Plans of the Commission on Gender Equality

The Commission on Gender Equality held its working meeting in April in Tallinn, Estonia, where new members participated. We had a successful meeting and also made two very interesting study visits. We visited the Shelter House of Tallinn where women and children can get help and support if they are abused. We also studied a project supporting women in prostitution who want to get education, legal work, or needs help with health care issues.

One of our main tasks which is being done this year is collecting information about gender issues from the member cities. This survey will be presented at the UBC General Conference in 2009. Does your city have some interesting gender equality work which would be interesting? Best practice for other cities? Please send it to the Secretariat of the Commission. In this way we can spread good examples of promoting gender equality around the Baltic Sea region. Umea is involved in a transnational project concerning gender equal labour market and women and enterprise. Best practice will be transferred to the Baltic Sea cities from the Commission. Other cities can contact the Commission if they are interested in joining gender equality projects. The secretariat of the commission can help with contacts, since many project proposals are sent here. Many European cities wish to cooperate with Baltic cities around questions on gender equality. We can then save your contacts and when there is a proposal we can link your city with the proposal. Please remember to let us know within which gender equality theme you wish to work. Calendar events for the autumn 2008:

• Commission's representative at tends a conference in Brussels 16/10. The theme is trafficking, and the Commission will be meeting other Baltic Sea Organisations and projects concerning this issue.
• The Commission is holding its an nual meeting in Kalmar, Sweden on 6-7 November. The theme of the meeting will be Prostitution and Human Trafficking.

To highlight the representation share of women and men in the City Councils around the UBC area, we urge those cities who have not yet sent us information about representation, to do so. How many members does your city council have? Male/female? Who is the president of the City Council? Male/ female?