Facilitation of the participatory processof the Municipal Women’s Council of Tarragona

Its objective is to improve and increase citizen participation in the Municipal Women’s Council (CMD) of Tarragona in response to citizens’ demands to move towards a democracy that promotes the creation of spaces and mechanisms that bring people, especially women, closer to participating in public spaces and political decisions.

The CMD influences the planning of municipal policies, making visible the realities, needs and concerns of women in the city of Tarragona. With this project, funded by Tarragona City Council, the aim is to collaborate with and support women citizens by facilitating the CMD’s participatory process. A further aim is to study and analyse the situation of women in the municipality and, where necessary, make visible any situation of discrimination on the grounds of sex. Likewise, a space for meeting and dialogue between associations and local administrations is fostered, channelling proposals and complaints (collective or individual) so that they can be dealt with by the competent municipal bodies.

All this is done by fostering associations among women, encouraging their creation, promoting women’s empowerment and autonomy, favouring their participation in public and decision-making spaces, and also advising municipal bodies on equality matters when defining lines of action and drawing up programmes for citizens.

This will be done using participatory techniques that place people on an equal footing and recognise all participants, with the aim of empowering them, enabling them to become part of a peer group and, ultimately, improving women’s quality of life.