Posted on 16 October 2015
On the 25th September, the Historical Archives of the European Union hosted the international conference “The building of a European civil society in the context of equality between women and men. The legacy of Fausta Deshormes la Valle”. During the day, several speakers and lecturers discussed the equal opportunities policies of the European institutions and the important contribution made in this field by Fausta Deshormes La Valle.
The conference started with a welcome address by Dieter Schlenker, Director of the HAEU, who stated that Fausta Deshormes La Valle did not only take part on the writing of the history of European integration, but also “worked actively to change it”. Then Benedetta Albanese, Equal Opportunities Delegate for the City of Florence, pointed to information and participation as two key aspects to get European citizens involved in the European project and the construction of a European identity and described Deshormes La Valle as one of the pioneers of this process. Likewise, Sara Funaro, Equal Opportunities Councillor for the Municipality of Florence, and Lucia Franchini, Ombudsman for the Tuscany Region, added that the main goal now is to understand the current situation of equal opportunities in Europe, especially in regard to the integration of different cultures, races and religions.
The speech by Agnès Deshormes, daughter of Fausta Deshormes La Valle, was a key moment of the day. In an emotional speech, she recalled the figure of her mother, her career and her earliest steps to turn public opinion in favour of a united Europe, primarily focused on "developing European awareness in young people." She insisted that Fausta was "a militant, not a bureaucrat," who encouraged the active participation of citizens even after retiring. “She was convinced that Europe would offer the tools for a more just society and concrete improvements for women”, Agnès added.
In her intervention, Silvia Costa MEP (pictured) praised Fausta Deshormes La Valle's battle for parity democracy, based on the conviction that Europe, without the women's contribution, wouldn't have been truly representative and democratic.
During the first session of the conference, two archival collections, “Femmes d’Europe” and “Fausta Deshormes La Valle”- both at the HAEU-, helped to illustrate and discuss the role played by Fausta Deshormes La Valle in introducing gender equality in the European Communities agenda and her role in the establishment of women’s networks and pressure groups. The panellists also analysed how far these networks were able to influence EU policy-making.
The second session addressed the current political situation of equal opportunities in Europe, through a debate between Monika Ladmanová, Advisor of European Commissioner Vera Jourová, and representatives of women’s lobbies.
Lastly, the third session enabled a wide-ranging debate on the future of equal opportunities. The participants were pushed to reflect on the women’s expectations in the construction of tomorrow’s Europe, also widening the scope of the analysis to include the Middle East and the Mediterranean basin.
Femmes d’Europe Fonds
Fausta Deshormes La Valle Fonds