Deutscher LandFrauenverband e. V.
Innovator
The Municipal Action Programme
Germany
Cultural
Rural Areas
Rural village
The innovation journey
The aim of the Municipal Action Programme is to attract women to local politics, ensure equal representation on committees and increase the visibility of women. The focus is on rural areas. To this end, support and networking opportunities, democracy workshops and a mentoring programme for women new to politics are offered. Local counselling services are combined with a supra-regional exchange of experience.
The Municipal Action Programme is funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). The programme is run by the EAF Berlin in cooperation with the Deutscher
Landfrauenverband e. V. (dlv). Three municipal umbrella organisations – the German Association of Districts, the German Association of Towns and Municipalities and the German Association of Cities – support the programme, as does the Federal Association of Municipal Women’s Offices and Equal Opportunities Officers.
The innovation impact
The action programme will run from 2022 to the end of 2024 and is therefore still relatively new. Whether there will be another project in this area from 2025 depends on the federal government’s financial situation. Those involved are already saying that the content on offer is useful and necessary to support women in their political involvement. The visibility of women is increased, and the action programme encourages and motivates women to be politically active. The outstanding expertise of both institutions and the good network of the DLV in rural areas could be utilised here. The model regions are independently implementing and establishing their measures and formats, such as political leadership programmes and mayors’ networks. 7% of the mentors have leadership positions, 43% of whom have entered politics as a result of the programme.