour Party in cooperation with the women’s wing of Party of European Socialists (PES), the PA conference was attended by 46 fraternal social democratic and labour parties from all over the globe. There were ten African parties at the conference from Angola, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Tunisia and others.

This is the fourth PA conference that EPDP delegations attended since this global movement was founded on 22 May 2013. Other members of the EPDP delegation to Rotterdam were Mr. Woldeyesus Ammar, the head of foreign relations; Ms Adiam Teferra-Mesghinna, member of administration in the party organizational office, and Mr. Mehari Tesfamariam, member of the foreign relations committee.

On the first day, the Steering Committee and delegates of participating parties met in the morning hours and discussed an action plan on gender equality and decent work that shall commit all member parties and organizations to promote it within their parties and in their respective countries. Mr. Konstantin Woinoff, the PA coordinator from the German SPD chaired the meeting which gave all participant parties the opportunity to explain situations in their respective countries in the effort of finalizing the document. The disquieting situation in Eritrea and the plight of Eritreans fleeing the sad condition at home were adequately presented at the session.

This was followed by the opening of the plenary session which was moderated by Ms Kirsten Meijer, the international secretary of the Dutch Labour Party. The session was opened by a welcoming address of Mr. Diederik Samsom, leader of the host party. Other speakers included the president and the vice- presidents of the women’s wing of PES, and party leaders from India and Tunisia.

Later in the day, the conference participants divided themselves into workshops that considered various tops related to the conference theme. Other major events of the day included visits to action-oriented projects in Rotterdam engaged in gender equality and empowerment of women. After 8pm, the conference participants were taken down to the Rotterdam port for dinner on board a boat.

On 23 May, the day’s plenary session was opened by an inspiring speech of the Dutch minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Ms. Lillianne Ploumen. This was followed by presentations by party leaders from Uruguay and Morocco. A special demonstration of gender empowerment in practice was staged in a form of fashion show by different groups engaged in the work. Before the participants were released for lunch time, they had to debate in two groups more gender-related topics.

The final plenary session was addressed by Mr. Ahmed Aboutaleb, the Mayor of Rotterdam and later discussed the 14-point Action Plan as illustrated by five prominent activists on the gender issue.

The closing statement was delivered by the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Ms Jet Bussemaker. Her strong address on the struggle to realize gender equality was followed by the signing of the Action Plan by all party leaders at the Rotterdam PA Conference. (Full reportage on the conference will follow soon).